Small changes and seemingly modest actions matter. In the same way that a butterfly flapping its wings in a Brazilian…

Governing opera is an even more fluid endeavour than even the most extravagant operatic plot line, but there are real…

This bulletin looks at the dilemma facing the government about whether or not to bring change to the NHS by…

“Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” Emma Lazarus The distasteful slip-up in the NHS People…

The NHS People Plan, published in July, is an admirable statement of intent. As a response to the extraordinary circumstances…

Finding opportunity during a pandemic isn’t easy, but a focus on the environment and the future of this planet could…

All charities face significant and ongoing challenges due to COVID-19. Research by the Institute of Fundraising, NCVO, and Charity Finance…

The extended spell of homeworking we’ve all been thrown into during the pandemic has led some to discover the immutable…

The NHS Constitution commits the NHS actively to encourage feedback from the public, patients and staff, to welcome it and…

Communication has played a pivotal role throughout COVID-19. From government messages telling people to stay at home to businesses informing…

Following our Defining Communities briefing, today we highlight how a well-coordinated integrated care model created partnership opportunities and helped to…

Sport plays a vital role in the culture and psyche of the nation and fans everywhere are celebrating the recent…

In the UK today, there remain long-standing and systemic barriers to career progression for women. Research shows that in order…

Empathy – The power of mentally identifying oneself with (and so fully comprehending) a person or object of contemplation (OED)….

In some ways, COVID-19 hasn’t changed the role of NHS chief executive at all. All the old accountabilities are still…

NHS debt and capital funding involve numbers so large that they usually qualify as ‘someone else’s problem’ – and that…

There aren’t many sectors that have been hit harder by COVID-19 than the arts. In a previous bulletin, we looked…

During the pandemic, all organisations have had to find ways to work together. Having spoken for many years about data…

There is plenty of evidence to indicate that patient engagement can lead to improved health outcomes. In GGI’s view, this…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the UK lockdown has separated us from each other like nothing else in our collective history….

What is the role of leadership in modern governance? Is now the right time to think again? At GGI, we…

The idea of a tight community, where one checks in on an elderly neighbour, cooks hot meals for a poorly…

If there are any positives to the COVID-19 pandemic – and that is a big if – the renewed focus…

The NHS Long Term Plan and the Interim NHS People Plan both tacitly recognise that in order to provide the…

One of the most consistent and refreshing messages we have heard from our NHS and other public sector colleagues during…

Targets on suspended…targets to return…new targets…targets to be revised – all sound like phrases to instil a mixture of music…

GGI’s 2019 Festival Review featured an article entitled Strategy for a VUCA world by Lawrence Tallon, who is now Deputy…

The shock of a rapidly changing world has opened up much-needed space for new thinking. One vital but underexplored area…

How do I know that’s right? Is the data correct? How do I trust what you are saying? These are…

“To value is the act of cherishing something, holding it dear, and also the act of passing judgment upon the…

“The NHS, as the largest employer in this country, is an anchor institution in many communities.” Sir Simon Stevens At…

During COVID-19 it has been more important than ever that boards be at the top of their game – whether…

COVID-19 has shaken all of our foundations in a way not seen in recent living memory. While other pandemics have…

The form of governance advocated by the Good Governance Institute (GGI) has always relied heavily on the concept of stewardship…

The NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) sets out an ambition that, by April 2021, there will be one strategic commissioner…

In a previous bulletin we’ve looked at how Connect Health have been supporting the NHS during the pandemic. One of…

Although the focus of the impact of COVID-19 has rightly been on health and social care, many other sectors that…

Every year, avoidable unsafe care harms and kills thousands of people in the UK, with the NHS estimating that there…

COVID-19 has seen an impressive response from the public sector, which has adapted quickly to continue providing essential services. However,…

The tragic death of George Floyd has reignited the debate on systemic racism in the US and across the world….

As the NHS ramps up its services and starts to treat significant numbers of elective patients again, hospitals and services…

GGI’s bulletins have focused largely on health and social care issues throughout the coronavirus crisis. But of course there are…

The rapid deployment of the Nightingale hospitals around the country to address the coronavirus threat is a great example of…

COVID-19 has had – and will continue to have – a significant impact on work and employment. Across Europe, a…

COVID-19 has amplified and hastened many underlying issues. In so many areas, what seemed to be taking years to progress…

Before COVID-19, considerable thought was already being given to the concept of digital nursing. Last year Health Education England and…

COVID-19 has had a devastating global impact on the arts as theatres, galleries and concert halls were forced to closed…

One, almost universal comment on change during the first phase of the pandemic has been: “we managed to achieve things…

For a number of years, there’s been quite an industry growing to support effective board-level succession planning. COVID19 has shone…

Last month GGI issued a bulletin dedicated to the impact of COVID-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) NHS…

In a previous bulletin, we noted how the COVID-19 crisis had emphasised the need for boards to engage their stakeholders…

Waiting times matter to patients because living in pain and discomfort can have a serious impact on education and employment…

‘The survivors of existential crises have huge wisdom, won at high cost, about what we need in order to endure…

You won’t find many people who disagree with the Nolan Principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership….

