Governance & history

Governance

Our Trustees meet as a Board four times a year and consider all matters relating to governance. Their role is to set the Nuffield Trust’s overall strategic direction and to ensure this meets the charitable objectives set for the organisation. The Trustees and Senior Management Team meet twice a year to set and review the strategic themes for the Nuffield Trust’s annual work programme.

In addition, there are two committees of Board members. The Chair’s Committee meets as and when necessary and has a remit to consider matters relating to the appointment of new Trustees and Board Development; Trustee governance; and the remuneration of Senior Executives.

The Finance Committee meets four times a year and has responsibility for overseeing the financial functions of the Nuffield Trust, including recommending the Budget to the Board and appraisal of certain projects and contracts; risk management; and monitoring of the investment management processes.

Day-to-day management of the Nuffield Trust’s functions is delegated to the Director and the Senior Management Team, who operate within discretionary powers and protocols delegated by the Board of Trustees.

As well as our permanent staff, the Nuffield Trust is fortunate in being able to call on the expertise of its Senior Associates. Senior Associates are nationally-known academics, clinicians, managers and policy-makers who contribute valuable time and input to our work programme, serve on advisory panels overseeing aspects of our work, and provide expert peer review to our publishing programme. Where appropriate, they are sometimes commissioned to undertake more extensive pieces of work.

We are a charitable trust, registered with the Charity Commission as charity number 209169, and a company limited by guarantee registered in England with company number 00382452.

Our patron is Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal.

How we are funded

We are funded primarily from income generated from the Nuffield Trust’s own endowment, which guarantees the independence of our research. The endowment was given to the Nuffield Trust in 1940 by Viscount Nuffield and the capital value is currently about £65 million, which generates about £2.7 million of unrestricted income each year. This income is adequate to fund our in-house research, support our infrastructure and allow us to commission external research.

In addition, we undertake a small number of research projects funded by other research organisations and bodies such as the Department of Health. In deciding whether to accept these projects, we consider whether the work is in accordance with our primary charitable purpose and whether it sits within our strategic work streams.

Further information on our financial and governance structure is available in our Annual Report and Accounts.