Initiatives of Change (IofC) is a diverse fellowship of people from across the UK who aim to live out the ideas and core values of IofC, with the aim of building a better society.

Structure is kept to a minimum but, in order to develop coherent strategies and to look after assets and properties, there is a central administration. This is run by the registered charity, The Oxford Group (charity number 226334, registered in England and Wales), with a Board of Trustees. It is also a company limited by guarantee. Initiatives of Change is the charity’s operating name.

Most management functions are carried out at 24 Greencoat Place in central London (link).

The Board of Trustees is elected from members of the Association of The Oxford Group.

The Board’s responsibilities include:

• The overall strategic direction of the charity;
• to ensure that IofC-UK’s affairs are well managed, and proper records kept;
• to ensure good governance;
• to safeguard the good name of the charity;
• to ensure that all legal requirements are complied with, including the need to work for the public benefit and file reports with the Charity Commission and Companies House;
• to ensure that the work and outreach of IofC are in accordance with the Objects of the charity as outlined in the Memorandum and Articles of Association (in effect, the company’s constitution).

The current Trustees are:

Dr Philip Boobbyer
Ms Andrea Cooper
Mrs Margaret Cosens
Mr Roddy Edwards
Mrs Angela Elliott
Mr Chris Evans (Chair)
Mr Francis Evans
Mr Simon Hicks
Mr Neil Mackay
Dr Nirmala Pillay

The Secretary is Kenneth Noble

Chris Evans (Chair)

Chris was born, and now lives with his wife Anne, on his family's farm in the west of England. Apart from two years' farming in the '70s, he has worked with Initiatives of Change in one capacity or another since 1969. The first two and a half years were in Asia, particularly India where he has enduring links, and since then he has been based in Europe. He was treasurer of IofC in Britain for 13 years, which gave him much conviction and some experience of what it takes to finance IofC. He is deeply involved in Foundations For Freedom and Caux Initiatives for Business, and for the last 6 years has served on the Board of IofC-USA. 

Philip Boobbyer

Philip was born and raised in Oxford. After taking degrees at Cambridge and Georgetown Universities and the London School of Economics, he moved to the University of Kent in Canterbury in 1995, where he became a lecturer in modern Russian and European history. His publications include S.L.Frank: The Life and Work of a Russian Philosopher 1877-1950 (1995), and Conscience, Dissent and Reform in Soviet Russia (2005). Apart from his academic work, Philip is an enthusiast for sport (he plays football and squash), goes to church (Anglican), follows current affairs, and occasionally goes fishing. Philip got involved with IofC through his parents, who were full time workers. He also met his wife, Laura, through the movement, and they have a young son called Peter.

Andrea Cooper

Andrea currently works as Business Manager at the BBC Switchover Help Scheme, having previously spent 6 years as a Director of Common Purpose, an international not for profit leadership development organisation, and seven years before in a variety of commercial roles at Procter & Gamble. Andrea is also a Trustee of the Irene Prestwich Trust, and Street League - a charity that uses the power of football to transform the lives of young unemployed people. She became involved with Initiatives of Change when a student at the University of Sheffield. Andrea lives in London, and visits her friends and family in Liverpool regularly.

Margaret Cosens

Margaret was brought up on a West Australian wheat and sheep farm. Her pre-university gap year as a volunteer with IofC turned into a gap-30-years, mainly in India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and UK. After marrying Dick, the emphasis of their work was on industry in UK, India and Australia. This included contributing to a specialist broadsheet, The Industrial Pioneer, and she managed the business side for 14 years. They lived with their two sons at the IofC Conference Centre, Tirley Garth, Cheshire, for 11 years. In 1998 she gained employment in the NHS, becoming Project and Progamme Manager for IT Clinical Systems implementation and development. She currently works for a company which supplies clinical systems to the NHS.

Roddy Edwards

Roddy was born in Walkerswood, Jamaica. After schooling in the UK, he spent six years working with IofC in Lebanon, Ethiopia and India. He returned to Walkerswood in 1974 where he focused on creating rural jobs particularly through Walkerswood Caribbean Foods which he and other villagers founded. Since 1994, he has been based in the UK from where he was responsible for international sales and marketing for the Walkerswood brand. The company was sold in 2009 and he now works for JMB Financial Services in Wenhaston, Suffolk where he and his wife, Ann, live. They have two children, Laura and James. He enjoys walking, tennis, ‘community politics’ and food (including growing it!)

