Caroline Fiennes
@carolinefiennes.bsky.social
Director of Giving Evidence: helping donors make decisions based on sound evidence. (www.giving-evidence.com)
"Charmingly disruptive" - Nobel laureate Richard Thaler.
U.Cambridge visiting fellow. Former FT columnist.
Irrationally exuberant.
Church nerd.
"Charmingly disruptive" - Nobel laureate Richard Thaler.
U.Cambridge visiting fellow. Former FT columnist.
Irrationally exuberant.
Church nerd.
Pinned
Hello! I'm Caroline & I run Giving Evidence which supports donors & funders to be more effective by basing their giving on sound evidence: of where & why a need is, who's doing what about it, what works, & the intended beneficiaries' views.
Effective philanthropy.
And I'm doing a Masters right now😧
Effective philanthropy.
And I'm doing a Masters right now😧
Trump criticises 'decaying' European countries and 'weak' leaders
The UK praises Europe's
www.bbc.co.uk
December 9, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
Home Office Ministers state publicly, on the record, that they are deliberately making life worse for older people and people with disabilities who depend on care services, but it's worth it because it reduces net migration.
December 9, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Home Office Ministers state publicly, on the record, that they are deliberately making life worse for older people and people with disabilities who depend on care services, but it's worth it because it reduces net migration.
In addition to the £90 billion tax revenue forgone *every year* because of Brexit:
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brexit...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brexit...
December 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
In addition to the £90 billion tax revenue forgone *every year* because of Brexit:
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brexit...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brexit...
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
Civic tech gang. Anyone doing anything interesting around the Scottish and Welsh elections next year? Wanna chat?
December 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Civic tech gang. Anyone doing anything interesting around the Scottish and Welsh elections next year? Wanna chat?
What skill did you master that you will never use again?
Working in a company's chemical lab, I had to add compounds to plastic, burn them in air with various concentrations of oxygen, and time how fast they burned.
The people upstairs literally added compounds to paint & then timed it drying 🤣🤣
Working in a company's chemical lab, I had to add compounds to plastic, burn them in air with various concentrations of oxygen, and time how fast they burned.
The people upstairs literally added compounds to paint & then timed it drying 🤣🤣
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
Curling a freekick around a wall.
Curling a freekick around a wall.
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
Lacing up a 6-plate Steinbeck to view a film print to start an edit - and come to that, fixing a cut with tape
Lacing up a 6-plate Steinbeck to view a film print to start an edit - and come to that, fixing a cut with tape
December 8, 2025 at 9:41 PM
What skill did you master that you will never use again?
Working in a company's chemical lab, I had to add compounds to plastic, burn them in air with various concentrations of oxygen, and time how fast they burned.
The people upstairs literally added compounds to paint & then timed it drying 🤣🤣
Working in a company's chemical lab, I had to add compounds to plastic, burn them in air with various concentrations of oxygen, and time how fast they burned.
The people upstairs literally added compounds to paint & then timed it drying 🤣🤣
What do you think about a university teaching you to do X / telling you that it's OK to do X; then marking you down for doing X in your exam / assignment?
Has happened to me twice in a row now at UCL.
I'm not cool with it.
[Plus on a previous assignment, the feedback complained about my English!]
Has happened to me twice in a row now at UCL.
I'm not cool with it.
[Plus on a previous assignment, the feedback complained about my English!]
December 8, 2025 at 12:14 PM
What do you think about a university teaching you to do X / telling you that it's OK to do X; then marking you down for doing X in your exam / assignment?
Has happened to me twice in a row now at UCL.
I'm not cool with it.
[Plus on a previous assignment, the feedback complained about my English!]
Has happened to me twice in a row now at UCL.
I'm not cool with it.
[Plus on a previous assignment, the feedback complained about my English!]
So Sir Mo Farah, trafficked here as a child, is a "taker".
Right.
Right.
