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Year of Review Update

A letter from our CEO

As the seasons change there is an opportunity to look back and to look forward. Over the summer we have been bringing together the feedback you have given us, reflecting on our current context, and beginning to discern how we might make the most difference for nursing in this current moment.

We had 234 responses to our stakeholder survey, and we are so grateful to all of you who took the time to respond. Your honesty is hugely appreciated, and we are taking on board all that you have told us. Unsurprisingly there is a huge diversity of views about what our priorities should be for the future and so we created a comprehensive report setting out all your comments to share with Trustees at our awayday in June at which we were exploring a range of questions including:

  • Who are we here for?
  • How do we want to be known
  • How do we create coherence around our values in grant making and investment?
  • What is our distinctive role in the grant making space?
  • How might we enable the greatest impact with the funds we have available?
  • What is our role as a global nursing organisation?
  • What is our role in influencing, using the evidence generated by our grant making?
  • How might we strategically partner with other organisations to leverage greater funding?

Since then, we have been working with expert facilitation to hone our story of ‘what is ours to do’. We have held workshops with grant holders, staff and trustees to better understand the ways in which we are known and want to be known in future.

We are still in the throes of working this out and meanwhile our work continues. We have 103 open grants, and we are supporting those who are on their improvement journeys. The 29 women’s health programme projects are all underway and so far, we have gathered for two online sessions building a shared journey of discovery, putting the voices of women at the heart of all these fabulous initiatives.

Most days we get new enquiries, people looking for funding for their particular ideas, but we are having to give the same message to all that we are not open for applications at present. As you will be aware we have fully expended our grants budget for 2025 and we will be announcing our way forward early in 2026. Please be assured it has not and will not affect the money we are able to make available, just the timing of the opportunities on offer. We are very grateful for your forbearance during this period. Our ambition is to act with wisdom and to make an even bigger difference for nursing by creating synergy between the work that we fund.

With best wishes,
Clare

Clare Cable, RN, MSc, FRSA, FQNIS
Chief Executive