Financial Statements for the Year Ending 31 December 2019
2019: A pivotal year
Following a strategic review, TBI synthesised its work into a single, overarching mission: “To equip political leaders and governments with the tools they need to create open, inclusive and prosperous societies in a globalised world.” Our commitment to creating impact saw a reorganisation of our existing work into two complementary areas:
Government Advisory, delivered throughout the world with embedded in-country teams working directly with political leaders and governments to implement reforms and execute their plans to improve the lives of their citizens.
Policy Futures, generating analysis, policy ideas and debate to help leaders develop future-facing, progressive agendas across three areas: UK domestic policy, technology and public policy, and counter-extremism.A full strategic report can be read in our financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2019 which we have submitted to Companies House and are published today, 5 January 2021, on this website.
STRATEGIC REPORT SUMMARY
Government Advisory
In the Middle East, we continued to focus on fostering Arab-Israeli ties, which saw significant progress, culminating in the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE and Israel and Bahrain in September 2020. Mr Blair and our Tel Aviv team have continued to advise and mediate between leaders and officials in Israel, the Gulf and on the international stage regarding the political landscape in Israel, the Palestinian territories and the region. The work included exploring the untapped potential for Israeli-Arab trade, economic and cultural cooperation, identifying opportunities and providing practical steps and initiatives for promoting ties, as well as stabilising the situation in the West Bank and Gaza. Our Middle East work also seeks to leverage improved Israeli-Arab relations in order to promote negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians towards a two-state solution, and create a regional framework for the negotiations with the active involvement of the Arab states, to ensure the viability of a future Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Our team has also worked to forge improved ties between Israel and African states, by identifying and introducing Israeli technologies that can best support the critical needs of African states, in particular in the field of agriculture, in which Israel is a recognised world leader. In 14 countries in Africa, we support governments and leaders to establish the skills, systems and structures they need to deliver their priorities: driving economic reform, strengthening the private sector and business environment, facilitating foreign investment, building key infrastructure and improving the delivery of public services. When the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill at the beginning of 2020, it presented the biggest challenge leaders would face in a generation. Practically overnight we took the decision to dedicate our Government Advisory teams in Africa and elsewhere to help fight the pandemic. Our focus was to support leaders to help them make the right decisions and take the right actions in a challenging context. Public-health data to track and manage the pandemic has been critical. So, when Oracle decided to offer free to any country that wanted it, its Health Management System, TBI was delighted to partner with Oracle to help. We worked to support governments to shape their own use cases and start to harness cloud technology to help track diseases such as yellow fever, HPV, polio, measles and tuberculosis, as well as the Covid-19 virus. The Oracle Health Management System includes capabilities for physicians and citizens to monitor symptoms and treatments, and for health officials to administer tests and vaccination programs efficiently and at scale. The long-standing partnership that TBI has with the Larry Ellison Foundation (LEF) enabled us to move fast and we look forward to helping more countries that need such systems to deploy them to help save lives.
Policy Futures
The Institute’s policy work focused on three key areas:
Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics
Technology and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution
Extremism Policy Unit and Co-Existence Programmes: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world
Renewing the Centre
Our expert team of economists and policy specialists looks at radical but practical solutions to the underlying issues that are driving division in the UK. From rising inequality and falling living standards, to concerns about crime and integration, the promise that the next generation will do better than the last is at risk. And with politics being pulled between the hard-right and the hard-left, swathes of people in the centre ground are unrepresented. Our policy agenda seeks to fill that void and provide progressive leaders with the solutions they need.
Technology and Public Policy
The chief characteristic of today’s world is the scope, scale and speed of change. The technological revolution we’re seeing is shaping up to be as transformative for the 21st century as the Industrial Revolution was for the last.
The politicians who master the implications of this revolution, understand its risks and opportunities, and crystallise such understanding into policy should own the foreseeable political future. Yet those changing the world through tech and those trying to construct policy in response to it are often planets apart, with little structured dialogue and increasing levels of hostility. That’s why our Technology and Public Policy team, established in 2019, is committed to setting out how policymakers and changemakers should work together to maximise the benefits and mitigate the risks of the tech revolution.
Extremism Policy Unit and Co-Existence Programmes
In 2019, we continued to promote co-existence – countering extremism by tackling the ideology behind the violence, not just the violence itself. This involved significant policy output through our Extremism Policy Unit which conducts research and policy analysis on extremist ideologies including Islamist extremists, the far right, the Boko Haram insurgency and Shia Islamism. Our work seeks to understand the role of ideology in developing and implementing successful counter-extremism and counter-terrorism policy, calling for stronger approaches to prevention policy, understanding the role of ideology in recruiting and mobilising support to carry out violent attacks, through to the disengagement, deradicalisation and reintegration of former fighters.