December 8, 2025 at 9:58 AM
So Sir Mo Farah, trafficked here as a child, is a "taker".
Right.
Right.
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
All those people who argue that Egyptian museums can't look after Egyptian objects properly so they have to be in Europe for their own protection:
what say you now??
what say you now??
Water leak at Paris Louvre Museum damages books at Egyptian antiquities department reut.rs/4pU3jIf
Water leak at Paris Louvre Museum damages books at Egyptian antiquities department
A water leak last month damaged hundreds of books in the Egyptian antiquities department at the Louvre, underscoring the deteriorating state of the world's most visited museum just weeks after a daring jewel heist exposed security flaws.
reut.rs
December 7, 2025 at 9:34 PM
All those people who argue that Egyptian museums can't look after Egyptian objects properly so they have to be in Europe for their own protection:
what say you now??
what say you now??
All those people who argue that Egyptian museums can't look after Egyptian objects properly so they have to be in Europe for their own protection:
what say you now??
what say you now??
Water leak at Paris Louvre Museum damages books at Egyptian antiquities department reut.rs/4pU3jIf
Water leak at Paris Louvre Museum damages books at Egyptian antiquities department
A water leak last month damaged hundreds of books in the Egyptian antiquities department at the Louvre, underscoring the deteriorating state of the world's most visited museum just weeks after a daring jewel heist exposed security flaws.
reut.rs
December 7, 2025 at 9:34 PM
All those people who argue that Egyptian museums can't look after Egyptian objects properly so they have to be in Europe for their own protection:
what say you now??
what say you now??
The new album from the awesome Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson is apparently diaphanous and pellucid.
And will augment your vocabulary! - we had to get the dictionary out... 🤷🏽♀️
And will augment your vocabulary! - we had to get the dictionary out... 🤷🏽♀️
December 6, 2025 at 12:09 PM
The new album from the awesome Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson is apparently diaphanous and pellucid.
And will augment your vocabulary! - we had to get the dictionary out... 🤷🏽♀️
And will augment your vocabulary! - we had to get the dictionary out... 🤷🏽♀️
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
6th December is the feast of St Nicholas who is depicted here putting gold pieces through the window of a poor man as a dowry for his three daughters.
BL Royal 20 D VI; Wauchier de Denain, Lives of the Saints; 13th century; France, Central (Paris); f.144r
BL Royal 20 D VI; Wauchier de Denain, Lives of the Saints; 13th century; France, Central (Paris); f.144r
December 6, 2025 at 9:16 AM
6th December is the feast of St Nicholas who is depicted here putting gold pieces through the window of a poor man as a dowry for his three daughters.
BL Royal 20 D VI; Wauchier de Denain, Lives of the Saints; 13th century; France, Central (Paris); f.144r
BL Royal 20 D VI; Wauchier de Denain, Lives of the Saints; 13th century; France, Central (Paris); f.144r
Behold the value of diversity: this maths team only found The Thing bc it had experts & a non-expert:
“I don’t think we would have found it without him [an undergrad]…bc experts traditionally [do a thing] But he didn’t …so the [results] were big and visible.”
www.quantamagazine.org/elliptic-cur...
“I don’t think we would have found it without him [an undergrad]…bc experts traditionally [do a thing] But he didn’t …so the [results] were big and visible.”
www.quantamagazine.org/elliptic-cur...
Elliptic Curve ‘Murmurations’ Found With AI Take Flight | Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians are working to fully explain unusual behaviors uncovered using artificial intelligence.
www.quantamagazine.org
December 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Behold the value of diversity: this maths team only found The Thing bc it had experts & a non-expert:
“I don’t think we would have found it without him [an undergrad]…bc experts traditionally [do a thing] But he didn’t …so the [results] were big and visible.”
www.quantamagazine.org/elliptic-cur...
“I don’t think we would have found it without him [an undergrad]…bc experts traditionally [do a thing] But he didn’t …so the [results] were big and visible.”
www.quantamagazine.org/elliptic-cur...