The delivery of primary care has seen rapid changes in response to COVID-19, as technology-enabled care has been employed to…

The context and drivers of health and care integration efforts are well-stated in response to demographic changes, resource constraints, and…

Our work with non-executives has kept us in touch with boards of all types across the country and we’ve come…

NHS trust boards have been asked to lighten the load on executives as much as possible during the first and…

This week (18-24 May) is Mental Health Awareness Week. This year’s theme is kindness – a particularly appropriate choice as…

Mental health problems are among the main causes of overall disease burden in the UK. In England, an estimated 551,000…

It feels particularly apt that the World Health Organisation designated 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife to…

Many leaders are wisely re-thinking what board development needs to look like in future. The new world of complex challenges…

If the job of a non-executive director in the NHS is difficult what about the role of a governor? Governed…

GGI believes that the three pillars of recovery from the coronavirus crisis are testing, health and safety, and shielding vulnerable…

Where do citizens fit into the new normal and what does this mean for the way boards think and operate?…

The role of medical director or chief medical officer in an NHS organisation is one of the most challenging and…

The name of Florence Nightingale, whose birthday it is today (12 May), has been in the news during the coronavirus…

Professor Mervyn King was appointed by South African President Nelson Mandela to develop governance frameworks from 1992. The King Commission…

Gender, underlying health and age are all factors that can make a person more vulnerable to COVID-19. A fourth factor…

COVID-19 has galvanised boards due to the short-term threats it presents to both staff and incomes. Now as the UK…

As the world tentatively moves towards the recovery phase of the coronavirus pandemic, there is almost universal agreement that testing…

In March, GGI published advice on holding virtual board meetings. One month after most NHS boards took their meetings online,…

As NHS boards turn their thoughts from addressing the immediate crisis towards restoration and recovery, GGI recommends devoting a board…

Over the past month, the phrase ‘the new normal’ has become increasingly commonplace as the NHS embraced partnership working and…

One positive to emerge from the era of the virus is its challenge to the way the public sector describes…

Today we ask an important and perhaps surprising question: do NHS boards really need finance committees right now? The only…

The new normal will need new leadership. Yet the people in charge remain the same. In an earlier bulletin we…

When GGI Executive Director of Delivery Darren Grayson was asked to support a local health care system to rapidly escalate…

When it comes to its staff, the NHS has always talked a good game. However, this rhetoric has not always…

GGI is producing a series of board assurance prompts (BAPs) to help NHS boards address some of the challenges presented…

The COVID-19 pandemic presents some new and challenging ethical questions to front-line NHS staff and the boards governing them. Recognising…

GGI is committed to providing practical advice to health and social care organisations about modern, proportionate governance throughout the coronavirus…

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, GGI is offering its advisory service to NHS boards and other public sector organisations…

During the pandemic boards have stepped back so that executive teams can focus on the here-and-now crisis. NHS Boards are…

The last month has not been pretty in governance terms. A crisis on this scale is too easily seen as…

By their nature, crises are unpredictable. When that crisis is a pandemic that seemingly strikes at random, regardless of any…

Today’s guest post has been written by Andrew Fitzmaurice, CEO of Templar Executives, a cybersecurity advisory services and solutions company…

During these weeks of lockdown we have held conversations with NHS boards to discuss their response to COVID-19, looking for…

In our conversations with NHS boards about their responses to COVID-19, GGI has been looking to identify practical guidance and…

In our conversations with NHS boards about their responses to COVID-19, we have been looking to identify practical guidance we…

In our conversations with NHS boards about their responses to COVID-19, we have been looking to identify practical guidance and…

In previous GGI briefings, we have addressed how the coronavirus crisis has placed extra pressure on NHS boards. And yet,…

In a guest GGI briefing on 26 March, Dr Usman Khan stressed the importance of the non-executive director (NED) role…

As part of our work on NHS board responses to COVID-19, GGI was keen to find out what other NHS…

One week after the UK went into lockdown, we update our advice on the new world of virtual NHS board…

It may be that the two most important words during the coronavirus crisis are ‘thank you’. From the board’s perspective,…

This bulletin was contributed by Dr Usman Khan, former chair of Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust who has recently…

A wise chairman once said: ‘Don’t look for the edges of your accountability; you are accountable for it all’. Sage…

As part of our work to support the NHS and promote effective governance in times of crisis, the Good Governance…

As part of our work to support the NHS and promote effective governance in times of crisis, the Good Governance…