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Dr. Gemma Donnelly Cox

Associate Professor (Trinity Business School)
BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE
      
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Dr. Gemma Donnelly Cox

Associate Professor (Trinity Business School)
BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE

 Gemma.Donnelly-Cox@tcd.ie

 3531896 2316


Gemma Donnelly-Cox (BA, MPhil, DPhil) is an Associate Professor of Management at Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin. Her research is focused on nonprofit governance, philanthropy, organizational hybridity and organizational responses to altered conditions of support at the level of organization, organizational field and society. She is Co-Director of the Trinity Centre for Social Innovation and has expertise in research, consulting and management in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. She has published widely on nonprofit management and hybridization of organizational forms. She has served on several boards of nonprofit organizations and as an Expert for the European Commission. She is a member of the coordinating team for the EGOS Standing Working Group on Civil Society (2019-22). Her current research is on nonprofit govrenance, philanthropy and social investment, and the dynamics of organizational fields, with a focus on institutional logics and entrepreneurship. Her PhD students are exploring the social entrepreneurial character of state-funded nonprofit organizations and managerial work in faith based organizations. She completed her DPhil in Management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford in 2001 and her MPhil in Management at Templeton College, University of Oxford in 1990. She also has a BA in History and Politics from the University of Waterloo.
Project Title
 NBS EduWorld
From
2022
To
2025
Summary
The overall objective of NBS EduWORLD is to nurture an NBS literate society, supporting a just transition to a sustainable future. For this, NBS EduWORLD will create an NBS community that facilitates synergies between NBS professionals and education providers and ensures free and easy access to NBS knowledge and resources for all. To achieve this goal, NBS EduWORLD will summarise the state of play of NBS education in Europe and evaluate the initiatives already in place, determine how to expand and replicate them and establish a basis and framework for the project itself and future initiatives, resulting in guidance and (policy) recommendations. In parallel, the project will analyse NBS demonstrators, with an educational dimension (Tier-1), across Europe (NBS EduSystems), to support the testing and improvement of approaches and resources with NBS demonstrators with no or a limited educational dimension (Tier-2) and create the means and opportunities for all NBS practitioners to engage with educators, inter alia via Tier-3 NBS EduSystems. This will be done whilst supporting the overarching goal of promoting NBS as a viable career prospect for European citizens of all ages. To adequately engage educators who are at different points on their NBS journey, the project will provide specific activities for those who are not yet familiar with the concept and benefits of NBS, and those already aware but in need of support to progress to the next stage. These activities will be scaled up/out by extensive dissemination and communication activities to maximise the project's outreach and ensure its long-term success. Only by joining with NBS experts + Education Experts + Civil Society + supportive policies can we create an NBS EduWORLD - a community that makes a difference.
Funding Agency
European Commission
Programme
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01 (Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban co
Project Type
HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based
Person Months
63
Project Title
 Connecting Nature
From
1 Jun 2017
To
30 May 2022
Summary
The overarching objective of CONNECTING NATURE is to position Europe as a global leader in the innovation and implementation of nature-based solutions. The project partners will form a community of cities fostering peer-to-peer, transdisciplinary capacity building between front-runner, fast-follower and multiplier cities facilitated by the project consortium. The project collaborative will co-develop the policy and practices necessary to scale up urban resilience, innovation and governance via nature-based solutions. An open innovation ecosystem approach bringing together city governments, SMEs, academia and civic society will be used to co-produce usable and actionable knowledge in all cities. CONNECTING NATURE will provide the reference framework for a new generation of urban nature-based solution processes and empower transitioning ambassadors who will globalise this approach through a strategy targeting multiplier cities. This novel approach, coupled with the high capacity of the consortium, makes CONNECTING NATURE a unique and exciting prospect.
Funding Agency
European Commission H2020
Programme
H2020-SCC-NBS-2stage-2016
Project Type
Innovation Action
Project Title
 EUFORI (European Foundations for Research and Innovation) Study
From
2012
To
2014
Summary
Study on foundations supporting research and innovation in the EU: Quantitative and qualitative assessment, comparative analysis, trends and potential ("EUFORI")
Funding Agency
European Commission DG Research and Innovation
Project Type
Tender research project
Person Months
4

