There’s been quite a bit of change at the Trust over the past 12 months and with a new year, and a new website, it seems like a good opportunity to provide an update.
Following the departure of our Interim CEO Dr Eve Poole in February 2024, we ran a recruitment for a new CEO in Spring 2024 and were delighted in August to welcome Dr Hannah Garrow as our new permanent Chief Executive. Hannah joined us from the Scottish Government where she worked across various departments including lifelong learning and skills, public service reform and culture and historic environment.
In the summer, we also said goodbye to two stalwarts of the Trust, Sarah Huxtable and Dr Patricia Krus. Patricia and Sarah had been at the Trust for many years, and we wish them both well in their next adventures.
In their stead, we have welcomed Joyce Archibald as the Trust’s new Business Manager and Ross Ferguson as Grants and Projects Officer. Joyce and Ross, together with Dr John Thompson, now Grants Manager, will continue to deliver the Trust’s grant-making and operations. Reach out if you’d like to say hello or learn more about our work.
During this period of flux, we have prioritised the continuity of our grants, including to the more than 250 individuals who receive our Undergraduate Tuition Fee Grant each year, for whom we know the scheme can be transformational.
Like many funders, though, we are aware that there has also been a lot of change in the world around us, that people and organisations in Scotland continue to face challenges with rising costs and that Scotland’s public services including its higher education sector, are equally stretched.
With all this change, it is important that we take time to reflect to ensure that our approach continues to be right for delivering Carnegie’s legacy of access and improvement in higher education in a way that is fit for the current times.
In 2024-25, we will be taking time to develop a new Strategic Plan for the Trust, setting out clearly the outcomes we will seek to achieve through our charitable activities and the work we will undertake to deliver our goals and purpose over the period 2026-31. A key objective for the new strategy will be to recover some of the pioneering spirit and influence under which the Trust operated in its early years.
To provide capacity for this work, it sadly means that we won’t be offering any new Research Incentive Grants in AY 2024/25. This hasn’t been an easy choice, particularly following the decision to pause our PhD programme last year.
However, in 23/24 we committed over £900,000 to RIG projects, the majority of which are still to be delivered. Taking the time to evaluate the impact of this funding and to review our grant schemes in the context of our new Strategic Plan will ensure that we can continue to get the most out of our funding for students and researchers in Scotland.
Our Vacation Scholarships scheme will continue to run in 24/25. It opened to new applications on 6 December 2024 and closes on 14 February 2025, and our Undergraduate Tuition Fee Grant scheme will open as usual on 1 June 2025 for academic year 2025/26.
If you would like to share your thoughts on the Trust and our future, please get in touch.