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Our strategy

Over the next five years, we will create partnerships that bring active hope and positive change. We will build on all that we have learned since our foundation in 2002.

We will convene brave conversations which bring together nurse leaders at every level, as well as policymakers and funders to enable innovation in the present and to imagine a radically different future, where:

  • relational care is central
  • digital innovation is embraced
  • creativity is unleashed
  • prevention is prioritised
  • sustainable, equitable health for all is realised

This vision will shape our strategic pillars of grant-making and partnerships, supported by our investments and governance.

We are relational

Kind, thoughtful, collaborative and sensitive to the power imbalance inherent in grant-making.

We are
agile

Taking chances with new ideas building the evidence for change.

We are looking to the future

Creating powerful synergy with others around the most pressing professional issues of our day.

Grant making principles

We build relationships with those we support seeking to understand their needs, building trust, and adding value beyond funding.

Partnership principles

We identify partners who share our values and choose to work in genuine collaboration co-producing programmes with impact.

Investment principles

We work in partnership with our investment managers on responsible investment, balancing ethical priorities, growth, income, and sustainability.

Governance principles

We are committed to the development of trustees individually and collectively, enabling generative dialogue.

Grant making principles

Balancing risk and opportunity, we seek to make decisions in a timely way and enable others to be change agents.We build relationships with those we support seeking to understand their needs, building trust, and adding value beyond funding.

Partnership principles

We are open to new ideas, willing to take risks in areas that align with our priorities.We identify partners who share our values and choose to work in genuine collaboration co-producing programmes with impact.

Investment principles

We work with our investment managers to be responsive to the global markets within an agreed level of risk.We work in partnership with our investment managers on responsible investment, balancing ethical priorities, growth, income, and sustainability.

Governance principles

We seek to underpin good decision making with a foundation of excellent governance – balancing risk and opportunity.We are committed to the development of trustees individually and collectively, enabling generative dialogue.

Grant making principles

We are here for the long term and seek to invest in nursing’s contribution to building a sustainable future for all.We build relationships with those we support seeking to understand their needs, building trust, and adding value beyond funding.

Partnership principles

We are committed to genuine partnerships and convening alliances which build the future of nursing.We identify partners who share our values and choose to work in genuine collaboration co-producing programmes with impact.

Investment principles

We seek to be good stewards of our assets by maintaining the value of our portfolio for future generations.We work in partnership with our investment managers on responsible investment, balancing ethical priorities, growth, income, and sustainability.

Governance principles

Good governance enables us to deliver our mission sustainably.We are committed to the development of trustees individually and collectively, enabling generative dialogue.

Our priorities for the next five years

Informed by what we have heard from nurses, and by the evolving UK and international health and social care landscape, the Burdett Trust for Nursing is focusing its grant-making on three key priorities for the next five years. In 2026, we will deliver this strategy through four dedicated funding programmes.

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