The research team has several sub-teams:
Julie McEver, Head of Research
Julie is responsible for helping deliver NPC’s vision of a unique, innovative research programme. She manages the research team and helps to build NPC’s research strategy and content. Prior to joining NPC, Julie worked both in the UK and the USA including roles at UnLtd, The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, as their Business Operations Director and in a variety of operational and strategic roles at Sun Microsystems. Julie has a BA and BSc from the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Business and an MBA from London Business School.
jmcever@philanthropycapital.org
Annika Benn, Administration assistant
Annika joined NPC in June 2008 and is the administrator for the research team. She has a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Cardiff University, and prior to joining NPC volunteered as an English teacher in rural Thailand.
abenn@philanthropycapital.org
Community
Esther Paterson, Research Analyst
Esther has co-authored the report Short changed, on financial exclusion and has also co-authored When I'm 65, which is an update on NPC's earlier older people report. Esther has a Masters in the Psychology of Religion from the University of Cambridge.
epaterson@philanthropycapital.org
Adrian Fradd, Senior Research Analyst
Adrian is currently producing an update on NPC’s report on prisoners and ex-offenders. He has co-authored Lost property, which looks at homelessness, produced A life less ordinary, about autism and co-authored the report Striking a chord which explores how charities are using the power of music to tackle social problems and change lives. Before joining NPC, Adrian completed internships with the UN Secretariat in New York, and the UN Development Programme in Uganda after gaining a Masters in International Relations from the London School of Economics. afradd@philanthropycapital.org
Angela Kail, Research Analyst
Angela is currently working on a project looking at good principles for grant making. She also co-authored NPC’s report on violence against women, Hard knock life. Previously she completed a report looking at young people in Scotland who are neither working nor learning. Prior to joining NPC, she was an Investment Analyst at Baillie Gifford, after graduating from Oxford with a degree in Classics.
akail@philanthropycapital.org
Rebecca Wyton, Research Analyst
Rebecca is currently updating NPC's report on prisoners and ex-offenders. Previously she worked at the Institute of Psychiatry conducting research into substance misuse, and at the University of Nottingham on research into cognitive and developmental psychology. She has a degree in Engineering from Loughborough University and a Masters in Psychology from the University of Nottingham.
rwyton@philanthropycapital.org
Education
John Copps, Head of Unit
John's research is mainly education focused and he has written the following reports: On your marks, which offers an overview on young people in education, What’s next? concerning careers guidance and Read on, which focuses literacy in schools. John also co-authored the research for Surer Funding: the acevo commission of inquiry report, which looked at the funding relationship between the public sector and charities in service delivery and What price an ordinary life?, a cost-benefit analysis of services for disabled children. John has a degree in Geography from Cambridge. jcopps@philanthropycapital.org
Dinah McKenzie, Research Analyst
Dinah’s main focus at present is charity analysis, and she is currently applying this to the educational sector as well as the health sector. She produced the report, The hidden assassin, which looked at the cancer landscape in the UK. Dinah previously worked as Director of European Equities at HSBC Asset Management. She also spent time volunteering at the Royal Marsden Hospital and The Institute of Cancer Research. dmckenzie@philanthropycapital.org
Eleanor Stringer, Research Analyst
Eleanor is a member of NPC’s Education team. She previously co-authored NPC’s reports into homelessness, Lost property, and young asylum seekers in the UK, A long way to go. Before joining NPC, Eleanor spent three months in Belize volunteering with a human rights NGO, after graduating from Oxford with a degree in Philosophy and Economics. She is currently studying for a Masters in Economics at Birkbeck University. estringer@philanthropycapital.org
Alex Steer, Research Analyst
Alex does research on education, skills and young people's development, and works on improving charitable responses to problems in these areas. He has recently advised on charity selection for the Private Equity Foundation and co-authored a report on funding children's play provision for Inspiring Scotland. He previously worked as an editor on the Oxford English Dictionary and taught English Language and Literature at Oxford.
