Evidence in conversation
Connecting people, data and stories that shape the future
Read about the latest research, news and views from our own leaders, and others, which are shaping our approach to breaking the cycle of disadvantage.
FEATURE ARTICLE
From the Team
Social entrepreneurs invited to apply for Yirranma Place residency
The Paul Ramsay Foundation is inviting budding and existing social entrepreneurs to apply for a six-month residency at its new precinct for social purpose, Yirranma Place, located in Darlinghurst, Sydney. The residency will provide individuals and enterprises with a...
Paul Ramsay Foundation welcomes Liz Yeo
Since starting her career as a social worker 35 years ago, Liz Yeo has worked in the community sector across a range of small and large not-for-profit organisations, most recently as the CEO of Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. Later this month Liz joins Paul Ramsay...
Using data to drive impact – insights from Philanthropy Australia’s ‘Data Journeys’ series
Photo credit: The Smith Family By Alex Fischer (Head of Research) How are organisations and individuals across the for-purpose sector championing the use of data and evidence as tools for constructive and critical change, specifically to ensure opportunities for all...
Change in leadership at the Paul Ramsay Foundation
The Paul Ramsay Foundation (PRF), Australia’s largest charitable foundation, today announced a change in leadership. Professor Glyn Davis AC has stepped down from his CEO role at PRF to take on the role of Secretary at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,...
Not-for-profits looking for collaborative workspace invited to join new social purpose precinct
Not-for-profit organisations in search of a collaborative workspace are invited to register interest in a subsidised tenancy at Yirranma Place, Australia’s newest social purpose precinct. Located in Sydney’s culturally rich and vibrant Darlinghurst, Yirranma Place...
Understanding ‘Linkers’: New role emerges to help people navigate complex social services system
MEDIA STATEMENT A new report has found that Australian not-for-profit organisations are increasingly turning to an emerging group of workers, described as ‘Linkers’, who help people effectively access the complex social and community service system. The complexity of...
Paying what it takes: report warns many funders failing to cover not-for-profits’ actual costs
JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT Australian charities are being hamstrung by a lack of funding for their core operational needs, severely affecting their ability to deliver frontline services to Australians living with disadvantage. A new report by the Centre for Social Impact...
Paul Ramsay Foundation commits to paying what it takes
POLICY STATEMENT A new report by Social Ventures Australia and the Centre for Social Impact[1] has demonstrated that not-for-profit indirect costs[2] are often not being recognised or covered by funders in Australia, leading to lower capability and effectiveness...
Backing Kids: New podcast shines spotlight on Australia’s investment in children
MEDIA STATEMENT The Paul Ramsay Foundation today launches the new season of the Life’s Lottery podcast, Life’s Lottery: Backing Kids, examining how Australian society values children and the ways government spending and policy reflect this as an investment for their...
Five ways building disaster resilience could disrupt the cycle of disadvantage
By Alex Fischer (Head of Research), Galina Laurie (Partnership Manager for Resilience Portfolio) Australia is once again experiencing a state of disaster, with rainfall and flooding in Queensland and NSW shattering hundred-year records. Yet even though the 2022...
A community precinct for social purpose: Paul Ramsay Foundation opens Yirranma Place
Australia’s largest specially designed community precinct for social purpose and philanthropy officially opens today at Yirranma Place, also the headquarters of the country’s largest charitable foundation, the Paul Ramsay Foundation. A clear investment in the future...
Breaking Down Barriers report series – Roundtable hosted by the Paul Ramsay Foundation in partnership with the Melbourne Institute and Equity Economics
The Breaking Down Barriers Report Series, produced as part of an ongoing partnership between the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the Melbourne Institute, was the subject of a recent policy roundtable attended by several Commonwealth department and agency representatives....
Surge funding support for women’s shelters affected by lockdowns
For women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic have presented an additional barrier to seeking help, another layer of control to be used by perpetrators and further strain on service providers –...
