Since 2020, NHS Providers has delivered the Digital Boards programme in partnership with Public Digital and funded by NHS England as part of their Digital Academy, which supported NHS boards and senior leaders to lead the digital transformation agenda.
During this time, the programme worked with over 100 trusts to deliver bespoke board development sessions, held 50 peer learning events and published 50 leadership resources, engaging with over 3,000 senior leaders. Our development sessions have had a significant impact on board members. Specifically, 90% of participants reported an increase in their confidence in assuring the delivery of digital programmes; 89% felt that the sessions enhanced their understanding of the conditions necessary for successful digital transformation; and 97% would recommend these sessions to their peers on other NHS boards.
The Digital Boards programme has been a game changer for us. The development work really enabled us to create the conditions for success and we were given insight into how we progress the digital agenda to optimise impact for our staff, patients, and service users.
Great for raising the profile of digital at board and engaging the board in thinking to the future whilst also sharing best practice from elsewhere.
Relaunch of the Digital Boards programme
Our Digital Boards programme has continued to evolve to ensure that it meets the needs of our members amid changes in the sector over the last few years. As we further develop the new iteration of this programme, this survey alongside insight calls with trust leaders, has helped us to ensure the format and the content of the programme continues to provide high quality support for members.
We are delighted that we can continue to offer this bespoke support offer, free of charge, to all members. Our programme aims to increase the confidence and capability of NHS boards and senior leaders to harness digital to transform and enable improvement, productivity and innovation and this will support board members and senior leaders to:
- Collectively lead digital transformation,
- make informed decisions to harness digital to achieve transformation,
- effectively assure risks around digital transformation,
- and maximise the opportunities of digital as an enabler of change.
The free programme offer includes:
Bespoke board and senior leadership development sessions
These bespoke sessions, tailored to the needs of individual trusts, focus on building assurance, confidence and understanding on key topics relating to digital transformation. While each session is bespoke, we can cover a range of topics including board assurance on digital strategy and cyber, prioritisation, building a successful digital delivery culture and raising awareness around the role of digital as an enabler. We also deliver workshops covering areas such as user centred design, digital strategy and digital inclusion.
Virtual events and peer learning
These events provide an opportunity to learn from peers and other sectors on key aspects of digital transformation. Alongside these events, we also have our Digital Boards leadership network which is open to all board leaders with an interest in or responsibility for the digital agenda. Members of the network also receive a bi-monthly bulletin on key topic areas.
Join us at our next event on Tuesday 3 December, which has been designed to support NHS trust digital leaders in managing supplier relationships.
Strategic one-to-one support
Led by our delivery partners, Public Digital, this offer gives board members and digital leaders access to a strategic sounding board with digital experts across a period of six months. This is a good opportunity for problem solving, advice and strategic thinking with a peer experienced in leading digital transformation in trusts or large organisations.
Leadership resources
Our blogs and written resources explore the changing digital landscape and cover topics for trusts at different points in their digital maturity journey. Members also have access to a knowledge hub which provides bite-sized board resources including podcasts and case studies with practical learning and tips for boards on the digital transformation agenda.
To find out more about all of these offers, visit our website or contact us at digital.boards@nhsproviders.org.