Studying at UCL:
"Today's lecture is cancelled but students should attend anyway to comply with UCL's attendance policy" 🤔
I don't think so, sweetheart...
"Today's lecture is cancelled but students should attend anyway to comply with UCL's attendance policy" 🤔
I don't think so, sweetheart...
December 5, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Studying at UCL:
"Today's lecture is cancelled but students should attend anyway to comply with UCL's attendance policy" 🤔
I don't think so, sweetheart...
"Today's lecture is cancelled but students should attend anyway to comply with UCL's attendance policy" 🤔
I don't think so, sweetheart...
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
Another report on how our high visa costs deter top R&D talent
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
April 22, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Another report on how our high visa costs deter top R&D talent
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Have any of you charities ever had any *drawbacks* of citing publicly that you are a charity?
eg. people thinking that the org is less classy or credible?
I'd assume not - the regulator exists precisely to increase credibility & trustworthiness - but am asking b/c this has come up.
Genuine Q. Thx.
eg. people thinking that the org is less classy or credible?
I'd assume not - the regulator exists precisely to increase credibility & trustworthiness - but am asking b/c this has come up.
Genuine Q. Thx.
December 4, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Have any of you charities ever had any *drawbacks* of citing publicly that you are a charity?
eg. people thinking that the org is less classy or credible?
I'd assume not - the regulator exists precisely to increase credibility & trustworthiness - but am asking b/c this has come up.
Genuine Q. Thx.
eg. people thinking that the org is less classy or credible?
I'd assume not - the regulator exists precisely to increase credibility & trustworthiness - but am asking b/c this has come up.
Genuine Q. Thx.
Excellent news 🥳🥳
- the charity regulator will be run by someone who really really understands charities - and isn't a party stoodge.
- the charity regulator will be run by someone who really really understands charities - and isn't a party stoodge.
The government’s choice for next Charity Commission chair has been confirmed
Julia Unwin confirmed as next Charity Commission chair
www.civilsociety.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Excellent news 🥳🥳
- the charity regulator will be run by someone who really really understands charities - and isn't a party stoodge.
- the charity regulator will be run by someone who really really understands charities - and isn't a party stoodge.
In one of the weirder "charity visits" I've ever done, we cracked out some maths last week! Bonus point/s if you know what's going on in these calcs*
Notice that the mathmos there are technically "charity workers", a dopey phrase sometimes used by journos to cover the vast diversity of this sector…
Notice that the mathmos there are technically "charity workers", a dopey phrase sometimes used by journos to cover the vast diversity of this sector…
December 3, 2025 at 8:47 AM
In one of the weirder "charity visits" I've ever done, we cracked out some maths last week! Bonus point/s if you know what's going on in these calcs*
Notice that the mathmos there are technically "charity workers", a dopey phrase sometimes used by journos to cover the vast diversity of this sector…
Notice that the mathmos there are technically "charity workers", a dopey phrase sometimes used by journos to cover the vast diversity of this sector…
A friend who is a historian had a still-born child. Obv terrible. She said that it re-framed & thereby explains a LOT of historical behaviour: at any given time, loads and loads of people were traumatised, grieving, and/or (before a child was born, or was ill) terrified.
My grandmother (on the German side) survived two out of her eight kids. I can’t even imagine how much that must have hurt.
December 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
A friend who is a historian had a still-born child. Obv terrible. She said that it re-framed & thereby explains a LOT of historical behaviour: at any given time, loads and loads of people were traumatised, grieving, and/or (before a child was born, or was ill) terrified.
Larry Summers - former Harvard president & advisor to the US president - is banned for life from the American Economics Association: it cites the "trust in mentors", after he was clearly trying to (re?)seduce a woman he was mentoring. (& seeking advice on it from an already convicted sex offender 🤦🏽♀️)
December 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Larry Summers - former Harvard president & advisor to the US president - is banned for life from the American Economics Association: it cites the "trust in mentors", after he was clearly trying to (re?)seduce a woman he was mentoring. (& seeking advice on it from an already convicted sex offender 🤦🏽♀️)
I really hope that someone HAD written to Tom Stoppard to tell him this, so that he knew while he was alive.
