In 2002 it was renamed the Work Foundation, shifting its business model away from being a training organisation towards being a research, consultancy and policy think tank under the leadership of former Observer Editor Will Hutton.

[15] As a result of this knowledge he sought to improve working conditions for the boys and young men employed in munitions plants.

Hyde genuinely believed that benign employers and industrial harmony had the capacity to create as much wealth as harsh taskmasters and conflict.

[17] In addition he attended or sent a letter to every annual meeting of the society until his accession to the throne as George VI in 1936, at which point he became the organization's Patron.

On John Garnett's retirement, Alistair Graham became Chief Executive, followed in 1991 by Rhiannon Chapman and in 1994 by Tony Morgan who oversaw a series of rejuvenatory reforms.

In 2001 Pearson led the sale of the Society's loss-making training division to Capita for over 23 million pounds, reviving the ailing balance sheet and saving the pension fund.

Pearson retired in February 2003, confident that the future of the charity, with its strong balance sheet, was secured, based on a re-adjustment between the number of employees and their income generating potential, which subsequently did not occur.

[24] The society spent more in salaries than it received in income, and eventually a winding-up petition due to insolvency was filed in the High Court, citing a pension deficit.

It was indicated that the two institutions would build on a record of previous collaboration between the university's business school and the Work Foundation, which would continue to operate from its headquarters in Palmer Street, Westminster.