Angela Elliott

Angela was born in Germany and educated in Switzerland and Wales and now lives with her husband, Will, outside Washington DC. A nurse, and mother of two grown children, Angela has known IofC from childhood, through her parents, Sydney and Linde Cook. Having lived overseas as the wife of a US Foreign Service Officer, she is particularly grateful for the bridges of friendship and trust that IofC has built, and continues to build, across national, religious and ideological divides. Angela's own faith 'home' is the Catholic Church, where she is an active volunteer.

Francis Evans

Francis was born in Paris and lived his early years in France where his parents were working full-time with Initiatives of Change. The family moved to Britain where he completed his schooling and went on to study agriculture at Reading University. He worked in farming for a time and later joined the Department of Trade and Industry, where he was responsible for education and skills issues in manufacturing. After 14 years as a Civil Servant Francis founded the Learning Grid, an independent charity that promotes science, technology and engineering in schools through hands-on projects and competitions. He is married to Rachel, a journalist, and they have one daughter.

Simon Hicks

After a short-service commission in the army, Simon’s path in conservation became clear when travelling through Kenya in 1969 and after two years’ training, he joined the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. He retired as Director to join Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey, where he remained for 23 years. He remarried in 1999 and moved to England to be near his daughters and parents, gaining an MSc at Bath, aged 55. Karen’s work led them to DR Congo for three years, when the charity, Conservation Works, was founded, which Simon directs. His connection with IofC began with the Forum for the Preservation of the Creation, at Caux, 1995.

Neil Mackay

Born and raised in London, Neil has since studied, lived and worked in Scotland, France and South America. He has a degree in French and Education and recently completed a Masters in Diplomatic Studies. He is a senior teacher at Kingston Grammar School and lives with his wife and two young children in Surrey.

Nirmala Pillay

Nirmala Pillay is senior lecturer in law at Liverpool John Moores University. Her research interests are in Public Law and Human Rights. Her latest publication is The Ethics of Legal Practice in Professional Ethics for a Humane Society (ed) McGettrick, B. 2012.

She served on the Council of Liverpool University and chaired the University's research ethics committee. She is currently on the chapter of Liverpool cathedral and a board member of the Hope Forum for Professional Ethics and Milapfest.

Kenneth Noble (Secretary)

Ken was brought up in Manchester and gained a BSc in physics at Imperial College, London, where he had much contact with IofC. Ken worked with MRA (IofC) as a full-time volunteer, initially in Malta for 18 months and was later based at Tirley Garth, the IofC residential centre in Cheshire, for seven years. He spent three months in Nigeria and then in 1980 moved to London to work as an editor of New World News. In 1987 Ken resigned and took a year's sabbatical visiting Canada, USA, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and India. On return he married Maggie and started working as an editor of For A Change magazine, which he did for 16 years. They have a daughter, Laura, born in 1993. 

If you wish to contact the Board, please use the postal address on this page or email the Secretary

Requests for funding

Please note that The Oxford Group does not make grants to non-IofC related bodies.

Board meetings

The Board normally meets four times a year in February, May, September and November with the AGM in June.

The Management Team
The Management Team carries out the day-to-day management of the charity within guidelines laid down by the Trustees. The current team is:

Chair: Francis Evans
Secretary: Kenneth Noble
Chief Accountant: Abrahaley Mebrahtu
Head of Programmes: Don de Silva
Centre Manager: James van Werven
Head of Strategy: Krish Raval
Human Resources: Denny Braggins
Communications: Mike Smith
Pastoral Care: David and Elizabeth Locke
Spiritual Development: Philip Boobbyer and Stanley Kiaer
Local teams: David Curtis
Properties: Campbell Leggat and Imad Karam
Volunteers’ champion: vacancy
People’s champions: Adam Papka, Scott Darby, Chetan Halai and Blanca Carioni.
Environmental champion: Scott Darby.
Business Development: vacancy

Note: many of these are voluntary positions.

Further Information
Please contact Ken Noble for further information. 

This version 21 December, 2011

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