Details Date
Member of EU Expert Group on Venture Philanthropy and Social Investment, reporting to DG Research and Innovation (RTD) January 2017-February 2018
Member of the National Social Innovation Consultative Advisory Group, on the development of a National Competence Centre on Social Innovation (NCCSI) Dec 2021 - May 2023
External Examiner for suite of five MSc degrees in Voluntary Organisation Managment, Philanthropy and Fundraising, Cass (now Bayes) Business School, City, University of London 2014-2019
Opponent for PhD Defence, Stockholm School of Economics December 2018
Convenor, European Group on Organisation Studies (EGOS) Civil Society Standing Working Group - Organizing in and through Civil Society: Perspectives, Issues, Challenges 2019-22
Visiting Scholar at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business - honorary position held while on academic sabbatical from Trinity Business School 7 Aug 2017 - 1 Mar 2018
Co-Editor, Nomos Book Series on European Civil Society 2010
Editorial Board Member, Nonprofit Policy Forum 2010
Board Member, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action 2006-2008
Programme Coordinator, European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM) EDEN Doctoral Programme in Nonprofit Organisation and Management Nov 2006 & Nov 2009
Opponent for PhD Defence, Stockholm University Jan 2007 & Feb 2008
Co-Founder and Convenor, European Third Sector PhD Network Feb 2001- Feb 2003
Chair, Local Committee, International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Biennial Conference. July 2000
External Examiner, Master of Arts in the Management of Community and Voluntary Services, All Hallows College, Dublin 2007-2012
Details Date From Date To
European Group for Organizational Studies 2006 - present
European Research Network on Philanthropy 2010- Present
Association for Research on Nonprofit Organisations and Voluntary Action 1995 - present
International Society for Third Sector Research 1998 - present
Association for Voluntary Action Research in Ireland (AVARI) 1997 2002
Cannon, Sheila M., Donnelly-Cox, Gemma, Hazenberg, Richard, Gordon, Chris MM, Hughes, Jeffrey, Teaching social innovation through place-based learning: Facilitating perspective sharing in co-creating social value, Management Learning, Online First, (Online First), 2026, p1-22 , Notes: [Published online first in February 2026. Will enter volume, issue, and page numbers when these details are confirmed.], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Healy, John; Hughes, Jeffrey; Donnelly-Cox, Gemma, On Addressing Societal Challenges: The Influence of Archetypal Biases on Scaling Social Innovation, Journal of Business Ethics, 180, (3), 2025, p835 - 861, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Healy, J., Hughes, J., Donnelly-Cox, G., & Shantz, A., A long and winding road: The hard graft of scaling social change in complex systems, Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 21, (e00455), 2024, p1 - 7, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2024.e0045], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Cannon Sheila, Byrne Danielle, Donnelly-Cox Gemma, and Rhodes Mary-Lee, Institutional influences on social enterprise types in the Republic of Ireland, The Irish Journal of Management, 41, (2), 2022, p119 - 134, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Donnelly-Cox, Gemma, Meyer, Michael and Wijkström, Filip, Research Handbook on Nonprofit Governance, First, Cheltenham, United Kingdom and Northampton, Mass, USA, Edward Elgar, 2021, vi - 423pp, Book, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL  URL
Deepening and broadening the field: introduction to Research Handbook on Nonprofit Governance in, editor(s)Donnelly-Cox, Gemma; Meyer, Michael and Wijkström, Filip , Research Handbook on Nonprofit Govenance, Cheltenham, United Kingdom and Northampton, Mass, USA, Edward Elgar, 2021, pp1 - 25, [Donnelly-Cox, Gemma; Meyer, Michael and Wijkström, Filip], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Harrow, Jenny; Donnelly-Cox, Gemma, Healy, John and Wijkström, The management and organization of philanthropy: New directions and contested undercurrents., International Journal of Management Reviews, 23, (3), 2021, p3 - 11, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Rhodes, Mary Lee, McQuaid, Siobhán and Donnelly-Cox, Gemma, Social innovation and temporary innovations systems (TIS): insights from nature-based solutions in Europe, Social Enterprise Journal, 18, (2), 2021, p252 - 270, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Non-profit Governance in, editor(s)Helmut K. Anheier and Theodor Baums , Advances in Corporate Governance: Comparative Perpsectives, Oxford, England, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp142 - 179, [Gemma Donnelly-Cox, Michael Meyer, and Filip Wijkström], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Rhodes, M.L. and Donnelly-Cox, G., Social Impact Bonds as Temporary Innovation Systems: a new model for understanding wicked problem interventions, IRSPM, Wellington, NZ, 16-18 Apr, 2019, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
  

