Our governance
The systems and leadership we have in place to ensure we meet our organisational and charitable objectives.
The Nuffield Trust was established as the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust in 1940 by Viscount Nuffield (William Morris), the founder of Morris Motors.
In 1998 the Trustees agreed that the official name of the Trust should more fully reflect the Trust’s purposes and, in consultation with the Charity Commission, adopted the name ‘The Nuffield Trust for Research and Policy Studies in Health Services’, retaining ‘The Nuffield Trust’ as its working name.
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 Leadership 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 Governance, Nominations and Remuneration Committee meets four times a year 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 Chief Executive and the Leadership 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.