Category Archives: Uncategorized

Are we relying on unreliable research?

Posted on February 4, 2014 by carolinefiennes

“Ask an important question and answer it reliably” is a fundamental tenet of clinical research. And you’d hope so: you’d hope that medics don’t waste time on questions that don’t matter or which have been answered already, and you’d hope … Continue reading →

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MPs should donate their payrise if they really don’t want it

Posted on July 13, 2013 by carolinefiennes

UK MPs are to have a payrise of £8000 which many say they don’t want. They may be unable to avoid it because their salaries are set by an independent body. So they should give it away. Giving Evidence’s Caroline Fiennes … Continue reading →

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Getting Better: Improving Education By Learning from Evidence-Based Medicine

Posted on May 10, 2013 by carolinefiennes

‘It’s chilling that when we think we are doing good, we may actually be doing harm’        – Dr Ben Goldacre Giving Evidence has underway a major project to improve the effectiveness of education in less developed countries, … Continue reading →

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Interesting snippets

Posted on March 8, 2013 by carolinefiennes

Some bits & bobs about evidence & effectiveness in giving. Updated as & when. Anonymous giving seems to prompt higher donations from other people. So says this research, in Britain. We’d have expected the opposite, both intuitively and because of … Continue reading →

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What was it about 2003?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by carolinefiennes

This seems to be the Year of Tenth Anniversaries of Good Things: evidently 2003 was a bumper year for setting up entities focused on improving philanthropy, charities and social enterprises.  Happy tenth birthday to: Innovations for Poverty Action: a global … Continue reading →

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Don’t ask “what’s the impact of this charity?”

Posted on January 31, 2013 by carolinefiennes

Longer article on this topic here—>

Posted in Effective giving, Impact & evaluation, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Influential charities you’ve never heard of: IPA

Posted on January 5, 2013 by carolinefiennes

In the run-up to Christmas, Spear’s is highlighting four charities which we recommend you consider supporting. You’ve probably never heard of them, and that’s deliberate. This week is Innovations for Poverty Action, which researches how best to structure development and … Continue reading →

Posted in Great charities, Impact & evaluation, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Influential charities you’ve never heard of: Beth Johnson Foundation

Posted on January 5, 2013 by carolinefiennes

This Advent Calendar first appeared in Spears Magazine. Just like investment opportunities, the best charities aren’t necessarily the ones which make most noise or which come to find you. So in the tradition of Advent calendars, each week this Advent … Continue reading →

Posted in Effective giving, Great charities, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Influential charities you’ve never heard of: Lucy Faithfull Foundation

Posted on January 5, 2013 by carolinefiennes

This Advent calendar, of influential charities you’ve never heard of, appeared in Spears Magazine. In the run-up to Christmas, Spear’s highlighted four charities which it recommend supporting. You’ve probably never heard of them, and that’s deliberate. This week is the Lucy … Continue reading →

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Why Fewer Is More in Charitable Giving

Posted on December 7, 2012 by carolinefiennes

This article was first published by Freakonomics and is co-authored with Phil Buchanan As any 10-year-old can tell you, multiplication is commutative: 2 x $70 is the same as 70 x $2. But not in charitable giving, it turns out. Making … Continue reading →

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