As academics we hope that our research has the potential to go beyond the ivory tower and have an impact on the world, and in turn, we want to learn from real-world practitioners. This has always been important to me, and I have recently been awarded ESRC funding to to pursue and promote this.
In particular, I am seeking to implement fundraising innovations – such as ‘give if you win’ and ‘opt-out social recognition’ – in a variety of contexts while rigorously testing their efficacy and impact. I am keen to facilitate controlled field experiments as well as less formal trials and pilots. In general I want to exchange knowledge with non-academic professionals, to discuss and learn more about specific fundraising tools, innovations, and impact.
For more information, including some specific ideas, links to accesible tools and resources, and a ‘FAQ’ thing, see Charitable Giving: Applying and testing research insights.