Who we help

The Foundation supports a wide range of causes with a strong focus on MND research, care and initiatives that benefit those with disabling neurological conditions, as well as architecture and architectural visualisation initiatives.

MND research and care

The Foundation is committed to helping people with MND and associated neurological conditions. It supports initiatives that improve people with MND’s lives through better care and support. The foundation is also interested in funding research work to find a cure for MND.

Medical science and research

The Foundation is helping a range of charities and projects focused on scientific research, medical trials and neurological research. It hopes to support projects that focus on reaching a deeper understanding of neurological diseases and how to apply their findings to new therapies.

Architectural initiatives

The Foundation has a strong link to architecture and supports initiatives based around the importance of our built environment, new technologies and design. We will be announcing our involvement in some exciting new projects including bursaries and grants.

Projects we support

MND-SMART

In September 2023, the Alan Davidson Foundation pledged £1.275M investment in MND-SMART over 5 years to further increase opportunities for people living with MND across the UK to participate in the trial. MND-SMART is an innovative drugs trial designed to speed up the time it takes to find medicines that can slow, stop, or reverse the progression of, MND.

Tricals

In October 2020, the Alan Davidson Foundation agreed to fund a major 3 year research project with King’s College and the University of Sheffield, jointly funded with My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. The Alan Davidson Foundation and MN5D are fully funding Ireland and seven other UK sites. The project is yet to be announced publicly but already underway.

Funding Neuro

In November 2021, the Alan Davidson Foundation awarded a gift of £75,000 to further research by Prof Steven Gill into gene therapy toxicology study, a novel route of administration of a drug via a system implanted into the brain. This project is also funded by My Name’5 Doddie Foundation (MN5D).

Scottish Huntington’s Association

Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA) was established over 30 years ago by families and has grown into an extensive Scotland-wide network of specialist clinical services, financial wellbeing support and youth services. Huntington’s disease (HD) is a hereditary, life-shortening, neurological illness. The symptoms of HD are described as having Motor Neurone’s (MND), Parkinson’s and Dementia simultaneously.

Favell Day Services

The team provides benefit and social care advice; help with applications; liaise with multidisciplinary community health teams and advocate for our members to local authority services. We promote and organise physical care and visits from other health professionals such as specialist nurses and physiotherapists. Caring for a loved one can be isolating and physically exhausting. Those family members at home also need companionship and interaction with others.

Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability

Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability is an independent hospital and registered medical charity which aims to improve the quality of life for people with severe brain injuries through rehabilitation and long term care. With some 120 patients admitted to the hospital each year for rehabilitation and 168 patients receiving long-term care, RHN is one of the UK’s biggest brain injury and long-term care service providers also providing specialist care for conditions such as Huntington’s disease. Motor Neuron Disease and patients requiring ventilatory support.

Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Centre

Pioneering research work is being undertaken by Professor Kevin Talbot who leads the MND Care and Research Centre based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Professor of Motor Neurone Biology and a consultant neurologist, his research interest is in understanding the molecular basis of motor neurones and other neurodegenerative disorders. The Foundation helped fund the “Stem cell models of Motor Neurone Disease” research project.

Neuroscience at King’s College London

The Foundation has funded neuroscience research at the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, part of King’s College, London. The Institute brings together 170 clinicians and scientists from many disciplines including: neuroimaging, neurology, psychiatry, genetics, cellular biology and drug discovery to advance understanding of disease and develop new therapies for psychiatric and neurological conditions including MND, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy and stroke.

Motor Neurone Disease Association

Founded in 1979, the MNDA is the only national charity in the UK solely focused on MND care and research. The organisation has over 9,000 members forming a powerful national and local network that provides information, support and continually campaigns for improved services. The Foundation is proud to continue to work with the Motor Neurone Disease Association by fully supporting 2 full-time positions: a Care Co-ordinator at the Norwich and Norfolk Care Centre and the Wheelchair Service Manager.

