David Robinson (community worker)

David Robinson OBE is a community worker and writer. He founded and is now the joint leader of the 'Relationships Project'.

Described in the Guardian in 2011 as “the godfather of community organising, equally admired on the left and right”, [1] Robinson has worked in social innovation for more than forty years also founding or co-founding Community Links, Discover[2] and Shift.

Robinson co-founded east London charity Community Links in 1977 while at school, and was Chief Executive for 25 years. When he stepped down to become Senior Advisor, Community Links was the UK's largest local voluntary organisation.[3]

He co-founded the Children’s Discovery Centre in 2002. It was the UK’s first Story Centre working with more than 100,000 children and their families every year on the development of literacy skills and a love of language and stories. From 2007 to 2010 he led the Prime Minister’s Council on Social Action for Gordon Brown.[4] While there, he co-created the Social impact bond and went on to chair the successful Peterborough project – the world’s first scheme funded by a Social impact bond[5] The SIB was developed by Social Finance Ltd. where David became a founding director and where he now chairs the Impact Incubator developing new models in areas of acute social need.[6]

Robinson founded and now chairs Shift - the multiple aware winning social enterprise designing sustainable and collaborative solutions to social problems.[7] Shift, originally called 'We Are What We Do' began with the million selling Change the world for a fiver series of books before moving on to a range of other products and service innovations.

He set up Changing London in 2013 to involve Londoners in a unique, independent, three year programme developing ideas for London’s next mayor.[8] Since the mayoral election he has advised on the Mayor's Citizenship and Integration programmes. He has also chaired or been a non-executive director with many organisations including Business in the Community, BASSAC, Social Finance Ltd. and was an original, government appointed custodian of the Big Society Trust (now called the Oversight Trust).[9]

He was the first Practitioner in Residence at the London School of Economics Marshall Institute[10] and is a founding director at Social Finance,[11] Chair of the Social Finance Impact Incubator and an Ashoka Senior Fellow.[12]

David's books include Changing London (with Will Horwitz), Britain's Everyday Heroes (with Gordon Brown) and Unconditional Leadership as well as numerous papers and reports. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University in 2003 and an OBE in 1995.

David has trained in circus skills and is an accomplished children’s entertainer. He has three children and lives in East London.