Mark Damazer: Stepping into the role of chair

I have now completed my first substantive task as the new Chair – reading and scoring 100 or so of this year’s thousand-plus applications and am writing this – more or less reeling. My head is still throbbing – having absorbed the simply astounding range of both the topics described, and the candidates who have put themselves forward.

At this stage, pre-interview – my views are projected onto nothing more glamorous than a few excel spreadsheets. This necessary process distils the actual judging experience into something flat – but, of course, the experience is far from flat – forcing reflection on wildly diverse ideas about how to do something that would improve, in one way or another, the quality of life in the UK.

So, as I put to one side the manipulation of spreadsheets and drop-down menus – I can assert that there is something extraordinary about the Churchill Fellowship’s ability to attract people of all ages, at different stages in their careers, from across the UK to do something worthwhile and effective for their fellow citizens.

There are many scholarships and fellowships floating around the UK and they would all claim unique characteristics and virtues – but none of them is remotely able to compete with the Churchill Fellowship’s generosity of spirit in encouraging so many ideas from all quarters.

And I doubt whether any of the others convey the particular sense of UK society provided by the Fellowship. The UK is many things – some of them marvellous and some of them quite challenging. What the Fellowship does is provide a vivid and cheering sense of some of the UK’s best aspects. Meeting some of the Fellows – I go back to those applications – and reading how people want to improve services for their communities – is an energising reminder of both the value and prevalence of civic decency and conscientiousness.

My own notions of the UK are a reflection of my metropolitan upbringing and career. I am a creature of London (a city I love – and where I live) and although I got around a bit at the BBC, where I spent the bulk of my professional life, I was largely based in the capital. Churchill Fellows, by way of contrast, are all over the UK – cities, towns, villages – and their aspirations and projects are very often rooted in communities. It is easy enough to sense this, but I know but I will learn a lot by talking to Fellows about their passions and the impact they have had in places where they live and work.

I hope to sustain what Jeremy has nurtured and encouraged – namely the work of the Fellowship team – and to try to build on it – not least through the delivery of Activate.

This new fund has been designed to increase the impact Fellows can achieve after they have completed their learning, and after they have given some thought to how some extra Churchill Fellowship financial support could amplify the benefits of their particular Fellowship project. We haven’t yet fully funded Activate – the Anniversary Appeal will continue through 2026 – but we have certainly enough to get going and will be awarding the first batch later this year.

I am really looking forward to meeting everyone involved in the Fellowship – from trustees and advisory council members to our partners, to our wonderful community of Fellows – and hearing about what the Fellowship means to them. I am delighted to be involved.