Reform (think tank)

The Reform Research Trust is a think tank which publishes its own research and also publishes papers from external authors. It was founded by Nick Herbert (later a Conservative MP) and Andrew Haldenby.

The trust is a private limited company with charitable status. The name "The Reform Research Trust" was first registered with companies house on 4 March 2004 and as a charity on 13 May 2004.

The trust is funded by large donations from businesses and smaller donations from individuals.

The Reform Research Trust publishes reports on a variety of issues, adopting what it considers to be an evidence-based approach to public policy.

It has published reports on health and education reform, Britain's regional economic performance, the economic position of young people, and on the tax and welfare system.

People
Previous deputy directors include Liz Truss, who subsequently became Prime Minister, and Nick Seddon, who was appointed as a Senior Policy Advisor for Health and Social Care to Prime Minister David Cameron.

Advisory board

 * Baroness Nicky Morgan, former Secretary of State
 * Björn Savén, chairman, IK Investment Partners Ltd.
 * Dame Clare Moriarty, Former Permanent Secretary, Department for Exiting the European Union
 * Dame Meg Hillier, Member of Parliament for Hackney South and Shoreditch
 * Deborah Cadman, Chief Executive, West Midlands Combined Authority
 * Robert Nisbet, Former Senior Political Correspondent, Sky News
 * Katie Perrior, Former Director of Communications, No. 10 Downing St.
 * Caroline Flint, former Labour MP and Minister
 * Sir Peter Gershon, former senior civil servant

Trustees

 * James Palmer, Chair
 * Catherine Davies, Managing Partner, Monticle
 * Dr Lara Stoimenova, Managing Partner, Sigma Economics
 * Jeremy Sillem, Managing Partner and co-founder of Spencer House Partners

Speakers at the trusts events have included:
 * Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan (Labour);
 * Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt (Conservative);
 * Danny Alexander and Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat).

Name of trust
The Trust was originally named "The Reform Research Trust" however it sometimes refers to itself as the abbreviated "Reform" such as the website www.reform.uk which has led to some disputes regarding the name.

In November 2020 the trust voiced its opposition to the electoral committee when the Brexit Party, a British political party, intended to change its name to Reform UK. The charity feared that its non-partisan status would be brought into disrepute by the name change, and requested for the party to come up with an alternative. In January 2021, the Electoral Commission approved of the Brexit Party's name change to Reform UK.

Funding
In November 2022 Reform was given a 'B' grade for funding transparency by Who Funds You?, meaning that they named at least 85% of donors that provided more than £5,000 of funding.