Rhodri Davies

Rhodri Davies is a widely-respected expert and commentator on philanthropy and civil society issues. He is the author of Public Good by Private Means: How philanthropy shapes Britain, which traces the history of philanthropy in Britain and what it tells us about the modern context.

He is currently in the process of establishing (with the support of the Pears Foundation) a new entity that will focus on developing better understanding of and engagement with philanthropy, and also works in-house at the Pears Foundation to help them and their partner organisations think through philanthropy issues. He was formerly Head of Policy at Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), and established and led Giving Thought – CAF’s think tank focussing on current and future issues affecting philanthropy and civil society. Rhodri also launched and hosted CAF’s popular bi-weekly Giving Thought podcast, and has researched, written and presented on a wide range of topics – from charity taxation to the civil society applications of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Rhodri graduated from the University of Oxford with a first-class degree in Mathematics and Philosophy and embarked upon an academic career before migrating into public policy work, where he has spent over a decade specialising in the policy aspects of philanthropy and charitable giving. He is involved with a number of external projects and steering groups, including the World Economic Forum Technology and Social Justice Initiative, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Better Giving Studio and the Wellcome Trust-funded Border Crossings project (exploring the relationship between voluntary action and the NHS since 1948).  

Postgraduate, on Masters in Philanthropic Studies course