Research centre dedicated to charities as organisations opens
Melanie May | 2 October 2023 | News
The Gradel Institute of Charity, the ‘first’ research centre to be dedicated to charities as organisations, rather than just to giving, opened last week.
First announced in 2019, the Gradel Institute of Charity is based at Oxford University’s New College, in a tower forming part of the College’s new Gradel Quadrangles.
The Institute will conduct research to educate and inform third sector organisations, headed up by Sir Stephen Bubb, the Executive Director and a former CEO of ACEVO. He is joined by Professor Peter Frumkin as Academic Director. Frumkin comes from the University of Pennsylvania where he is Heyer Chair in Social Policy and Faculty Director of the Center for Social Impact Strategy.
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On the Institute’s site, it says that it is “focused on using its research and collaboration with like-minded organisations to educate and inspire charities and other third sector organisations to embrace purposeful change to impact the world.”
It will conduct research, provide a global forum where ideas relating to charity can be discussed; provide programmes that help deliver change in the sector; and help create teaching, as well as executive development. It also aims to have a role in helping to develop charities’ governance and leadership, and to help them measure and improve their impact.
This will include through seminars, lectures, summer schools, publications and awards, and it will collaborate with sector bodies, other universities, national infrastructure bodies, and external partners and providers.
Frumkin commented:
“The Gradel Institute has the dual goal of catalysing the resources and expertise of the University of Oxford to develop new insights about charities, while also translating these ideas into programmes that engage leaders who are committed to achieving greater effectiveness in their work.”
The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, a supporter of the Institute said:
“The establishment of the world’s first research centre focusing on charity is an inspiring and essential step towards understanding and addressing the critical challenges faced by charitable organisations. May its work pave the way for a better understanding of the sector and empower individuals and organisations to create lasting and positive change in society.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.