The intention in carrying out this study is to compare and contrast approaches and experiences from different Trusts so that learnings may be collated and shared in the sector. This has the potential to benefit individuals responsible for governance so that they can easily access material that may inform their plans for evolving governance practices within their own sphere of influence. It is anticipated that there may be wider short and longer term benefits for the sector by contributing to continuous improvement through drawing conclusions about good governance in time of crisis, and offering options and recommendations for future governance practices based on alternative models that have been trialled through the specific set of constraints imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The initial study could stand alone or could generate a ‘during crisis’ picture against which to compare subsequent phases of pandemic response (e.g. recovery, and ‘new normal’).
Scope
Board level governance practices within NHS Trusts during the few months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Current situation
During the first few months of 2020 NHS Trusts have needed to react quickly to the Covid-19 crisis from an operational perspective to respond to the risk of services being overwhelmed, and to create the additional capacity, skills, and infrastructure to meet forecast unprecedented increases in demand while protecting the safety of the workforce, patients and public. Trusts have enacted their emergency response and business continuity arrangements, however, these have needed to be adapted to the specific set of constraints that this pandemic has brought about. Decisions will have been made about prioritisation of resources so that some new crisis-specific activities will have been started and some pre-crisis activities stopped (either temporarily or potentially permanently)* . From their work within the sector the authors are aware that governance practices have been affected and are having to be adapted. There has been limited sector guidance to inform these changes, and it is unclear how well Trusts are managing to maintain good governance through the crisis and there is an opportunity to learn from the experiences of those who are directly involved at the corporate governance level.
Research objectives
- Understand how governance adapts in times of crisis and assess the benefits and disbenefits of changes made in response to the Covid-19 emergency.
- Derive learning from current crisis response that may be applicable for future emergency situations, whether pandemic or other.
- Gain indications of the future state of governance in NHS Trusts based on successful trials of alternative models during crisis.
Research questions
- What are the key changes to Board level governance practices that have been made in NHS Trusts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What specific guidance has been available to sector professionals and how useful have they found it?
- How has the Board agenda been adapted to accommodate emergency response items?
- How have well have Boards adapted to virtual meetings?
- What changes in Board dynamics have individuals witnessed?
- What are the challenges and opportunities for future governance practices emerging from the emergency response phase?
Methodology
As the intention is to gather information from a number of different organisations about changes that have been made and the experiences of individuals involved, we have chosen to run a qualitative survey that will be conducted online. This should generate a rich data set that can be analysed for common themes and will lend itself to drawing out strengths and weaknesses of different approaches as experienced by individuals, what the key challenges have been and what the opportunities might be to harness new ways of working.
Named individuals at NHS Trusts will be invited to participate in the survey through direct contact via established governance networks such as GARNet (governance, risk and assurance professionals) and Company Secretaries. This should ensure a nationwide reach.
We would like to explore further emerging themes from the survey by subsequently conducting a small number of depth interviews. Respondents to the online survey will be asked at the end of the questionnaire to self-select if they would like to participate in the follow-up discussions.