Francis Davis is the founder of the Cathedral Innovation Centre and
movement first show-cased in Res Publica’s Making It Mutual collection. A graduate
of Warwick Business School and London (SOAS) university and has taught social enterprise, social sciences and community development at
Cambridge and Oxford. His publications on enterprise, EU anti-poverty
strategies, migration, public service reform, and social innovation have been the subject of parliamentary debates and cited in
national and international academic and media publications and output (including BBTV Radio 4, BBC
TV Question Time , US National Public Radio, The Economist, Los Angeles Times and the Straits
Times). Recent media credits include BBC Radio 4, BBC World News and industry publications.
Francis is a trustee of Solent MIND and from 1992-2007 he was a co-founder and
then chair of a social enterprise of the year now employing a thousand staff in
the health and social care sector, from 2009-10 Policy Advisor to the Secretary
of State for Communities and Local Government working with both Labour and the
Coalition.
He is also a non exec director of a local authority mutual spin out
business and a member of the Higher Education Funding Council Panel D on creative enterprises and
area studies for the Research Excellence Framework 2014 and in demand as a consultant and speaker. In
his spare time he is a long distance
walker and wild swimmer.