17/06/2025
The Good Lobby is delighted to welcome Neil Campbell as Senior Advisor. Neil brings over 20 years of experience working with nonprofits and foundations on advocacy, funding, and strategies for public policy impact, and will lead a new research and advisory initiative: Impact Under Stress.
This new initiative intends to explore the critical relationship between donors —primarily philanthropic foundations—and advocacy organisations at a time characterised by an increasingly polarised and uncertain political landscape. As NGOs and donors face both political and funding pressures, many are reluctant to pursue actions that challenge government policies, creating potential gaps in democratic participation around crucial public policy areas.
Impact Under Stress will examine how these partnerships influence advocacy success and resource deployment through qualitative and quantitative research, interviews, surveys, and data collection. The project will investigate how donors and advocacy organisations collaborate and share power, how funding influences organisational missions and activities, and how advocacy impact is defined and measured.
Through interviews and research across Europe and beyond, Neil and The Good Lobby research team will develop actionable recommendations for stronger funder-advocate relationships that can drive meaningful policy change. The initiative aims to help progressive movements do more with less, innovate beyond traditional advocacy methods, and build sustainable, effective advocacy organisations for the future.
“We’re delighted to welcome Neil Campbell as Senior Advisor to lead this new initiative aimed at unpacking the increasingly contested role that philanthropy play in the advocacy space” – said Professor Alberto Alemanno, founder of The Good Lobby “Neil’s two decades of experience at the intersection of philanthropy and advocacy makes him uniquely positioned to help progressive movements maximize their impact when not only resources but also access to power are stretched thin.“
For more details, visit the dedicated page.