Sir Ronald Cohen Debating Bursary

We are hugely grateful to the generosity of Sir Ronald Cohen, who served as President of the Oxford Union in Hilary Term 1967. The Sir Ronald Cohen Debating Bursary funds bursaries and reduced registration fees for the Oxford Schools’ Debating Competition, underscoring the Oxford Union’s commitment to access and widening participation. In 2024, the Sir Ronald Cohen Debating Bursary has supported the participation of 200 non-selective state schools.

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Sir Ronald is Chairman of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment and The Portland Trust. He is a co-founder director of Social Finance UK, USA, and Israel, and co-founder Chair of Bridges Fund Management and Big Society Capital.

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For nearly two decades, Sir Ronald’s pioneering initiatives in driving impact investment have catalysed a number of global efforts, each focused on driving private capital to serve social and environmental good. These efforts are leading the global impact investment movement towards an Impact Revolution. He chaired the Social Impact Investment Taskforce established under the UK’s presidency of the G8 (2013-2015), the Social Investment Task Force (2000-2010) and the Commission on Unclaimed Assets (2005-2007). In 2012 he received the Rockefeller Foundation’s Innovation Award for innovation in social finance.

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He is a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School and a Vice-Chairman of Ben Gurion University; a former member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers; a former director of the Harvard Management Company and the University of Oxford Investment Committee; a former Trustee of the British Museum; and a former trustee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

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In 2007, Sir Ronald published: The Second Bounce of the Ball – Turning Risk into Opportunity and today is authoring a book on the “Impact Revolution.” Sir Ronald lives in Tel Aviv, London, and New York with his wife of more than thirty years, Sharon Harel-Cohen, who is a film producer. They have two children, Tamara and Jonny.