Our work
Transforming Brain Cancer Care Across
the UK
As a funder and leader of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, The Tessa Jowell Foundation works in partnership with clinicians, hospitals, researchers, patients, and policymakers to lead that change. Brain cancer is the deadliest cancer for children and for people under 40 in the UK, but too often, treatment falls short. We fund groundbreaking innovation, strengthen hospital services, and advocate nationally so that every patient, wherever they live, can access world-class treatment. Our mission is simple: better care, better choices, better hope for everyone facing brain cancer.
Our Leadership and Advocacy
Brain cancer is the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in the UK.
For too long, patients like Tessa have been faced with limited treatment options leading to poor clinical outcomes and unequal access to care and expertise.
We are changing that.
Leading the charge
As a founding funder and strategic partner of the Tessa Jowell Cancer Mission, we fund work with clinicians, researchers, policymakers and patients, to drive innovation and ensure every patient can access world-leading care, wherever they live.
Transforming Brain Cancer Care for Everyone
The Tessa Jowell Foundation works in partnership with clinicians, hospitals, researchers, patients, and policymakers to:
Raise standards of care and treatment
across NHS hospitals through the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission.
Champion patient voices
to shape policy and improve care pathways.
Promote equity
so that every patient has access to world-class care in their local hospital.
Our work continues Tessa Jowell’s vision:
"More people to live longer, better lives with cancer."
Our impact
As a founding funder and strategic partner of the Tessa Jowell Cancer Mission, we fund work with clinicians, researchers, policymakers and patients, to drive innovation and ensure every patient can access world-leading care, wherever they live.
We fund and provide leadership to initiatives that are transforming brain cancer care for adults and paediatrics care across the UK
Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence for Adults and Children
14 adult and 5 children’s Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence that serve a catchment area of 40 million people across the UK, setting new standards for world-class brain cancer care. Many additional centres are working towards this status with the support of the Foundation.
43 of 47 NHS neuro-oncology centres are part of the Tessa Jowell Network, where they gain access to targeted support to improve services and share best practices to drive systems improvements.
Tessa Jowell Academy
A free, national training platform for healthcare professionals - supporting learning, collaboration, sharing of best practice, and continuous improvement in brain cancer care.
Fellowship Programme
Seed funding the inaugural Tessa Jowell Fellowship scheme. These fellowships provide specialist training for future leaders in brain cancer care and treatment, delivered in partnership with NIHR.
Campaigning and Advocacy
Through our advocacy, we harness the power of people and partnerships to push for lasting change.
We support the Angel Mums and other patient groups to ensure their voices are heard at the highest levels, including meetings with the Department of Health and Social Care to call for greater brain cancer funding.
We collaborate with values-aligned organisations such as Brain Cancer Justice, a powerful patient-led movement campaigning for increased investment in brain cancer research.
As active members of the Campaigns Council, we help unite charities within the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to speak with one coordinated, influential voice. Together, we work across the brain cancer community to raise awareness, amplify patient experiences, and drive the funding and progress this field so urgently needs.
Early Childhood Development
Tessa Jowell believed that every child—no matter their background—deserves the best possible start in life. Throughout her career, she championed early years support as a powerful force for social justice, shaping national policy that continues to benefit families today. From pioneering Sure Start centres to advancing holistic approaches to child development, Tessa’s work transformed how society understands and invests in the earliest years.
The Tessa Jowell Foundation carries forward this vision by co-founding Start Strong, which will launch its work in 2026. We believe we need to come together and create a burning platform on this issue that will ignite the public, the government, the media and business to act with ambition, urgency and demonstrate a long-term commitment to transform and then embed our societal prioritisation of Early Childhood.
Start Strong
The UK has some of the highest levels of childhood inequality in Europe, with lasting effects on children’s development, life chances, and the health of our society. Addressing this challenge demands long-term investment, bold advocacy, and a shared commitment to change.
In 2025, we came together with
a group of leading philanthropic organisations united by a shared goal: tackling childhood inequality. Together, we founded Start Strong - a new collective initiative dedicated to transforming communications, advocacy and action on Early Childhood.
This work continues Tessa’s belief in the importance of and commitment to giving every child the best possible start in life. Tessa championed early years policy throughout her career, recognising that investment in early childhood is one of the most powerful ways to build a fairer society.
Our mission is to inspire long-term, ambitious investment and action in early years development by creating powerful, evidence-based communications that unites the community and engages the public. Through this work, we aim to build a strong and united voice for early childhood - one that shifts public attitudes, influences policy and secures early years development as a national priority.
By creating a compelling, evidence-led story about the lifelong value of investing in early childhood, we aim to drive the sustained action children deserve.