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Caroline Fiennes

@carolinefiennes.bsky.social

2.5K followers 330 following 1.8K posts

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.

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · Nov 13

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😧

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 2m

When USians talk about the US's colonial history, they rarely seem to remember/ know that the US was a colonial power. Liberia was a US colony - in which some Black people took others as slaves, and it didn't pan out very well.

Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 1d

In 1857, Thomas Howland became Providence, RI's first Black elected official.

Later that year, he decided to emigrate to Liberia with his wife & daughter after the Dred Scott case denied Black people protections of U.S. citizenship. He was denied a passport.

Thomas Howland, 1856
John Blanchard

Portrait of a distringuished Black man from the 19th centrure wearing fine clothes, including high collar and tie of the day.
Museum Text:
Thomas Howland, the subject of this unusually expressive portrait, was a dock worker in Providence, Rhode lsland, In 1857 he became the city's first Black elected oficial when he was amed warden of its Third Ward. However, that same year he decided to emigrate to Liberia with his wite and daughter, perhaps in response to the recent Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott case that denied African Americans the protections of U.S. citizenship. Because of this decision, Howland's application for a passport was denied, despite his status as a free man with the right to vote in his home state (he did eventually make it to Liberia). Howland's confident posture echoes that of the earlier Portrait of a Gentleman shown nearby, the fashionable attire of both sitters serving to reinforce thelir self-possession.

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 15h

Chester cathedral is astonishing in that you can get here: James' picture 👇🏼 is taken from *up on the East wall, above the High Altar* (I know coz I've been up there!) Only in v few churches is that possible: for one thing, there's often a massive window or apse above the High Altar!

James' photo is taken from the area marked: a walkway in the East wall, immediately below the great East window (which isn't that big, tbh 🤣) and above the High Altar.

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 19h

Very good 🤜🏼🤛🏼

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 20h

Warm relationships within a family: like she & William have with Harry...or Uncle Andrew?

And so what that their kids don't have phones? - the eldest one is only 12 🤦🏽‍♀️

They just make noise.

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 20h

Wow. Top academics - both Nobel laureates and both immigrants into the US - are leaving the US:

(Good luck to them, learning Swiss German...🥺🤣)

Florian Scheuer @florianscheuer.bsky.social · 1d

I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.

🧵 1/7

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 21h

Even despite that country being *really very rich*!!

Reposted by Caroline Fiennes

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 1d

Oh: the guy who told the Covid inquiry that he couldn't use WhatsApp has now got jobs with two tech firms.
Funny old game.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rishi Sunak hired by Microsoft and Anthropic as paid adviser

The former prime minister has been told not to lobby the UK government by the appointments watchdog.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 1d

That's not a helpful contribution.

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 1d

@profannawatts.bsky.social
"Particles in stars blah blah": I am so here for that
🤣🎉

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 1d

Oh: the guy who told the Covid inquiry that he couldn't use WhatsApp has now got jobs with two tech firms.
Funny old game.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rishi Sunak hired by Microsoft and Anthropic as paid adviser

The former prime minister has been told not to lobby the UK government by the appointments watchdog.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Caroline Fiennes

Prof Anna Watts @profannawatts.bsky.social · 1d

Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.

Headline from an article in Nature this week that states "Prizes must recognize machine contributions to discovery. The future of science will be written by humans and machines together. Awards should reflect that reality."

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 1d

Nobel Peace Prize for Giselle Pelicot, please!

That prize is often awarded to people who fight for other people's rights - eg, Malala - not just for statecraft.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Man who appealed Pelicot rape conviction handed longer jail term

A French court increases by a year the jail term of the only man who challenged his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 1d

Looks fantastic! Brava you 💪🏽

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 1d

Lol. Even people who go to the Nobel Prize website haven't read the Hungarian guy's stuff 🤣

Poll on the Nobel Prize website. 86% of respondents haven't read anything by today's literature laureate 🤣

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 2d

How are people using AI for languages in Africa & what can it do? Big conf on this tomorrow, in Uganda, led by Sunbird AI (Ugandan non-profit), which is also launching its multi-language LLM Sunflower:

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Ai FOR AFRICAN LANGUAGES CONFERENCE 2025-VIRTUAL ACCESS(HYBRID). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

us06web.zoom.us

Reposted by Caroline Fiennes

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 3d

A reminder of how Mrs Thatcher's Conservative party in 1983, an era featuring much more widespread racial prejudice in the public, approached the issue of race and national identity:

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 2d

Nobel Peace Prize is tomorrow!
Let's all make one confident prediction.....🤦🏽‍♀️

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 3d

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 2d

Really amazing responses here - a very many of them 👇🏼

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 3d

Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 2d

I met & became pals with somebody who then got a Nobel Prize!
So I got to write a "congrats on your Nobel Prize" card, which is really quite something.

Also in many years, >50% of my company's revenue has been from people/ orgs whom I've met on social media(!)
And that's aside from the ideas.

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 3d

Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah,but you also recommended @jowolff.bsky.social and he turned oùt to be a total rabbit hole 🤣🤣

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 2d

I do love it when people award me a free PhD!! 👍🏽

Excerpt of an email address to me as "Dr Fiennes"

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 3d

Also, the website on which she was so charmingly advertised was literally called "without her knowledge". 🤦🏽‍♀️

He's going to have a terrible time defending himself. I might even watch!

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Reposted by Caroline Fiennes

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 3d

A reminder that this week the Conservatives announced they want a “British ICE”

John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 3d

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat.

For the crime of … complaining about government policy.

Core 1A speech.

With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 3d

Here’s video of the incident

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Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 3d

An all-time favourite cathedral photo! (That's me...amid the angels!)

When the lady opened up those panels, we all gasped: so unexpected.
View into the crossing/ nave to die for!

Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes.bsky.social · 3d

What are your cathedral tours, and can I come on them???
Sounds great.