About Alan Davidson Foundation
The Alan Davidson Foundation is a UK registered charity that supports a wide range of causes. There is a strong focus on MND research, care and initiatives that help support those with disabling neurological conditions. It also supports architecture and architectural initiatives.
Who started the foundation?
The Foundation was founded by Alan Davidson. It benefitted greatly from his experience of MND and his passions for architecture, visual arts and technology. He was diagnosed with MND in 2012, and lost the battle to the disease in August 2018. Alan was the founder of London based architecture visualisation studio Hayes Davidson, one of the early pioneers of architectural computer graphics (CGI).
Why was the foundation started?
Alan was committed to helping people suffering from MND and associated neurological conditions, he wanted to help initiatives that improved their lives through better care and support, and funding research work to find a cure for MND. The Foundation carefully researches the organisations that it funds, with a preference for ‘open source’ research data where information is shared globally.
Who does the foundation support?
The Foundation supports a wide range of organisations, charities and worthy causes. Funding is allocated after careful research into the project to help understand the circumstances, charity or research being proposed. A meeting with the individual or organisation is then arranged to discuss in detail the area of work that requires funding. Find out more about the projects we have supported below.
What is MND?
MND, Motor Neurone Disease is a terminal condition that currently has no cure. It progressively damages the nervous system, leading to muscle wasting. As damage progresses, the condition becomes more debilitating. Communicating, swallowing and breathing become difficult and eventually a person with MND may be unable to move and become ‘locked in’. MND is often referred to as ‘ALS’ outside of the UK.
News and events
Euan’s Guide
In late 2022, the foundation was able to allocate a one-off gift of £5,000 to support Euan’s Guide.
The Davidson Prize 2023
The Davidson Prize returns for a third year with the theme: “Somewhere To Call Home”. An obvious solution to homelessness is more homes. But until those homes are built, more and more people are in urgent need of a place of shelter.
The Davidson Prize at LFA
As part of the London Festival of Architecture 2022, The Davidson Prize presents an awards ceremony and drinks reception hosted at Pearson Lloyd’s Yorkton Workshops in Hackney to celebrate the longlisted, finalist and winning teams.
ADF supporting a PhD student at KCL
Alan Davidson Foundation is delighted to support a PhD student at King’s College London over 3 years starting in Autumn 2022. Leon will focus his research on TDP-43, a complex DNA and RNA binding protein central to the development of MND.
The Davidson Prize 2022
The Davidson Prize returns for a second year with a new theme: “Co-Living, a new future?”. The winner of the £10,000 Davidson Prize will be announced in June 2022.
University of Oxford
Alan Davidson Foundation awarded a gift of £210,000 to the University of Oxford for the Making MND Preventable research project.
