Halpin was commissioned to undertake a review of governance at QAA in 2019. This review was undertaken at a time of considerable change, both internally within QAA and externally in the environment in which the Agency operates. There had recently been considerable change to QAA’s board, with the appointment of a new Chair, seven board members stepping down and two appointments made to bring the board to its current composition (as of October 2019) of 17 board members.
Within the remit of the review we were we required to assess the suitability and effectiveness of QAA’s governance arrangements and the ability of the board to deliver its statutory and legal functions. This required, as we are proposing with the OU, the we draw upon a wider base of experience and insights in the form of advisors to the review, who we utilised early in the review to help us develop and refine ‘lines of enquiry’ that we used in the interviews with staff and stakeholders.
Review Outcomes:
- Our report provided a highly prioritised set of 11 recommendations (4 of which being key recommendations) and a further 14 suggestions including a timeline for delivery.
- The QAA board were left with improved confidence in their ability to meet their statutory and strategic needs and improve stakeholder participation in governance.