Our Governance
The Ditchley Foundation was established as a privately-funded charity in 1958 by the philanthropist Sir David Wills in order to support the transatlantic alliance between the United States and Europe by bringing decision makers and experts together in a unique and inspiring setting. He was moved to act by painful memories of the Second World War and the dangers of the Cold War. Ditchley Park is an extraordinary place, but our story is most of all about people and what they can achieve when they work together.
Council of Management
The trustees of the registered charity are known as Members of Council. They have the status of Directors and as such are registered with Companies House.
Our Council oversees the operation and management of the Foundation in accordance with its Articles of Association. Council members are drawn from the Foundation's governors.
Council of Management – The Ditchley Foundation | Ditchley
There are three formal Council meetings each year, usually in March/April, June/July and November.
Click on the links below for the latest Annual Reports:
The Ditchley Foundation 2024-2025 Annual Report
Ditchley Park Conference Centre Limited 2024/2025 Annual Report
Finance and General Purposes Committee
The Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GP) is a sub-committee of the Council of Management to which delegated authority has been given for the finances and operation of Ditchley, with day-to-day responsibility resting with the Director.
F&GP meets six times a year.
Members of F&GP are usually drawn from membership of the Council, but not exclusively. Members serve four-year terms, renewable once.
Governors and Honorary Governors
Governors
Governors, or ‘Members’ as they are also referred to within Ditchley’s Articles of Association, are eligible to vote at the Annual General Meeting, with a particular responsibility with regards to the election of Council Members. Ditchley also actively seeks their input into the future direction of our work.
Governors serve five-year terms, renewable once.
Honorary Governors
Honorary Governors have no formal responsibilities in relation to the Foundation, but wish to sustain their association with Ditchley through regular engagement by means of participation in events and as a resource for advice and counsel.
Honorary Governors serve five-year terms, renewable once.
Programme Committee
The Programme Committee is an advisory body of The Ditchley Foundation. The expert advice of the Programme Committee is essential in deepening thinking on what subjects to address within the programme, and especially how to combine and connect them.
The Committee meets three times a year at Ditchley London to look ahead at where Ditchley can have most impact.
Global Ditchley
The American Ditchley Foundation
The American Ditchley Foundation was established in 1964 as an affiliate of The Ditchley Foundation, providing a formal link for continued transatlantic dialogue. American friends of Ditchley have contributed to Ditchley’s work since the early days of the Foundation.
American Ditchley exists to recruit American participants, sponsor their travel, and help shape the conference programme.
The Canadian Ditchley Foundation
The Canadian Ditchley Foundation was formally established in 1981 as an affiliate to The Ditchley Foundation, in recognition of the mutual interests of Britain and Canada, and the strong representation that Canada has provided at Ditchley conferences since 1964. It exists to recruit Canadian participants, sponsor their travel, and help shape the conference programme.
Ditchley Deutschland
To deepen and broaden Ditchley’s connections in Europe, Ditchley Deutschland hosted its inaugural conference in Germany in June 2023. This marked the formal launch of Ditchley Deutschland, Ditchley’s first board outside of the English-speaking world. The conference was titled: Evolving Alliances: how does coordination of democratic countries’ interests need to evolve in response to geopolitics today? There has since followed a programme of other discussions ranging from one-day workshops to full conferences.
Ditchley Deutschland is chaired by Dr Norbert Röttgen MdB.
Support Ditchley
To sustain and develop our programme we depend on visionary philanthropists, foundations, organisations and thoughtful doers who share our ethos and mission to sustain peace, freedom and the rule of law.
Ditchley Community
Our primary route to impact is through people, with an evolving community some thousands strong across different centres of modern power and in many countries. We continually bring in new people, perspectives, and expertise from all backgrounds.
Our Home at Ditchley Park
Ditchley Park is part of the world’s heritage and remains as central to our way of working now as it has ever been.