Knowledge nodes and international networks of connection: representations of private philanthropy by elite higher education institutions

Strategic cultures of philanthropy: English universities and the changing geographies of giving

“…However, in all cases, the strategic actions of the HEIs in generating these connections relied heavily on promoting a strong sense of institutional identity and association with place (Hall, 2008(Hall, , 2011. Our analysis of HEI publications indicated that universities sought to attract private donations by appealing to their 'locational power', whether this be alumni memories of their former institution or, in the case of non-alumni, their prestige and contemporary significance (Hall, 2011;Liu, 2014;.Warren and Bell, 2014) In these ways, the universities acted strategically, using practices of 'advancement' to cultivate, and then trade on, potential donors' desire to be associated with specific places in order to secure competitive advantage (Rice, 2011;Ball, 2012). In effect, institutional and individual strategies came together in the form of philanthropic giving, with the HEI seeking to ensure that the personal decision of the donor mapped on to its institutional vision for future success.…”

“…their financial assets), and 'moral compass' (Schervish, 2006: 478-480). Within this complex landscape, we argue that there is more than one 'culture of philanthropy' at play (More Partnership, 2012: 11;Warren and Bell, 2014), with divergences amongst HEIs reflecting an institution's physical and virtual location within national and international hierarchies.…”

“…Much of this cross-disciplinary research has focused on university donation-seeking and philanthropic behaviour in the US, with a smaller body of work considering activities in mainland Europe (Jöns, 2009;Glückler and Ries, 2012) and Australia (McDonald and Scaife, 2011). Analysis of the undertakings of UK HEIs on this topic has, until recently, been neglected (Warren and Bell, 2014). particular sources came under considerable public scrutiny in the UK in 2011 following the LSE's links with Saif Gaddafi (Woolf, 2011) 2 , there has been a dearth of scholarly research into strategies deployed by universities to secure competitive advantage across spatial domains from the receipt, and then presentation, of philanthropic gifts.…”

“…Granted, geographers have begun to give attention to the connections between philanthropic funding and HEI image-making (Warren and Bell, 2014). Moreover, Hay and Muller, in their wide-ranging discussion on the current 'golden age of philanthropy ' (2013: 1), identified a number of areas which 'appear to warrant critical geographical inquiry ' (2013: 1), including: connections between philanthropic engagement and place; favouring of 'culture' and education; moral and ethical issues; and 'conscience, place and inequality', specifically, the extent to which individuals 'turn[ed] to philanthropy to salve their consciences ' (2013: 13).…”

“…More specifically, the UK government has, through initiatives such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE's) Matched Funding Scheme (MFS) 2008-2011, sought to 'promot[e] a culture of individual giving to higher education' (DCSF, 2007: n.p.). Accordingly, by 2012-2013, UK universities had received a record £660 million in new philanthropic cash income, a rise of 23 per cent over the previous year (NatCen, 2014) Yet, whilst emerging debates within geography have considered philanthropic giving and HE (Hay and Muller, 2013;Warren and Bell, 2014), there has been little examination of the impact of private donations on English universities -eligible to participate in the MFS 2008MFS -2011 on the transfer of 'effective practices' of advancement amongst HEIs located within, and across, national borders. This is surprising, given the shifting policy landscape and the spatial transformations inherent in, for example, transactions between institutions based in England and overseas donors, and knowledge exchange amongst advancement professionals.…”