History
A personal history of Common Purpose and how it was founded by Julia Middleton, founder and Chief Executive
The idea Sources of funding The brand The launch
I first had the idea for Common Purpose on 29 July 1988.
At the time I was working for the Industrial Society, a Charity under Royal Charter, which was devoted to developing leadership skills in industry. On that day a woman called Jean Horstman - who worked for the then British American Arts Association came to see me. She was new to the UK and came to pick my brains on the links between arts and business in the UK. I remember being fascinated by her broad and deep knowledge of her home town of Pittsburg and asked her how she had gained it. She told me about the Pittsburg Community leadership programme that she had attended.
I resigned from my job the next day because I was determined to develop the idea in the UK.
It felt right to me because I was educated at French Lycees around the world and grew up with a deep belief in education as a way to change things in society. As a child in New York I had also been immersed in difference. Everyone was different in New York, and that was its energy and strength.
I had relocated to the UK and felt that there was something to be done here to realise this strength and that the community leadership programmes, by getting many different communities together, might help achieve this.
At the Industrial Society I had learnt a great deal about leadership and leaders, about how essential it is to have effective leaders in organisations. I had also learnt a lot about how to design and deliver leadership programmes. And I knew that collaboration and the ability to build productive partnerships was going to be a big issue for leaders in the future.
It all came together that what I had learnt about leadership in organisations was just as relevant to cities. So that's why I resigned.
Common Purpose was founded in 1989 with four staff in a small office in London...and a big idea
- The first courses in the UK ran in Newcastle and Coventry
- Common Purpose started in Dublin, Ireland in 1996.
In 1997, Common Purpose courses were launched in Hannover in Germany and Örebro in Sweden.
- The first course in South Africa was run in Johannesburg in 2000.
- Common Purpose Nederland was established in 2002 with a course in Amsterdam.
- Common Purpose Hungary began in 2006.
