About Us
Our aims and programmes
We strive to benefit public debate through independent research, reasoned argument, lucid explanation and open discussion. We stand apart from party politics and transitory intellectual fashions. We make our work available in books, pamphlets, online, and in electronic formats and encourage authors to make their arguments accessible to non-specialists. Some publications are designed for use in schools and universities.
Uniquely among think tanks, we play an active, practical part in rebuilding civil society by running schools on Saturdays and after-school hours so that children who are falling behind at school can achieve their full potential.
Research – Improving the stock of public knowledge
Facilitating Informed Public Debate
We facilitate informed public debate by providing accurate factual information on the social issues of the day, publishing informed comment and analysis, and bringing together leading protagonists in open discussion. Civitas never takes a corporate view on any of the issues tackled during the course of this work. Our current focus is on areas such as Constitution, Crime, Economy, Education, Europe, Family, Health, Housing, Immigration and Welfare & Equality.
We ensure that there is strong evidence for all our conclusions and present the evidence in a balanced and objective way. Our publications are usually refereed by independent commentators, who may be academics or experts in their field.
Primary education for children falling behind at school
Supplementary Schools
Many primary school pupils are not learning the basics. On Saturdays and after school hours during weekdays we provide lessons in English and maths for children who have fallen behind. We use a no-frills approach which concentrates on high-quality teaching along traditional lines to enable children to master essential skills quickly. We emphasise small class sizes, reading through synthetic phonics and mental arithmetic.
Civitas operates twelve supplementary schools in London. The schools provide additional English and maths lessons for over 300 primary-aged children each week. Our aim is to encourage disadvantaged children to be high-achievers, to reach their full academic potential and thereby to open up new opportunities. The children also benefit from a two-week summer school. The effect of the schools on the lives of the children is noticeable in the short-term, and in the long-term it is incalculable. As a result of attending the schools we hope and expect that the children will do better at school and find themselves with more options when they join the world of work. We hope they will become prosperous and responsible citizens.
The demand for what the schools are offering is very high and we have hundreds of children on our waiting lists. Find out more at the Civitas Schools website.
Staff
Jim McConalogue
CEO
Dr Jim McConalogue is the CEO of Civitas and author of The British Constitution Resettled: Parliamentary Sovereignty Before and After Brexit (Palgrave Macmillan 2019), Rebalancing the British Constitution: The future for human rights law (Civitas 2020) and Unravelling the Covid State: From parliamentary democracy to the regulatory state? (Civitas 2021).
Anastasia de Waal
Deputy Director and Director of Education and Family
Anastasia was previously Director of I Can Be, a small charity she set up to focus on breaking down barriers to opportunity, and before that Deputy Director of Civitas. A qualified primary school teacher, she has also lectured at Cambridge University on social policy and the family. A former Chair of national family support charity Family Lives, Anastasia has extensive media experience and has written a number of publications on education and family.
Justine Brian
Director of Civitas Schools
Justine Brian runs the Civitas Schools project, founded over 20 years ago to offer after-school and weekend supplementary classes in English and maths to children in London who would not otherwise be able to access additional educational support. She oversees a team of 18-25 teachers, and hundreds of pupils each year, and leads on all aspects of the project.
Claire Daley
Editorial Director
Claire has previously worked in research, editorial, project management and leadership roles in the civil service, an education publisher, a medical royal college, and national and small charities.
Daniel Dieppe
Researcher
Daniel is a researcher at Civitas. After reading History at the University of Nottingham, Daniel worked in Parliament for an MP and Peer. He has also conducted research for the Family Hubs Network and the policy unit Tax and the Family.
Carol Bristow
Office Manager
Carol Bristow joined Civitas in 2010 as Office Manager.
Rachel Neal
Research and Administration Assistant
Rachel joined Civitas in 2020 after graduating with a BSc in Sociology from the University of Northumbria. She is a co-author of numerous Civitas reports, including Sovereign Wealth Funds: What’s the big idea? and Rotting from the Head: Radical progressive activism and the Church of England.
Founder and Chairman of the Trustees
David Green
Before founding Civitas in 2000, Dr David Green had been at the Institute of Economic Affairs since 1984, and Director of the IEA Health and Welfare Unit since 1986. He was a Labour councillor in Newcastle upon Tyne from 1976 until 1981, and from 1981 to 1983 was a Research Fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Visiting Fellows
Civitas has several Visiting Fellows. Find out more below:
Official Objects
“To advance the study and understanding of religion and ethics in society and any other charitable purpose.”
Our main activity is the advancement of education, but some of our work involves the ‘advancement of citizenship or community development’ and its precursor purposes as discussed in the Charity Commission booklet The Promotion of Community Capacity Building (RR5). Some work also involves the advancement of human rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Annual Accounts
Annual report and audited accounts for 2014
Annual report and audited accounts for 2015
Annual report and accounts for 2016
Annual report and accounts for 2017
Annual report and accounts for 2018
Annual report and accounts for 2019
Annual report and accounts for 2020
Annual report and accounts for 2021
Annual report and accounts for 2022
Annual report and accounts for 2023
Trustees
- David Green (Chairman)
- Dr David Costain (Treasurer)
- Sir Alan Rudge
- Tom Harris
- The Honourable Justin Shaw
- Peter Lloyd