Strong governance requires ongoing reflection, review and development. As expectations of higher education governance continue to evolve, governing bodies and governance professionals need the confidence, capacity and support to drive continuous improvement.
Advance HE’s Governance Effectiveness Critical Friend service provides flexible, independent support for institution-led governance initiatives. Working alongside governing bodies, executive leaders and governance professionals, our experts offer constructive challenge, sector insight and practical advice to help institutions strengthen governance practice and embed sustainable improvement.
How we can support you
This flexible service is tailored to your institution’s priorities and can be used to support a wide range of governance effectiveness activities. The support and advice could focus on key themes, e.g. alignment with the CUC Code, Board induction and development, or it could advise and support a full internally led governance review. Themes might include:
- Governance effectiveness and improvement planning.
- Board and committee development.
- Governance reviews and follow-up activity.
- Governance professional development and mentoring.
- Governance structure and committee reviews.
- Board diversity, inclusion and belonging.
- Delegations and decision-making frameworks.
- Governance and management relationships.
- Risk, assurance and oversight arrangements.
- Corporate and academic governance.
Benefits for your institution
Working with an Advance HE governance expert will help your institution to:
- Gain independent insight and constructive challenge.
- Build a culture of continuous governance improvement.
- Strengthen governance effectiveness and accountability.
- Support governance professionals leading change initiatives.
- Access current sector practice and expertise.
- Test ideas, approaches and emerging plans with a trusted critical friend.
- Develop practical solutions tailored to your institutional context.
Our approach
The service is flexible and delivered on a draw-down basis, enabling institutions to access support where it will have the greatest impact.
Support may include:
- Document and policy reviews.
- One-to-one advisory meetings.
- Facilitated discussions.
- Feedback on governance initiatives and proposals.
- Governance effectiveness coaching and mentoring.
- Sector insights and examples of effective practice.
- Independent challenge and critical friend support.
Our approach is collaborative, proportionate and focused on helping institutions move beyond compliance towards more effective governance.
Who is it for?
This service is particularly valuable for:
- Governing body chairs and committee chairs.
- University Secretaries and governance professionals.
- Vice-Chancellors and senior executive teams.
- Institutions undertaking governance development or change programmes.
Delivery
Method: Tailored to institutional requirements
Delivery: Primarily remote
Outputs: Agreed according to the scope of support and institutional needs
Duration: Flexible. We typically recommend an initial commitment of three consultancy days to maximise impact and value.
Our experts:
Support is provided by experienced higher education governance specialists with expertise in:
- Higher education governance and regulation.
- Governance effectiveness reviews.
- Board and committee development.
- Governance professional practice.
- Governance frameworks and codes.
- Academic and corporate governance.
- Drawing on extensive sector experience and Advance HE’s wider governance expertise, our specialists provide informed, practical and trusted support.
Experts
Support is delivered by experienced higher education governance specialists. The expert will be selected to best match your institution’s context and requirements.
Dawn Turpin
Associate, Governance
Dawn is an experienced governance consultant with extensive expertise across higher education and the wider education sector. She has led governance effectiveness reviews for a diverse range of institutions, including chartered, post-92, specialist and private providers, and supports institutions in strengthening governance practice through the provision of professional development for governance practitioners.
Christine Fraser
Associate, Governance
Christine Fraser is an experienced higher education and public sector leader with extensive expertise in governance, compliance, risk management, organisational transformation and executive leadership. She has held a number of senior executive positions across universities and local government, leading major programmes of organisational change, strengthening governance and regulatory compliance, and supporting institutions through periods of significant challenge and transformation.
Dan Tinkler
Consultant, Governance and Strategic Transformation
Dan joined Advance HE in January 2020 and has been in the post of Governance Development Manager and Consultant, Governance and Strategic Transformation since October 2021. Dan works on developing our approach to supporting Advance HE’s member needs across our governance portfolio of work.
Kim Ansell
Senior Consultant, Governance and Strategic Transformation
Kim has worked across higher and professional education providing support to groups at all levels including senior leadership teams and Boards, to facilitate change, strategic thinking, planning and performance improvement.