He has an MBA and MPhil degrees in English from Cambridge. asteer@philanthropycapital.org
Health
Iona Joy, Head of Unit
Iona's primary area of interest is health, and since joining NPC she has co-authored Caring about dying on palliative care and support for the terminally ill; Valuing short lives, concerning children with terminal conditions; and Don’t mind me which focuses on adults with mental health problems, as well as What price an ordinary life?, which looks at the financial costs and benefits of disabled children and their families. She also worked on reports on HIV/AIDS in South Africa and the Great Lakes region. Prior to joining NPC, Iona had a career in venture capital with the Commonwealth Development Corporation in London, Uganda and Singapore after training as a merchant banker at Samuel Montagu. She is a director of The Funding Network. Read: How NPC compares to my previous work. ijoy@philanthropycapital.org
Matthew van Poortvliet, Research Analyst
Matthew is currently researching children and young people’s mental health, and is also responsible for updating NPC’s disability charities. Prior to joining NPC in September 2007, Matthew worked as an English language teacher in Ecuador and Cambridge. He has a degree in English from Oxford University and a Masters in Sociology from the London School of Economics. mvanpoortvliet@philanthropycapital.org
Clare Yeowart, Research Analyst
Clare is researching children and young people's mental health. She recently co-authored After the bell, a report on out of school hour activities for young people. Before joining NPC in November 2006, Clare worked in the Corporate Communications division of Weber Shandwick and as editorial assistant for a consumer magazine. Clare has an MSc in Economic and Social History from Oxford University. cyeowart@philanthropycapital.org
Tools
Tris Lumley, co-head of Unit, and Head of Strategy
Tris co-leads NPC Tools—a new team developing practical tools for charities and funders that help them to measure, analyse and communicate results, and is head of strategy at NPC. This team is also developing NPC’s approach to analysing charities’ results—the changes they create in people’s lives—first published in Funding success in 2005. Tris has also co-authored a number of reports within the community sector, on child abuse, adult and child refugees, and older people. Before NPC, Tris worked in management consultancy at Deloitte Consulting, as a due diligence and research analyst at Scientific Generics and as a research analyst at FreshMinds. Read: How NPC compares to my previous work. tlumley@philanthropycapital.org
Lucy Heady, co-head of Unit
Lucy’s main focus as a member of the NPC Tools team is on quantitative research, focusing on the results of charities’ work. She is currently working on projects to measure the impact of charities on children’s well-being, and to standardise reporting to funders. Lucy has also authored papers assessing the costs and benefits of tackling truancy and school exclusion, and of services for disabled children.
Before joining NPC, Lucy gained a PhD in physics from the University of Cambridge and completed post-doctoral work at the university. She also spent time working at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. lheady@philanthropycapital.org
Sarah Keen, Quantitative Analyst
Sarah is focused on quantitative research within NPC Tools. She has co-produced a report assessing the costs to charities of reporting to funders, and is currently conducting an SROI analysis for a Scpttish charity. Prior to NPC, she carried out research in India on social networks and microfinance and was an intern at the Department for International Development. She has a degree in Economics from Cambridge.
skeen@philanthropycapital.org
Gustaf Lofgren, Research Analyst
Gustaf joined the NPC Tools team in 2008. He has written NPC’s report on charities’ campaigning, Critical masses, and is conducting market research into the communication and use of results information by charities and funders. His last job was with management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, and he has previously worked in the Swedish public sector and volunteered in Cambodia. He has a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from St. John’s College, Oxford.
glofgren@philanthropycapital.org
Camilla Nevill, Quantitative Analyst
Camilla’s main focus is on quantitative work within NPC Tools, and in particular measuring the impact of charities on children’s well-being.
Prior to NPC Camilla was a researcher at the National Centre for Social Research in London and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in Johannesburg. She has a degree in Psychology from Oxford University, and a Masters in Forensic Psychology.
cnevill@philanthropycapital.org
Complex Organisations
Belinda Vernon, Head of Unit
Belinda is currently working on analyses of large and complex charities.
Belinda previously worked as a management consultant for Coopers and Lybrand, where she advised private and public sector organisations on their strategy and performance. She also worked as an equity analyst at CSFB analysing multinational engineering companies. Belinda has a degree in engineering, an MBA and is presently studying for a degree in International Relations. bvernon@philanthropycapital.org
Rachel Cornwell, Research Analyst
Rachel joined NPC in September 2008 and is currently working on the analysis of large and complex charities. She has a degree in Modern History from Oxford University and a Masters in Political Theory from the London School of Economics. Prior to joining NPC she completed internships at the BBC and the House of Lords.
rcornwell@philanthropycapital.org
International
Simon Blake, Head of Unit
Simon has co-authored report on financial exclusion in the UK and homelessness. Other areas of interest include child poverty and labour markets.
Simon joined NPC from the BBC where he worked as a broadcast journalist on Radio 4, focusing on social affairs and public policy. He was also a lobbyist at the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) for three years. Simon has an MSc in Social Policy.
sblake@philanthropycapital.org
Iona Miller, India Programme Manager
Iona is a senior research analyst currently working in India, with NPC's research partner, Copal Partners. She co-authored NPC’s report Hard knock life on violence against women, and also Don’t mind me, which focuses on adults with mental health problems. Iona previously worked as a junior researcher for the Liberal Democrat party after graduating from SOAS with a Masters in Development Studies.
imiller@philanthropycapital.org