The successful bids to establish the UK’s first independent, multidisciplinary, and academically based Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy have been announced, with Professor Jenny Harrow from Cass Business School named as the Director of the new Centre.

Established and funded by The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in the Cabinet Office, The Carnegie UK Trust and the Scottish Government, the Centre will receive a total joint investment of £2.2m over 5 years, and will support high-quality independent research aimed at influencing policy and practice decisions in the UK as well as developing the necessary evidence base to better understand charitable giving and philanthropy issues.

Professor Harrow will run the centre's hub, which will co-ordinate the three programmes, or 'spokes'. These comprise Individual and Business Giving, led by Professor Charles Harvey and based at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strathclyde University; Charitable Giving and Social Redistribution, led by Professor John Mohan from Southampton University and Dr Iain Wilkinson at Kent University; and Institutionalised Giving Structures – based at Cass Business School and Edinburgh University, which will be led by Professor Jenny Harrow and Professor Stephen Osborne.

Beth Breeze, Philanthropy UK’s Publications Editor, will be working on ‘spoke’ two of the programme and said of the announcement, "We are delighted to have received funding and are looking forward to working with colleagues in the hub and other two spokes to make the best possible contribution to furthering the study of philanthropy and charitable giving in the UK."