Impact case studies

Case Study 1: Regulator of Social Housing

Last year, GGI was commissioned by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) to undertake a comprehensive board and governance effectiveness review.

This was an important piece of work for the regulator (RSH), representing its first external review since separating from the Homes and Communities Agency (Homes England). It took place at a time when many of its board members were reaching the end of their maximum term, and came in the wake of the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, enacted in July 2023, which expanded its consumer regulator role and has significant implications for board focus and composition. Part of the work involved thinking about and readying them for this change.

The main output was a report and time going through the findings with the board. We made a small handful of recommendations together with a more substantial set of issues for consideration and discussion to help the regulator develop as it took on its new, hugely different responsibilities.

Case study 2: Health Education England

GGI was commissioned by HEE to undertake an executive governance review in May 2021. The review considered the complexity of HEE’s context and how its governance had evolved over time through systematic improvement. Connection between the regional teams and central leadership was a key element of the review, along with representation of the regional agendas.

The purpose of the review was to support HEE in strengthening their governance and assurance processes across the complex, dispersed organisation. During the process, the review team was required to pivot their focus due to the unexpected announcement that HEE would be merging with NHSE/I. The review resulted in recommendations that would support HEE to get their governance in the best possible state ahead of the merger.

Further work was commissioned to support the HEE and NHSE maternity teams to co-produce their governance structures and systems through a series of workshops.

Case study 3: Royal British Legion – board effectiveness review

GGI was appointed by The Royal British Legion (RBL) to carry out an independent board effectiveness review.

This review was high-profile and sensitive. The main purpose of the review was to provide the RBL with a sound basis to support the development of its overall governance effectiveness including the strength of its board, its committees and compliance against the Charity Governance Code.

• During the review, GGI was particularly attentive to specific issues, including:
• The clarity and understanding from the board of trustees about their role and their ability to deliver effective scrutiny and challenge
• The composition of the board, its committees, subsidiaries and governance structures, including Board succession planning, reports and agenda setting
• The dynamics and culture of the board of trustees and the relationship between the trustees and the executives overall and in strategy planning
• Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), where the board has made some recent appointments to address the existing imbalance
• The relationship between the board of trustees, its beneficiaries and the membership and how the latter influenced or responded to the decisions made by the governing body
• An assessment against the RBL’s current status and how it may like to evolve in the future

To achieve a sound, competent and evidenced set of recommendations, the project included a number of activities to triangulate data and information:

• A review of key documentation, including board and committee papers, the RBL’s Royal Charter, delegated authorities and other governance documents
• Lessons learned from other comparable charities
• Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews with trustees, executive directors and selected senior staff
• Eleven observations of relevant board and committee meetings which met during our project timeline
• A number of interim presentations to selected members of staff
• Two interviews with selected military partner charities
• A thorough engagement process with the RBL’s membership, including county chairs and branches

Case study 4: The Law Society

The Law Society is the “independent professional body for solicitors in England and Wales.” It represents practitioners of different areas of law and from many demographics. The society is governed by the Law Society Council, to which individuals are elected to represent members from across England and Wales. The Council’s expertise, and that of around 300 volunteer board and committee members, is used to deliver the advice, support and services.

Our board effectiveness review was comprehensive, evidence-based, and the final report included manageable and practical recommendations for improvement. The review followed an internal audit conducted by KPMG and built upon the findings of that audit.

The Law Society review adopted the same methodology that we propose to use with Choice Housing, moving from inception through to document analysis, benchmarking, observations, one-to-one interviews and focus groups to inform the draft report.

After facilitating a board workshop to review and finalise findings, the final report was published, containing six specific and actionable recommendations in the areas of: reinforcement of roles, responsibilities and ownership, growing diversity and non-executive contributions, improving relevant skills and assessment, strategic focus, cultural improvement and decision-making ability.

Case study 5: British Board of Film Classification

GGI was commissioned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to undertake both a developmental review of the board's governance. The BBFC reports to Parliament and is subject to oversight from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The objectives of the work were to test the robustness and effectiveness of the BBFC's structural and cultural governance arrangements and the proportionality and appropriateness of board level remuneration. This was a significant change for the BBFC which had previously operated a two-board system and the GGI work brought these together into a significantly different but aligned board.

For the review, we:

• Reviewed more than 40 core governance documents (organisational chart, terms of reference, Memorandum and Articles of Association, board papers) against good governance principles and practice
• Conducted desktop benchmarking research
• Conducted a series of semi-structured interviews for board members, executive, key external stakeholders, senior staff
• Conducted observations of both boards and key supporting structures
• Conducted structural governance analysis

The main output of the progamme was a final report with findings and recommendations on a new governance structure, including transition governance arrangements and recommended remuneration. All of our recommendations were accepted and GGI was retained to support the BBFC undergo the various reforms, which it has, delivering a leaner more effective structure.