
Rhodri Davies
Consultant
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 (which is exploring the relationship between voluntary action and the NHS since 1948).
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.
Rhodri is now offering zoom ‘consultations’ for grantee CEOs who have a question about philanthropy or who would like to explore how greater engagement with philanthropy might support them in their work. Please email Rachel to schedule a chat.
Rhodri also works part-time as a Pears Fellow in the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent. 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 created and hosted CAF’s popular bi-weekly Giving Thought podcast -which ran for over 100 episodes between 2017 and 2020. He 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.