Other Partners & Collaborations

Cara has a rich history of working and collaborating with many like-minded national and international partners to achieve shared goals. Without these partnerships and collaborations, Cara may not be able to continue its valuable work.

The Royal Society Cara’s 1933 predecessor, the Academic Assistance Council (AAC), was first accommodated in the attic of the Royal Society’s rooms in Burlington House on Piccadilly, and the AAC’s founding statement was issued from there. The then President of the Royal Society, Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (President, 1930-35) was one of its signatories, as were no fewer than three of his predecessors (Sir Joseph John Thomson, President 1915-20; Sir Charles Scott Sherrington, President, 1920-25; Lord Rutherford, President 1925-30, and the AAC’s first President) and two of his successors (Sir William Henry Bragg, President, 1935-40; Sir Robert Robinson, President, 1945-50). In all, Cara’s 41 founders included 14 Fellows of the Royal Society. The relationship has remained close, and Cara’s annual ‘Science and Civilisation’ lecture continues to be hosted by The Royal Society.

The British Academy The then President of the British Academy, John William Mackail (President, 1932–36) was one of the signatories of the AAC’s founding statement in 1933, together with two of his predecessors, Sir Frederic Kenyon (President, 1917-21) and H A L Fisher (President, 1928-32); as with the Royal Society, Cara’s 41 founders also included 14 Fellows of the British Academy. Sir Isiah Berlin (President, 1974–78) was one of Cara’s Trustees, as was Baroness Onora O’Neill (President 2005-09), who continues as a Cara Patron. Cara continues to enjoy excellent relations with The British Academy, who have generously hosted many of its meetings and events.

Scholar at Risk (SAR) Network SAR was launched in June 2000 as an international network of higher education institutions dedicated to protecting threatened scholars, preventing attacks on higher education communities and promoting academic freedom worldwide. SAR protects scholars suffering grave threats to their lives, liberty and well-being, by arranging positions of sanctuary at institutions in its network for those forced to flee. SAR also monitors attacks on academic freedom and produces an annual ‘Free to Think’ Report.

IIE Scholar Rescue Fund The Institute of International Education (IIE), a US independent not-for-profit organisation, launched the Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) in 2002. SRF provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries, to permit professors, researchers and public intellectuals to find temporary refuge at universities, colleges and research centres anywhere in the world. During the fellowship, conditions in a scholar’s home country may improve, permitting safe return; if this is not possible, the scholar may use the fellowship period to identify a longer-term opportunity.

Philipp Schwartz Initiative Cara is continuing to work, with its US partners SAR and SRF, with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany to support this Initiative, which helps at-risk academics to find places at German universities. The funding comes from the Federal Foreign Ministry and a number of German foundations.

Human Rights Defenders Platform In 2014, Cara joined the Brussels-based EU-funded Global Platform for the Temporary Relocation of Human Rights Defenders. The aim of the Platform is to offer temporary relocation to human rights defenders at risk and to facilitate the sharing of information and experiences to help improve respective programmes and collaborate over placements.

Pharmacy Schools Council (PhSC) Pharmacy is one of the most prevalent disciplines among our Fellows. Cara is grateful for the support of members of the PhSC, which has resulted in Fellows receiving placements at more than ten pharmacy schools in the UK.