Edinburgh Napier University launches new webinar series for Scotland’s NHS charities
Edinburgh Napier University is delighted to launch a new webinar series, to support the NHS charities in Scotland. Drawing on the expertise of colleagues across the university, this series will explore a range of governance, health and charity sector themes relevant for Scottish NHS charities. Webinar host Julie Hutchison, a Visiting Professor in Governance and Innovation at the university, chaired the recent Review of Governance of NHS Endowment Funds in Scotland, and its report with recommendations can be found here. Joining her on the first webinar panel were:
- Professor Alison Machin, Dean of the School of Health and Social Care at Edinburgh Napier University
- Patricia Armstrong, CEO of ACOSVO and doctoral student at Edinburgh Napier University
- Dr Miles Weaver, Associate Professor at Edinburgh Napier University Business School
The Review’s report signals a future direction of travel for the NHS charities in Scotland, albeit the detail of the implementation and timetable for changes are not yet known. This first webinar sought to explore the ‘art of the possible’ within the current governance context for the NHS charities, as well as themes linked to change, leadership and trustee training.
You can watch the webinar again here.
Eight takeaways from the webinar and discussion are summarised below.
- During a transition from one governance structure to another, the importance of early legal advice was emphasised.
- Moments of change can be energising and can galvanise new collaborations. It’s an opportunity for charities to reflect on what they want to be known for in their local area.
- Cross-sector collaboration was explored as a theme, centred around taking a place-based approach to working with other bodies (be they local businesses, charities or other public bodies). The concept of an NHS charity being an ‘anchor institution’ in its local area was mentioned.
- Become familiar with the charity sector bodies in Scotland as a source of support and conduit to connections in the wider sector. For example, ACOSVO, SCVO, Scottish Grantmakers among others.
- Consider the potential for a sub-committee, eg. for a particular thematic area where you would like to invite local expertise, such as grant-making. This could be a route to ‘invite the outside in’ while helping to build and maintain new external relationships. Such a sub-committee would not be intended to have decision-making authority or any formal governance role.
- The Leadership Exchange programme from ACOSVO offers the opportunity for NHS charity leaders to exchange knowledge and learning with a leader from another sector in Scotland, for the mutual benefit of those involved.
- Students from Edinburgh Napier University’s Health and Social Care School undertake placements within the healthcare sector, which can often involve some time spent with an NHS charity. If any NHS charity in Scotland would like to follow-up on the possibility of taking a student on placement, please contact Professor Alison Machin (contact details below).
- There is a free governance hub linked to the Leadership in Board Governance course, being delivered by Dr Miles Weaver, which can be accessed here (free account registration required to access the content).
The Panel
The panellists are happy to be contacted to follow-up on the themes of the webinar:
Julie Hutchison j.k.hutchison@napier.ac.uk
Professor Alison Machin A.Machin@napier.ac.uk
Patricia Armstrong pat.armstrong@acosvo.org.uk
Dr Miles Weaver M.Weaver@napier.ac.uk
The next webinar in the series will be in the summer term.