PBE chief executive Matt Whittaker will leave the think tank after seven years in post and join the Nuffield Foundation, the charities have announced.
Whittaker, who has led PBE since 2019, will join the foundation later this month in a newly created role of executive director for research, grants and programmes.
PBE, shortened from Pro Bono Economics during Whittaker’s tenure, acts as a think tank for the sector and established the Law Family Commission on Civil Society in 2020.
Whittaker said he was “immensely proud” of what PBE had achieved over the past seven years “from supporting hundreds of grassroots organisations to increase their impact in local communities, to helping to shift government policies in ways that benefit many thousands of people”.
He added: “PBE demonstrates just what’s possible when talented staff, skilled volunteers, and generous and innovative funders all pull in the same direction.”
Last November, PBE announced it was halving its full-time staff numbers after seeing its income drop.
Whittaker said at the time that the think tank was winning a smaller proportion of funding bids while some of its “significant” multi-year awards had concluded.
PBE has begun its search for Whittaker’s permanent replacement, with recruitment opening no later than next month.
In the meantime, director of operations and finance Cassia Dingwall and chief economist Jon Franklin will lead PBE as interim co-CEOs.
New role
The Nuffield Foundation said Whittaker, previously chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, will play a key role in shaping and delivering its research priorities, leading its grants and programmes team and working closely with its other leaders.
Whittaker said: “Having worked at the intersection of research and policy for more than two decades, I understand the vital role funders play in shaping agendas and supporting innovation.
“I’m looking forward to working with colleagues at Nuffield to meet the many challenges the country faces by supporting rigorous, impactful evidence to underpin policymaking.”
Nuffield Foundation CEO Gavin Kelly said: “Matt joins the foundation at an important moment as we advance our new strategic direction, focusing on the key social challenges facing the country.
“His wide-ranging experience of using evidence to illuminate and tackle some of the issues of our age will be invaluable to Nuffield.”
