These appeals aim to raise funds for various academic and research purposes at the university, such as scholarships, buildings, libraries, and professorships.
In the early 1980s, the university sector as a whole was facing a growing financial crisis as public funding was no longer adequate to meet its needs.
The new Development Office represented a huge investment at a time of austerity, which was often expressed in terms of the opportunity cost of funding academic posts.
The promised return on this investment was the largest goal of any British university campaign at that time[5] – and there was some uncertainty over whether it was possible to raise such a large sum from a standing start.
Known simply as The Campaign for Oxford, it was set the then target of raising £220m in five years, to include research grants and contracts.
Dr Henry Drucker, a former senior lecturer in politics at the University of Edinburgh and director of its development committee, was recruited to lead the new office.
He eschewed the 'cold' mail-shot techniques then dominant in British fundraising, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with prospects and involving them fully in the projects they funded.
This was part of a trend that in 2004 led to the appointment of the first Vice-Chancellor to be elected from outside Oxford's academic body in 900 years, Sir John Hood.