Barry Knight

Multiple means to reach a single goal – new paper explores systems to #ShiftThePower

Posted on November 12, 2019November 12, 2019 by Barry Knight

In the 19th century, Victor LeGrand created an orderly, geometric railway system for France which was designed to bring about the full integration of the country. This was reckoned to be far superior to the Prussian rail system, which was a hodgepodge of lines run by 50 different companies. The French system, known as the…

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Let’s play a new European tune

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Barry Knight

New promise Thirty years ago, European philanthropy stood on the brink of new promise. The formation of the European Foundation Centre (EFC) on 9 November 1989 – the same day that the Berlin Wall fell – ushered in a new era for philanthropy as part of a vision for a new Europe. There was hope…

Announcing a new study on philanthropy’s role in producing safe, healthy and just societies

Posted on March 7, 2019March 7, 2019 by Barry Knight

Candid (formerly the Foundation Center) and Centris (Rethinking Poverty) are conducting a study on the role of philanthropy in producing safe, healthy and just societies. At a time when many people are questioning the value of philanthropy, the study aims to clarify its role in creating peaceful and inclusive societies that provide access to justice for all…

How to live better together

Posted on January 23, 2019January 24, 2019 by Barry Knight

By Barry Knight and Colin Greer I dream’d in a dream, I saw a city invincible to the Attacks of the whole of the rest of the earth; I dream’d that was the new City of Friends. Walt Whitman The unseen driver of our troubles causes no pain. But it is quietly destroying you…

The strange case of dignity

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Barry Knight

We need to build the capacity of actors on the ground to deliver an empowering strategy for users and beneficiaries, while satisfying the needs of multiple stakeholders, so that we can deliver our sustainable goals in accord with our vision and mission to foster human dignity. I wrote the above sentence in a 20-second stream…

Philanthropy needs all the help it can get

Posted on August 13, 2018October 22, 2018 by Barry Knight

It is good to see that the Alliance Special Feature on ‘Philanthropy’s Developers’ pays homage to some of the pioneers of philanthropy infrastructure. To my mind, one of these – Barry Gaberman – merits special mention. When he was Senior Vice President at the Ford Foundation, he saw the importance of the unglamorous backroom role played by…

‘How do we solve poverty if all your jobs depend on it?’

Posted on July 23, 2018August 30, 2018 by Barry Knight

Recent books by Barry Knight and by Alan Marsh and colleagues have shown that efforts to end poverty in low-income neighbourhoods in the UK have failed to make much progress. Darren McGarvey, or Rapper Loki, in his book Poverty Safari criticises the well-meaning but fundamentally misguided behaviour of the poverty industry which behaves ‘much like an imperial power’ and is not tuned into what…

Are we dancing on the edge?

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Barry Knight

By Barry Knight ‘Come to the edge’ was the invitation, and 200 came. The premise of the Edge Funders Conference held in New Orleans from 17th to 20th April 2018 was that from the edge you can see all sorts of things that you can’t see from the centre. The discussion lived up to its…

Rethinking Poverty: Towards the Webb Legacy

Posted on March 26, 2018March 26, 2018 by Barry Knight

By Barry Knight Purpose of this paper This paper has two goals. The first is to learn from reactions to the publication of Rethinking Poverty given during a wide range of public meetings and in written reviews. The second is to develop a work programme to follow up the book taking account of what we have learned.…

Philanthropy and Conflict Transformation

Posted on November 14, 2017May 2, 2018 by Barry Knight

By Barry Knight Carnage on the streets of New York, London, and Paris has taught us that anyone can be affected by violent conflict. In an interconnected world, borders mean little and war spreads easily. Such attacks, where anyone can become a victim, have their roots in deeper social problems. Violent conflict brings death, lost homes,…