The Health Foundation believes that skilled and effective leaders are crucial to achieving lasting improvements in healthcare. We support individuals and teams to develop their individual and collective potential to lead the improvement of quality in healthcare through a wide ranging portfolio of leadership schemes. Our schemes are free of charge to those who successfully gain a place via the competitive application process.
Here is a summary of what we offer:
Health Foundation Leadership Fellows
This 22 month leadership development scheme is for clinicians, managers and other healthcare professionals with the potential to make an outstanding contribution to improving the quality of patient care. The tailored personal and professional development programme consists of one-to-one coaching, action learning sets, seminars, workshops and mentoring.
The Health Foundation has supported 48 Leadership Fellows since 2003 and invests around £25,000 in each Fellow.
Leaders for Change
This scheme runs for 14 months and equips individuals with the skills and knowledge to lead service re-design projects more effectively. It is for a mix of healthcare professionals including clinicians and managers.
Participants attend four week-long modules on a structured learning programme at Lancaster University Management School. Over the course of the scheme, they work on specific local service improvement projects. In addition, they attend action learning sets and receive mentoring plus a training and development budget worth £3,000.
Since 2003, we have supported 52 Leaders for Change.
Quality Improvement Fellows
As part of this 12 month fellowship programme, participants study in the USA at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and gain a place on the Clinical Effectiveness Programme at the Harvard University School of Public Health.
The fellowship combines academic learning with practical skills and techniques for quality improvement. It is for clinically qualified senior NHS leaders with a strong track record of achievement in the field of quality improvement.
Fellows work with a mentor to develop their specific programme of work over the year and to help them to plan the implementation of their work on their return to the UK.
The Health Foundation provides an allowance to cover relocation costs to the USA including travel, visas and healthcare provision, and also pays for replacement staff costs.
We have supported 11 Quality Improvement Fellows since 2004.
Harkness / Health Foundation Fellowships in Healthcare Policy
This fellowship is for experienced healthcare professionals with high-level experience in policy development and implementation. Fellows spend up to a year at the Commonwealth Fund in New York, USA, where they work on a project analyzing a feature of the US health system with direct relevance to policy and practice in the UK.
The Health Foundation is particularly keen to fund individuals with an interest in improving the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare services and supports them to use their findings to influence the UK policy agenda.
A support package is provided by The Health Foundation covering relocation and living expenses, replacement staff costs, tuition fees, air fares and health insurance. Fellows receive mentoring and participate in action learning sets and policy seminars.
Nine Harkness / Health Foundation Fellows have been supported since the scheme began in 2003.
Shared Leadership
The Health Foundation is testing out whether developing the leadership qualities of teams of professionals leads to different behavioural changes compared to investing in individuals. Through the Shared Leadership initiative, we work to develop the leadership potential of teams in three contexts:
- Our Safer Patients Initiative - a hospital safety improvement initiative
- Our Engaging with Quality Initiative - a clinical measurement initiative spanning acute and primary care
- Our Shared Leadership for Change award scheme – which supports six teams of professionals to improve diabetes care.
Our Shared Leadership work spans disciplines and organisations so that it reflects the reality of team working in today’s healthcare environment.
In Spring 2007, we will continue this work by launching a new award scheme. It will offer leadership development support to teams working on projects aiming to improve health for BME populations in their local communities. More information will be posted on our website in due course.
Clinician Scientist Fellowships
This five-year fellowship is for medically qualified professionals who want to pursue an area of translational academic research alongside clinical practice. We are currently working with six Fellows who represent a wide range of disciplines where there is an identified national shortage of research expertise – namely public health, radiology, surgery, psychiatry, immunology and obstetrics.
In addition to five years’ full funding plus an allowance for research expenses, the Fellows receive personal and professional development opportunities to help them build their careers and effectively disseminate the findings of their research.
In the past, The Health Foundation has also worked with 33 talented individuals through the Leading Practice Through Research scheme which launched for a period of four years in 2002. The scheme supported individuals to take time out of their daily roles to pursue a particular research interest at the same time as developing their leadership skills. A variety of mid-career stage healthcare professionals were involved such as healthcare practitioners, health improvement practitioners including public health professionals, health service managers and policy makers.
For more information on our leadership work, visit our Leadership section.