St John’s Hospice

St John’s Hospice, London, is an independent charity located within the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth (founded in 1856). For the last 30 years, St John’s has been providing specialised palliative care to more than 3,000 Central and NW London based terminally-ill patients and their families every year. It costs more than £5m p/a to provide the support to patients and families and £13.5k to run the hospice for a day. The Foundation was glad to help support the refurbishment of the in-patient care area.

HD5K

In May 2018, a hundred of the UK’s top architects and designers competed in a 5K race in aide of the Motor Neurone Disease Association in London’s Hyde Park. The event, ‘HD5K’ was conceived and organised by Hayes Davidson, and raised £30,000, which was match funded by the Foundation, a total of £60,000.

MND Scotland

In 1981, MND Scotland was founded by John Macleod, a 32 year old Strathclyde police officer, who had MND. Together with his wife, family and friends, they started the charity to help those with MND in Scotland. At the time John was diagnosed, services were limited and health professionals had little or no knowledge of the condition. Additionally to ad hoc donations to MND Scotland, the Foundation is pleased to support a third full time Advocacy Worker to add to their existing Advocacy Service Team.

Maggie’s

Built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals, there are 15 Maggie’s Centres across the UK. Each has professional staff on hand to offer free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends. Maggie Keswick Jencks lived with advanced cancer for two years. During that time she created a blueprint for a new type of care; uplighting and sympathetic both internally and externally, the design of each centre being of the highest architectural quality.

Médecins Sans Frontières

Founded in Switzerland in 1971 by a small group of French doctors and journalists who sought to expand accessibility to medical care, Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, provide medical support and care across national and international boundaries, irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation. Now a 30,000 strong international NGO, the staff, mainly volunteers, work extensively in war-torn regions and developing countries affected by endemic diseases who would otherwise have no access to medical help.

MND Care Coordinator, Oxford

This specialist care centre located within the John Radcliffe hospital offers multidisciplinary care and support to patients and carers living with Motor Neurone Disease. The MND Specialist Nurse and Care Centre Coordinator is a critical role which provides a point-of-contact service for patients between clinic visits, and facilitates the communication of information between all those locally involved in an individual patient’s care.

All Trials

Clinical trials, which can involve thousands of people, are the best method to test whether a medicine is safe and effective. Currently there is no complete list of all clinical trials, so it’s unknown which trials have taken place, or what was found in them. The AllTrials campaign was launched in January 2013 and calls for all past and present clinical trials to be registered and their results reported.

Sense About Science

Sense about Science is an independent charity founded in 2001. They advocate openness and honesty about scientific research, and ensure the public interest in sound science and evidence is recognised in public debates and policymaking. They have produced many publications that challenge the misrepresentation of science and evidence in public life including ‘I don’t know what to believe’; a guide for the general public to help clarify and discern what is true from amongst constant bombardment of ‘scientific’ information from the media and the internet.

Project MinE

Project MinE is a major international collaboration involving 16 countries – their goal is to understand the genetic basis of MND/ALS and to ultimately find a cure for the disease. Their aim is to analyse the DNA of at least 15,000 ALS patients and 7,500 control subjects. The resulting 22,500 DNA profiles will be compared. So far they are 36% towards their goal. Researchers are examining whole genome sequencing to find links between genes and MND. The Foundation is funding the sequencing of gene samples.

3 Peaks Challenge

Alan’s sister Jane, brother in law Alan, and nephew Tom trained for weeks to walk the three peaks Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis, Snowdon this summer. Everything they raised was match funded by the Foundation, totalling nearly £7,000. The money will go towards a range of causes, primarily MND care and research.

Article 25 | 10x10

Article 25 (initially Architects for Aid) was founded by Maxwell Hutchinson in 2006, the broadcaster and past president of RIBA. Caught up in the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Mr Hutchinson recognised the potential impact the built environment could have on saving lives. The charity has worked on over 85 projects in 34 countries around the world.