Restacking the Odds to give children the best start
JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT FROM THE PAUL RAMSAY FOUNDATION, CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY CHILD HEALTH (MURDOCH CHILDREN’S RESEARCH INSTITUTE), SOCIAL VENTURES AUSTRALIA AND BAIN & COMPANY Australian communities will have valuable new tools, resources and practical data to help...
Sir Bill English joins Paul Ramsay Foundation Board
MEDIA STATEMENT The Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s largest philanthropic organization, today announced the addition of former New Zealand Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Sir Simon William (Bill) English KNZM to its board of directors. A former farmer and...
Paul Ramsay Foundation welcomes Goldman Sachs investment to grow Synergis
MEDIA STATEMENT The Paul Ramsay Foundation welcomes the announcement that Goldman Sachs is investing $137 million in Synergis Fund, in a major boost to the fund’s vision of providing high-quality housing for people with disability. An early backer of Synergis, the...
Measuring the contribution of intermediary organisations
By Martin Gould Improving outcomes for individuals and communities in Australia is complex. Disadvantage is multifaceted, with individuals facing compounding inequalities that can lead to cycles of disadvantage which are difficult to overcome. Similarly, the systems...
New podcast to drive discussion on breaking cycles of disadvantage in Australia
The Paul Ramsay Foundation today launches its new podcast Life’s Lottery, examining new ways to break cycles of disadvantage and delving into the latest research, ideas and innovative programs that are having meaningful impact in communities across the nation. Hosted...
First Nations Advisory Council to help steer Paul Ramsay Foundation forward
The Paul Ramsay Foundation is proud to announce the formation of a First Nations Advisory Council to continue to build its learning and understanding and further develop the Foundation’s engagement to better serve its purpose. The Foundation Board resolved in November...
Community Leadership and Disaster Resilience
Together with the Fire to Flourish team at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, the Paul Ramsay Foundation hosted a webinar on Community Leadership and Disaster Resilience on 26 August, 2021. The webinar invited reflection on the disruptive fires of the past...
New partnership to break the cycle of incarceration in the Northern Territory
JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT FROM THE PAUL RAMSAY FOUNDATION, THE NT ABORIGINAL JUSTICE AGREEMENT REFERENCE GROUP AND THE NORTHERN TERRITORY GOVERNMENT NEW PARTNERSHIP TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF INCARCERATION IN THE TERRITORY The Paul Ramsay Foundation today announced an...
New precinct to boost philanthropic sector in Sydney
MEDIA STATEMENT Australia’s newest urban precinct created for purpose-led organisations and social enterprises is set to open this year in Darlinghurst under the stewardship of the Paul Ramsay Foundation. Built in 1927, the historic former Church of Christ, Scientist...
Review of Initial Teacher Education: Roundtable hosted by the Paul Ramsay Foundation
The quality, diversity and capacity of the teaching workforce were the central themes of a recent roundtable convened by the Paul Ramsay Foundation to inform the Quality Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Review, established by the Federal Minister for Education, the Hon...
Tools to assess organisational resilience
Authors: Malcolm Garrow (Social Ventures Australia) & Anandini Saththianathan (Paul Ramsay Foundation) The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a heavy human toll across the world. The external shocks of 2020 also caused disruption within both the for-profit and...
The COVID pandemic and educational disadvantage: what do we know and what can we do?
Author: John Bush The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting many dimensions of our daily lives and raising questions about how public health and socio-economic shocks are affecting people, particularly children, experiencing disadvantage. At the Paul Ramsay...
Disrupting Disadvantage: Disruptive Questions
On 10 June 2021, the Paul Ramsay Foundation hosted the first of a new event series - Disrupting Disadvantage. This discussion focused on 'Disruptive Questions', and featured a panel of Leila Smith, Professor Marc Stears, Professor Marcia Langton AM and the...
Shelter from the storm: Learning from the rise in domestic and family violence during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has touched everyone in every corner of our community, but it has had a more profound impact on some. For women and children facing domestic and family violence, the pandemic presented another barrier to seeking help, another layer of control to...
