David Knott
Chief Executive in London, United Kingdom
David Knott is the Chief Executive of the National Lottery Community Fund, the UK's largest community funder.
David was previously Director of the Office for Civil Society (OCS). In this role he was responsible for HM Government policy on charities, volunteering, youth policy, impact investment, philanthropy, social enterprise, and responsible business.
As OCS Director he was sponsor for the Charity Commission, National Citizen Service, National Lottery Community Fund, and Dormant Assets system.
David was previously a senior civil servant in the DCMS, Cabinet Office and Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. He started in central government as a Fast Stream economist and policy adviser.
He has worked in over a dozen countries, including as an adviser to state and federal governments in Australia, and later through the Office of Tony Blair in the Middle East, South Asia and Latin America. He worked as a consultant on economic and government reform and in a leading pharmaceutical firm. Inside government David worked for 6 years at the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit leading work on public services, culture change, and social mobility.
He has three degrees in economics and public policy, including a Masters in Public Policy by Distinction from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).