Our financial statements for the year ending 2019
The financial year to 31 December 2019 saw a further expansion of TBI’s activities, both in scale and in scope. Having recorded a surplus of income over expenditure in 2018, TBI was able to reinvest this surplus in an ambitious programme of policy and advisory work in 2019. Increased expenditure in 2019 was partially offset by a more modest rise in turnover, with the Group reporting a deficit for the year of $0.5 million.
Following a significant increase from 2017 to 2018, turnover remained at a similar level in 2019, with TBI reporting revenues of $46.3 million in the year. Many projects were continued from previous years, and contracts renewed, while several new projects and partnerships were also initiated.
TBI’s ability to commit to new projects and programmes of work relies on having the right people in place to deliver them, and staff costs were the biggest single factor in the overall increase in expenditure from 2018 to 2019. These accounts show an average total of 231 staff, representing over 35 nationalities, who are based in many locations throughout the world, including 14 African nations, the UK, the United States, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Staff salaries and associated costs account for approximately half of TBI’s total expenditure and increased in line with staff numbers. TBI was able to expand its programme delivery – with additional roles in Government Advisory and Policy Futures, and a new Technology and Public Policy team set up – while maintaining the same number of administrative staff as in 2018. Other programme delivery costs, including staff travel and consultancy fees, and the development of TBI’s website also contributed to the overall increase in expenditure.
Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Institute, is the central source of leadership for TBI, particularly in setting our overall vision and objectives. His political insight and experience help facilitate the work of TBI, and he continues to engage actively with individuals, organisations and debates that he believes are critical in bringing about positive global change for the many. Mr Blair receives no remuneration for his work at TBI, to which he devotes the majority of his time.
In 2020, TBI has been affected, inevitably, by the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on travel and movement that have been imposed by national governments. TBI has had to adapt both its working practices and work programmes but has largely been able to continue working and meeting its objectives. In forming their assessment of the Group’s ability to continue its operations into the foreseeable future, the directors have taken into consideration a range of modelled scenarios and outcomes and concluded that TBI remains a going concern. At 31 December 2019, the Group’s reserves stood at $8.8 million, and the Group is fortunate to report healthy cash balances at the same date of $24.7 million. TBI is confident in its ability to deliver on the commitments into which it has entered, and to secure sufficient funding in the future to take on new commitments as its programme evolves to meet the ever-changing needs of global leaders.
2019: A pivotal year
Following a strategic review, TBI synthesised its work into a single, overarching mission: “To equip political leaders and governments with the tools they need to create open, inclusive and prosperous societies in a globalised world.” Our commitment to creating impact saw a reorganisation of our existing work into two complementary areas:
Government Advisory, delivered throughout the world with embedded in-country teams working directly with political leaders and governments to implement reforms and execute their plans to improve the lives of their citizens.
Policy Futures, generating analysis, policy ideas and debate to help leaders develop future-facing, progressive agendas across three areas: UK domestic policy, technology and public policy, and counter-extremism.A full strategic report can be read in our financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2019 which we have submitted to Companies House and are published today, 5 January 2021, on this website.
STRATEGIC REPORT SUMMARY
Government Advisory
In the Middle East, we continued to focus on fostering Arab-Israeli ties, which saw significant progress, culminating in the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE and Israel and Bahrain in September 2020. Mr Blair and our Tel Aviv team have continued to advise and mediate between leaders and officials in Israel, the Gulf and on the international stage regarding the political landscape in Israel, the Palestinian territories and the region. The work included exploring the untapped potential for Israeli-Arab trade, economic and cultural cooperation, identifying opportunities and providing practical steps and initiatives for promoting ties, as well as stabilising the situation in the West Bank and Gaza. Our Middle East work also seeks to leverage improved Israeli-Arab relations in order to promote negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians towards a two-state solution, and create a regional framework for the negotiations with the active involvement of the Arab states, to ensure the viability of a future Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Our team has also worked to forge improved ties between Israel and African states, by identifying and introducing Israeli technologies that can best support the critical needs of African states, in particular in the field of agriculture, in which Israel is a recognised world leader. In 14 countries in Africa, we support governments and leaders to establish the skills, systems and structures they need to deliver their priorities: driving economic reform, strengthening the private sector and business environment, facilitating foreign investment, building key infrastructure and improving the delivery of public services. When the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill at the beginning of 2020, it presented the biggest challenge leaders would face in a generation. Practically overnight we took the decision to dedicate our Government Advisory teams in Africa and elsewhere to help fight the pandemic. Our focus was to support leaders to help them make the right decisions and take the right actions in a challenging context. Public-health data to track and manage the pandemic has been critical. So, when Oracle decided to offer free to any country that wanted it, its Health Management System, TBI was delighted to partner with Oracle to help. We worked to support governments to shape their own use cases and start to harness cloud technology to help track diseases such as yellow fever, HPV, polio, measles and tuberculosis, as well as the Covid-19 virus. The Oracle Health Management System includes capabilities for physicians and citizens to monitor symptoms and treatments, and for health officials to administer tests and vaccination programs efficiently and at scale. The long-standing partnership that TBI has with the Larry Ellison Foundation (LEF) enabled us to move fast and we look forward to helping more countries that need such systems to deploy them to help save lives.