We can probably all do better at telling people about the difference that their work (& they themselves) have made.
We can probably all do better at telling people about the difference that their work (& they themselves) have made.
December 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
I really hope that someone HAD written to Tom Stoppard to tell him this, so that he knew while he was alive.
We can probably all do better at telling people about the difference that their work (& they themselves) have made.
We can probably all do better at telling people about the difference that their work (& they themselves) have made.
Also, save this for next time someone tells you that the arts have nothing to add to science:
This letter to @thetimes.com mourning Tom Stoppard's passing is a stunner.
What the sciences owe to the humanities cannot be quantified, predicted, or planned.
www.thetimes.com/comment/lett... HT @paulnightingale.bsky.social @harrywallop.co.uk
What the sciences owe to the humanities cannot be quantified, predicted, or planned.
www.thetimes.com/comment/lett... HT @paulnightingale.bsky.social @harrywallop.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Also, save this for next time someone tells you that the arts have nothing to add to science:
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
This letter to @thetimes.com mourning Tom Stoppard's passing is a stunner.
What the sciences owe to the humanities cannot be quantified, predicted, or planned.
www.thetimes.com/comment/lett... HT @paulnightingale.bsky.social @harrywallop.co.uk
What the sciences owe to the humanities cannot be quantified, predicted, or planned.
www.thetimes.com/comment/lett... HT @paulnightingale.bsky.social @harrywallop.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 2:08 PM
This letter to @thetimes.com mourning Tom Stoppard's passing is a stunner.
What the sciences owe to the humanities cannot be quantified, predicted, or planned.
www.thetimes.com/comment/lett... HT @paulnightingale.bsky.social @harrywallop.co.uk
What the sciences owe to the humanities cannot be quantified, predicted, or planned.
www.thetimes.com/comment/lett... HT @paulnightingale.bsky.social @harrywallop.co.uk
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
If you're in church this Christmas season, you can send me pictures of the church & I will try to tell you what is interesting about its architecture!
If you do it while you're in the church, I may even be able to do it in real time.
This is my church service* to you!
(*See what I did there...)
If you do it while you're in the church, I may even be able to do it in real time.
This is my church service* to you!
(*See what I did there...)
December 1, 2025 at 10:15 PM
If you're in church this Christmas season, you can send me pictures of the church & I will try to tell you what is interesting about its architecture!
If you do it while you're in the church, I may even be able to do it in real time.
This is my church service* to you!
(*See what I did there...)
If you do it while you're in the church, I may even be able to do it in real time.
This is my church service* to you!
(*See what I did there...)
Reposted by Caroline Fiennes
Funding & bursaries for classical musicians & creative projects:
- £16,000 per academic year for postgraduate instrumentalists
- £3,500 for independent promoters
- £1,000 to for people of colour looking to make a leap with their creative practice
www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/classical-mu...
- £16,000 per academic year for postgraduate instrumentalists
- £3,500 for independent promoters
- £1,000 to for people of colour looking to make a leap with their creative practice
www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/classical-mu...
December 2, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Funding & bursaries for classical musicians & creative projects:
- £16,000 per academic year for postgraduate instrumentalists
- £3,500 for independent promoters
- £1,000 to for people of colour looking to make a leap with their creative practice
www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/classical-mu...
- £16,000 per academic year for postgraduate instrumentalists
- £3,500 for independent promoters
- £1,000 to for people of colour looking to make a leap with their creative practice
www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/classical-mu...
Oooh: there's some fabulous flint-knapping on the outside of there!
December 2, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Oooh: there's some fabulous flint-knapping on the outside of there!