Pandemic-proofing Australia’s education system
MEDIA RELEASE 9 June 2021 Researchers are urging key decision makers and sector stakeholders to adopt 16 recommendations to help close the educational divide and improve Australia’s treatment of children and young...
On the lottery of life: New books on the merits of philanthropy
Author: Glyn Davis Save the Children in Stockholm wanted to highlight the unfair distribution of global wealth, so it invented an online game called The Lottery of Life. This invited Swedes to a website to spin the wheel of chance. If you were born again tomorrow,...
Sustaining our partners: a national response to COVID-19
Since the start of the pandemic, we have worked to support our partners as they faced increased demand for their services and unprecedented challenges to their operations. This graphic timeline outlines the major events and achievements by our Sustaining Our Partners...
A Fair Day’s Work: Detecting wage theft with data
We’ve embarked on an exciting partnership with data.org to support the University of Melbourne in a new project tackling wage theft. The Fair Day’s Work project will deliver practical tools to help protect young people at risk of wage theft while also providing...
Building resilient charities to support Australia’s wellbeing
‘Vital support: building resilient charities to support Australia’s wellbeing’ is the fourth report in the Partners in Recovery series from Social Ventures Australia and the Centre for Social Impact. The report reviews the state of the charity sector a year on from...
Launch of On Life’s Lottery
Many of life’s opportunities are decided before we are born. Hear from Paul Ramsay Foundation CEO Professor Glyn Davis at the launch of his new book, On Life’s Lottery, in conversation with ABC journalist Geraldine Doogue in Sydney on 2 March, 2021....
The legacy of Hugh Stretton: A democratic thinker in the lottery of life
Author: Glyn Davis Hugh Stretton knew he was a lucky man – someone born well in the lottery of life. Born in 1924, he came into a thoughtful family with a strong record of public service. He was educated at fine private schools and excelled in his arts and legal...
Philanthropy Australia National Conference 2021: Introductory welcome by our Chief Program Officer Jeni Whalan
Introductory welcome Jeni Whalan, Chief Programs Officer, Paul Ramsay Foundation Philanthropy Australia Conference, 2021 Good morning, and thank you Ann for that introduction. I want to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which I’m...
How rereading can be ‘discovering a different book’
Luke Slattery Financial Review, 22 April 2021 Glyn Davis, chief executive of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, opens the book for AFR Magazine in this month’s What I Am Reading column. You’re an educator and a manager – and a writer. Who is the contemporary writer you’d...
Community bonds build resilience before disaster hits
Glyn Davis The Australian, 14 April 2021 When disaster hits, Australians are quick to help. Yet in the months and years after ashes flicker out, floodwaters recede or the cyclonic winds abate, a common story often emerges — afflicted communities feel left behind to...
On Life’s Lottery – Notes
Thanks for your interest in On Life’s Lottery, published by Hachette. This blog contains links for references in the text, with the occasional additional note on sources. Glyn Davis Pg 1 Ursula Le Guin, ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’, reprinted at...
New partnership with Data.org to address building momentum behind data science for social change and specifically a fair day’s work for all in Australia
Over the past year, we have been collaborating with data.org to support the Australian Awardee of the global Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge. The University of Melbourne’s interdisciplinary team has been selected for their project ‘A Fair Day’s...
Australians in poverty need a bounce-forward recovery
The economic recovery risks leaving many Australians behind. But it doesn’t have to be this way, write Dr Kate Harrison Brennan and Dr Jeni Whalan, issuing a call to action for the nation’s leaders. If 2020 has shown us anything, it is that crises – whether bushfires...
From the Team
Social entrepreneurs invited to apply for Yirranma Place residency
The Paul Ramsay Foundation is inviting budding and existing social entrepreneurs to apply for a six-month residency at its new precinct for social purpose, Yirranma Place, located in Darlinghurst, Sydney. The residency will provide individuals and enterprises with a...
Paul Ramsay Foundation welcomes Liz Yeo
Since starting her career as a social worker 35 years ago, Liz Yeo has worked in the community sector across a range of small and large not-for-profit organisations, most recently as the CEO of Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. Later this month Liz joins Paul Ramsay...
