Burdett CEO reflects on first year
Autumn is the season that shows us that change can be beautiful!
One year in
I cannot believe that it is exactly a year since I started at the Burdett Trust for Nursing. An opportunity to pause and reflect; to celebrate the achievements and consider the challenges on the next stage of the journey.
As every leader knows the first period in any new role is spent learning. And so, I have worked hard to be mindful of the wisdom of Otto Scharmer of the Presencing Institute, who invites us to
And what a joy it has been getting to know the tiny team at Burdett, hearing the experience of our eminent and long serving Trustees, as well as understanding the depth and breadth of the work which the Burdett Trust for Nursing has funded over its first twenty-four years. So let me give you a taste of what has been going on behind the scenes over that last twelve months.
Grant making processes
Following feedback, three significant changes were made to the women’s health programme earlier this year.
- All 84 applications were assessed by three people, including those with a nursing and midwifery background and women’s advocates who provided voices of experience in women’s health. These experts by experience were recommended through our partnership with Wellbeing of Women. All assessors had grant making and assessment experience.
- We gave feedback to every applicant, both appreciative and improvement focussed, and this was well received.
- We are providing support beyond funding for project teams, and we have delivered three webinars to connect and enable. We hope to build on this learning for future grant making.
Grants in progress
The legacy of Covid has continued and some funded projects have encountered significant challenges, so we have been working to support grant holders from 2019 onwards to complete their work and celebrate their achievements. We currently have 100 open grants, and I have very much enjoyed checking in with as many as possible from spending time with scholars on the ICN Global Nursing Leadership Institute programme to participants in the Foundation of Nursing Studies Inspire Improvement gathering in Solihull and attending my first hackathon with the AI Nurses Network at Kings College London.
Future Grant Making
I hope you have seen my previous blog about our journey on this path … if not you can read it Year of Review Update – The Burdett Trust for Nursing
Suffice to say we truly appreciate all the feedback you have given us through our survey. It continues to shape our planning.
Investments
This summer the trustees took the decision to move our investment portfolio from fourteen separate holdings into the care of two investment managers. We went through a tendering and selection process, and we have appointed W1M and Partners Capital. The last couple of months have seen us liquidating and moving our entire endowment which has been a huge amount of work. Our new investment managers are working with us to ensure that our investments are held in funds that align with our values.
Nursing Now Challenge
As you will be aware the Nursing Now Challenge continues to thrive, and we are in the middle of appointing a new Programme Director as Professor Aisha Holloway leaves us to start her new role as Scotland’s CNO.
SoWN 2025
A highlight of this year has been the launch of the 2nd Burdett funded State of the World’s Nursing report. The global impact of this report is huge, with WHO colleagues hosting meetings around its implementation in all regions. The recommendations provide a basis for advocacy, collaboration, and action. If you haven’t seen the launch video you can catch it here
Engage, Empower, Act – State of the World’s Nursing launch event
Governance
And all this work is underpinned by a strong foundation of governance. The Trustees have been engaged in a series of task and finish groups looking at our investments, and grant making, and we have established a new Nominations Committee to look at Board development and trustee terms of office. We had our first Trustee awayday for many years which was a great opportunity to spend time together considering how the Trust can develop its impact in future. I am so grateful for all the time and energy which trustees have so generously given to developing the roadmap for our journey ahead. Our new strategy is in gestation, and we hope to be able to launch it with our new website early in 2026.
As autumn continues and the days draw in let’s all take a little time to plant the dreams and ideas, we would love to see next year allowing them to develop in the soil of our journals and conversations, ready to flourish in the spring.
Professor Clare Cable
Chief Executive, the Burdett Trust for Nursing