Page 1 of 7
Donnelly-Cox, Gemma Rhodes, Mary-Lee Hogan, Benn Lawlor, Mary, Corporate Human Rights Reporting, Accountancy Ireland, 52, (4), 2020, p33 - 35, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Gemma Donnelly-Cox, Siobhan McGee, Institutionalizing Support for Nonprofit Management Education: Developing a Case for State Investment, BenchMark3 Conference on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies, Tempe, Arizona, 16-19 March 2006, 2006, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
G. Donnelly-Cox, Social Entrepreneurship Education for Business Studies Students: A Case Study, BenchMark3 Conference on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies, Tempe, Arizona , 16-19 March 2006, 2006, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
G. Donnelly-Cox, F. Donoghue, Liberal and Conservative Welfare Regimes - the cases of Ireland and Austria. Panel on "State-Third Sector Relationships in an Insecure World: New Forms of Resourcing or Just a Re-working of the Old?" , International Society for Third Sector Research, Bangkok, Thailand, 5-7 July 2006, 2006, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
G. Donnelly-Cox, S. McGee, Research, Education and Dialogue: Logic of a Three-Strand Programme Model. Panel on "Nonprofit Management Education Theory and Practice: Moving from program design to assessment and practice". , Association for Research on Nonprofit Organization and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Chicago, 16-18 November 2006, 2006, Conference Paper, SUBMITTED
Andrew O'Regan, Gemma Donnelly-Cox, Edwina Hughes, Model development for Nonprofit Management; a case study of emergent issues of theoretical sufficiency, managerial utility, and pedagogic capacity, EIASM 5th Workshop on the Challenges of Managing the 3rd Sector, Queen's University Belfast, 6-7 September 2005, 2005, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
R. Loidl-Keil, G. Donnelly-Cox, Social Entrepreneurship Education: A Critical Consideration of Programme Design, EIASM 5th Workshop on the Challenges of Managing the 3rd Sector, Queen's University, Belfast, 6-7th September 2005, 2005, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Donnelly-Cox, Gemma, O'Regan, Andrew and the members of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Sector Roles, Relationships and Resources, Submission on the White Paper on the Community and Voluntary Sector, 1998, - 1-40, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
M Keating, G Martin, and G Donnelly-Cox, An Interdisciplinary and Cross-cultural Approach to Research: The GLOBE Project., Proceedings of the 5th European Congress of Psychology, University College Dublin, 1997, pp327 , Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Donnelly-Cox, G. and Jaffro, G., The Irish Voluntary Sector. The Way Forward, Dublin, VOLORG, School of Business Studies, Trin, 1997, Notes: [Research paper not publshed], Report, PUBLISHED

  


Award Date
Social Enterprise Journal Literati Award - Outstanding Reviewer 2022
Teaching Excellence Awards (2), Trinity Business School 2022
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School 2021
Ideell Arena Leadership Award, Stockholm, Sweden 2016
Snow Foundation Award for Best Case or Simulation in Collaborative Nonprofit Management, Syracuse University Maxwell School of Public Affairs 2013
I am an organization theorist who studies development in fields of organizing. I am an effective collaborator, in identifying opportunities and bringing together partners to pursue them. My research career commenced with leadership effectiveness (GLOBE Project). This evolved to leadership and organizational development in third sector organizing domains, the interface between nonprofit, public, and private sectors, changes in organizing and resourcing patterns within these, and the evolution of nature-based enterprises. I have published on leadership, civil society organization and management, hybrid organizational forms , organization responses to altered conditions of support, nonprofit governance, social entrepreneurship, organizing and resourcing social innovation, foundations and philanthropy. In developing my research interests, I have invested in building new and developing existing research infrastructure. I founded the Voluntary Organization Research Group (1997-2000), the Centre for Nonprofit Management (2000-2017) and co-founded the Centre for Social Innovation (2018-present). Internationally, I co-founded the European Third Sector PhD Network. My teaching is research-led, My contributions to post-experience MBA, and Fenix and European Programme in Civil Society Leadership (EPICS) executive education programmes draw on my participation in international collaborative research projects. In 2017-18 I served on the EU Expert Group on Venture Philanthropy and Social Investment. The recommendations from this report address important elements of philanthropic foundation activity in Europe, including cross-border giving. The interface between research and teaching is the focus of my most recent EU grant. I am PI on NBS EduWORLD, a HORIZON Action project to transfer knowledge about nature based solutions and enterprises into education. My team is responsible for third level curriculum development.