Policy Futures
The Institute’s policy work focused on three key areas:
Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics
Technology and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution
Extremism Policy Unit and Co-Existence Programmes: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world
Renewing the Centre
Our expert team of economists and policy specialists looks at radical but practical solutions to the underlying issues that are driving division in the UK. From rising inequality and falling living standards, to concerns about crime and integration, the promise that the next generation will do better than the last is at risk. And with politics being pulled between the hard-right and the hard-left, swathes of people in the centre ground are unrepresented. Our policy agenda seeks to fill that void and provide progressive leaders with the solutions they need.
Technology and Public Policy
The chief characteristic of today’s world is the scope, scale and speed of change. The technological revolution we’re seeing is shaping up to be as transformative for the 21st century as the Industrial Revolution was for the last.
The politicians who master the implications of this revolution, understand its risks and opportunities, and crystallise such understanding into policy should own the foreseeable political future. Yet those changing the world through tech and those trying to construct policy in response to it are often planets apart, with little structured dialogue and increasing levels of hostility. That’s why our Technology and Public Policy team, established in 2019, is committed to setting out how policymakers and changemakers should work together to maximise the benefits and mitigate the risks of the tech revolution.
Extremism Policy Unit and Co-Existence Programmes
In 2019, we continued to promote co-existence – countering extremism by tackling the ideology behind the violence, not just the violence itself. This involved significant policy output through our Extremism Policy Unit which conducts research and policy analysis on extremist ideologies including Islamist extremists, the far right, the Boko Haram insurgency and Shia Islamism. Our work seeks to understand the role of ideology in developing and implementing successful counter-extremism and counter-terrorism policy, calling for stronger approaches to prevention policy, understanding the role of ideology in recruiting and mobilising support to carry out violent attacks, through to the disengagement, deradicalisation and reintegration of former fighters.
Our financial statements for the year ending 2019
The financial year to 31 December 2019 saw a further expansion of TBI’s activities, both in scale and in scope. Having recorded a surplus of income over expenditure in 2018, TBI was able to reinvest this surplus in an ambitious programme of policy and advisory work in 2019. Increased expenditure in 2019 was partially offset by a more modest rise in turnover, with the Group reporting a deficit for the year of $0.5 million.
Following a significant increase from 2017 to 2018, turnover remained at a similar level in 2019, with TBI reporting revenues of $46.3 million in the year. Many projects were continued from previous years, and contracts renewed, while several new projects and partnerships were also initiated.
TBI’s ability to commit to new projects and programmes of work relies on having the right people in place to deliver them, and staff costs were the biggest single factor in the overall increase in expenditure from 2018 to 2019. These accounts show an average total of 231 staff, representing over 35 nationalities, who are based in many locations throughout the world, including 14 African nations, the UK, the United States, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Staff salaries and associated costs account for approximately half of TBI’s total expenditure and increased in line with staff numbers. TBI was able to expand its programme delivery – with additional roles in Government Advisory and Policy Futures, and a new Technology and Public Policy team set up – while maintaining the same number of administrative staff as in 2018. Other programme delivery costs, including staff travel and consultancy fees, and the development of TBI’s website also contributed to the overall increase in expenditure.
Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Institute, is the central source of leadership for TBI, particularly in setting our overall vision and objectives. His political insight and experience help facilitate the work of TBI, and he continues to engage actively with individuals, organisations and debates that he believes are critical in bringing about positive global change for the many. Mr Blair receives no remuneration for his work at TBI, to which he devotes the majority of his time.
In 2020, TBI has been affected, inevitably, by the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on travel and movement that have been imposed by national governments. TBI has had to adapt both its working practices and work programmes but has largely been able to continue working and meeting its objectives. In forming their assessment of the Group’s ability to continue its operations into the foreseeable future, the directors have taken into consideration a range of modelled scenarios and outcomes and concluded that TBI remains a going concern. At 31 December 2019, the Group’s reserves stood at $8.8 million, and the Group is fortunate to report healthy cash balances at the same date of $24.7 million. TBI is confident in its ability to deliver on the commitments into which it has entered, and to secure sufficient funding in the future to take on new commitments as its programme evolves to meet the ever-changing needs of global leaders.
Other years' financial statements