Dan Corry: Philanthropy & Civil Society Post-Pandemic

In this episode I talk to Dan Corry, Chief Executive of NPC – a UK think tank and consultancy for the social sector. We discuss NPC's "Rethink, Rebuild" project, and how the pandemic might reshape philanthropy and civil society. Including:

• What does it mean to take a systems approach whens setting strategy, and why is it important?
• To what extent might erode individual organisational identity over time? Is that a problem, or a good thing?
• Is there too much competition and not enough collaboration in the charity sector? Why is this?
• Why are existing approaches to collaboration not always good at ensuring equity and fairness?
• What kind of challenges are there for traditional grantmakers when it comes to bringing communities and people with lived experience into decision making processes?
• Are there signs that funders are changing their behaviour during the current crisis? (Moving to unrestricted funding, trust-based grantmaking etc.) Is this likely to lead to longer-term changes?
• How can funders strike the right balance between taking a trust-based approach and not placing unnecessary reporting burdens on grantees, and having sufficient measurement to ensure they still know their funding is working?
• What role can data play in making philanthropy and grantmaking more effective and equitable?
• How do we enable and incentivise data sharing approaches?
• What will be required to convince local and central govt, and public sector bodies, of the merits of sharing their data with charities?
• Is too much of the emphasis in the current UK government “Levelling Up” agenda on physical infrastructure?
• How do we get government to think of social infrastructure alongside physical infrastructure?
• Do we need to “level up” the charity sector itself, in order to overcome geographic imbalances in where there is provision and resources?
• What is the role of government when it comes to philanthropy & civil society? E.g. To acknowledge it, to craft a narrative about the role it plays, to support it actively, to hold it to account etc?
• How can we get better understanding and clearer narratives about philanthropy/civil society in the minds of policymakers?
• Are there any practical barriers that are currently limiting the ability of civil society to “have a seat at the table” when it comes to policy discussions? What could we do to overcome these?

Related Links:

• NPC's website
• NPC's Rethink, Rebuild resource hub
• Dan's speech at the recent NPC Ignites conference
• The piece I wrote for 360 Giving on why open data could help drive a better culture of philanthropy
• My comment piece with Dan Fluskey of CIOF for Civil Society on "How Fundraising and Philanthropy Can Help 'Level Up'"

–