As core members of the original consortium commissioned by the NHS Leadership Academy to design and deliver the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme in 2012, the two universities will work closely with the NHS Leadership Academy and a new consortium of partners to deliver the programme for a further five years. As part of this, some elements of the programme will be redesigned to ensure a stronger focus on leading for service improvement.
The new programme consortium includes partners: the UK Improvement Alliance, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, Eden & Partners, and National Voices, reflecting the programme’s stronger emphasis on service improvement along with its long-standing focus on the experience of users and carers, building and ensuring diversity and inclusion throughout leadership practice.
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme is designed to equip mid to senior-level NHS leaders with the skills and insights to take on more senior roles while having a wider impact on their organisations by enabling and leading a culture of compassion and service improvement. It seeks to give participants the confidence to challenge the status quo in their organisations and drive real and lasting change to improve patients’ and carers’ experience of health and care services.
This unique programme leads to an NHS Leadership Academy award in Senior Healthcare Leadership as well as an MSc in Healthcare Leadership awarded jointly by the University of Birmingham and Alliance MBS at the University of Manchester. It is an integrated leadership development award and an academic programme.
Professor Judith Smith, Director of the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham said: “We are delighted to have been granted the opportunity, along with our colleagues at Alliance MBS at the University of Manchester and other partners, to continue to deliver the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme for a further five years. We see this programme as central to our University’s mission of providing research-informed teaching and development that has real and enduring impact, in this case on the nature and quality of healthcare leadership, and in turn on the care that patients receive within the NHS.”
Jane Crombleholme, Head of Executive Education at Alliance MBS said: “We have a long-standing relationship with the NHS Leadership Academy, we have worked with them over the past six years to co-create and deliver two of healthcare’s largest ever professional leadership development programmes which includes the Elizabeth Garett Anderson Programme. These programmes have helped to prepare the NHS workforce to meet huge new challenges for the future and we are delighted that we can continue this work with a consortium of our partners.”
The programme is part of a portfolio of NHS Leadership Academy commissioned professional development programmes combining successful leadership strategies from international healthcare, private sector organisations and academic expert content.
Gill Rooke, Head of National Programme Delivery at NHS Leadership Academy commented: “We are delighted to continue our close working relationship with both the University of Birmingham and Alliance MBS at the University of Manchester over the next five years. Our programme will continue to improve and develop ensuring our participants and graduates become the best leaders they can be; making a real, positive impact on health and care outcomes for everyone.”
Almost 3,000 participants have been registered on the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme since 2013, and graduates from the programme benefit from being alumni from both The University of Birmingham and the University of Manchester with access to continued learning and networking through a range of bespoke benefits. These include access to a dedicated research and development programme focused on measuring and optimising the impact of the programme.
Professor Ann Mahon, Head of the Health Management Group at Alliance MBS and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme Director commented: “We are proud and excited to be trusted with delivery and ongoing design and development of this innovative, blended learning programme that offers participant-centred learning at scale and with impact. Our exit survey data reveals that half of all participants have been promoted at least once whilst taking the programme and others report their roles have deepened and developed, reflecting their growth in confidence, knowledge and heightened visibility in their organisation. Most participants attribute such developments directly to their Anderson experience.”