Using data to drive impact – insights from Philanthropy Australia’s ‘Data Journeys’ series
Photo credit: The Smith Family By Alex Fischer (Head of Research) How are organisations and individuals across the for-purpose sector championing the use of data and evidence as tools for constructive and critical change, specifically to ensure opportunities for all...
Change in leadership at the Paul Ramsay Foundation
The Paul Ramsay Foundation (PRF), Australia’s largest charitable foundation, today announced a change in leadership. Professor Glyn Davis AC has stepped down from his CEO role at PRF to take on the role of Secretary at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,...
Not-for-profits looking for collaborative workspace invited to join new social purpose precinct
Not-for-profit organisations in search of a collaborative workspace are invited to register interest in a subsidised tenancy at Yirranma Place, Australia’s newest social purpose precinct. Located in Sydney’s culturally rich and vibrant Darlinghurst, Yirranma Place...
Latest Research
Young workers at risk of long-term ‘scarring’ from the COVID-19 recession
MEDIA STATEMENT A new report examining the impact of the COVID-19 recession on young workers has warned of the need for policy intervention to ensure Australians at the start of their career journeys do not suffer long-term harm to their labour market prospects. The...
10 shocking facts about domestic violence in Australia – launch of ‘The Choice: violence or poverty’ report by Anne Summers AO
This is an excerpt from Dr Anne Summers’ speech at the launch of her research The Choice: violence or poverty, presented to an audience at Yirranma Place on July 7, 2022. You can find the report at www.violenceorpoverty.com I decided to do this work because, it...
Understanding ‘Linkers’: New role emerges to help people navigate complex social services system
MEDIA STATEMENT A new report has found that Australian not-for-profit organisations are increasingly turning to an emerging group of workers, described as ‘Linkers’, who help people effectively access the complex social and community service system. The complexity of...
Paying what it takes: report warns many funders failing to cover not-for-profits’ actual costs
JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT Australian charities are being hamstrung by a lack of funding for their core operational needs, severely affecting their ability to deliver frontline services to Australians living with disadvantage. A new report by the Centre for Social Impact...
Five ways building disaster resilience could disrupt the cycle of disadvantage
By Alex Fischer (Head of Research), Galina Laurie (Partnership Manager for Resilience Portfolio) Australia is once again experiencing a state of disaster, with rainfall and flooding in Queensland and NSW shattering hundred-year records. Yet even though the 2022...
Latest Research
Young workers at risk of long-term ‘scarring’ from the COVID-19 recession
MEDIA STATEMENT A new report examining the impact of the COVID-19 recession on young workers has warned of the need for policy intervention to ensure Australians at the start of their career journeys do not suffer long-term harm to their labour market prospects. The...
10 shocking facts about domestic violence in Australia – launch of ‘The Choice: violence or poverty’ report by Anne Summers AO
This is an excerpt from Dr Anne Summers’ speech at the launch of her research The Choice: violence or poverty, presented to an audience at Yirranma Place on July 7, 2022. You can find the report at www.violenceorpoverty.com I decided to do this work because, it...
Understanding ‘Linkers’: New role emerges to help people navigate complex social services system
MEDIA STATEMENT A new report has found that Australian not-for-profit organisations are increasingly turning to an emerging group of workers, described as ‘Linkers’, who help people effectively access the complex social and community service system. The complexity of...
Paying what it takes: report warns many funders failing to cover not-for-profits’ actual costs
JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT Australian charities are being hamstrung by a lack of funding for their core operational needs, severely affecting their ability to deliver frontline services to Australians living with disadvantage. A new report by the Centre for Social Impact...
Five ways building disaster resilience could disrupt the cycle of disadvantage
By Alex Fischer (Head of Research), Galina Laurie (Partnership Manager for Resilience Portfolio) Australia is once again experiencing a state of disaster, with rainfall and flooding in Queensland and NSW shattering hundred-year records. Yet even though the 2022...