Our Projects
Read about our recent projects and impact.
Getting on Board supporting aspiring trustees
Supporting underrepresented groups to join boards and become impactful trustees. Formation worked with Getting on Board, a charity promoting and facilitating inclusive and diverse trusteeship through live training, events and advocacy. The flagship programme was the six-week Charity Board Leadership Programme which provided a comprehensive grounding in the principles of inclusive charity board governance, legal responsibilities as well as how to find and apply for roles. A significant percentage of the aspiring trustees who completed CBLP needed additional ongoing support translating what they had learned on the course into meaningful action and embedded knowledge, and in finding their first board leadership role. Around 30% of participants were from racially minoritised backgrounds and need tailored support in identifying and overcoming structural barriers to trusteeship. RESPONSE AND STRATEGY Formation MD Sapna Marwaha developed and delivered the CBLP Alumni Programme; a programme comprising small group training, webinars and support. Through highly personalised workshops the training focused on three key areas: ●Guiding participants to identity their passion and translating this into the skills, knowledge and experience they will use as a trustee ●Teaching strategies to identify and address the structural barriers due to inequality participants may encounter and provide a theoretical context around previously internalised phenomena. This included addressing common talking points such as the myth of imposter syndrome and bringing transparency and understanding to traditionally opaque practices such as peer to peer networking and board room behaviours. ●Practical coaching on how to search for roles, prepare for interviews and what to expect in the first months of the role. For those with the greatest need there was also an additional one-to-one coaching option. An additional one-to-one coaching option brought an additional powerful dynamic. This was tailored depending on the specific needs of the individual. Sapna devised support programmes that included a higher level of regular intervention for those CBLP participants with the greatest need who had struggled to secure a position within 12 months, while developing a keep-in-touch sound board approach for those who participants who need more flexible support and guidance. IMPACT The alumni programme supported many aspiring trustees to find their first roles with post-programme surveys indicating that participants found the materials, tools and learning crucial to their success. The impact also went beyond the individual success of the participants. The alumni programme also imparted an understanding of best practice in inclusive trusteeship. New trustees were able to take up their position from a place of authority and confidence. Benefits to the charity sector as a whole are manifold; trustees entering their first role know what good governance and board diversity look like and are able to advocate for its promotion.
Durham University wanted to make the composition of its research committees more diverse and their committee culture more inclusive, in line with their EDI objectives. The university recognised that most committees were composed of ex officio members often appointed because they hold similar or related positions elsewhere rather than because of their innate suitability to the role at hand. Evidence suggests this practice leads to board insularity, inflexible working practices, groupthink, and a lack of diversity which in turn can result in less effective decision making and a poor research culture overall. Durham University wanted to lay foundations for better decision-making, more inclusive governance practices, and enhanced connectedness between staff and leadership. RESPONSE AND STRATEGY Formation lead a programme to establish shadow boards to incubate future appointees to the research committees. Formation was able to draw upon twin pillars of expertise. Consultant Sapna Marwaha has extensive expertise in accessible charity board governance and trustee recruitment. Applying the principles of open recruitment, inclusive culture and robust leadership training Formation facilitated the development of an end-to-end board shadowing programme. Equally, several Formation associates have a background in university research and expertise in committee leadership. Dr Ambreen Shah, a key associate consultant on this project is a leading shadow board practitioner who has facilitated board shadowing as a way of opening up governance and shifting power to people with lived experience on several boards across a number of sectors. The six-stage delivery plan comprised taking the project through consultation, co-design of the shadow committee model, recruitment of shadowees, training them, support and wrap up. Formation adopted a flexible and consultative approach which experimented with alternative structures via shadow committees for three different departments. Throughout the project there has been a considered emphasis on the importance of recruiting for lived or practical experience as well as knowledge and interest in empathy and cultural awareness. Significant strategies have included developing an inclusive recruitment process which featured practical and power measures such as removing time-consuming and inaccessible barriers from the application process. IMPACT The resultant March 2023 report has continued to gain sector recognition and credence. Notably, the individualised maturity curve methodology, emphasis on international cooperation and recognition of the system wide effort required for progress continue to inform sector practice. . Inherent to this was developing solutions that are practical and accessible to partners in both the Global South and Global North. Additionally, the learnings and consultations conducted during the research stages and the resultant solutions have led to a series of international workshops. As a result, Formation has been invited to develop a new round of capacity strengthening projects on research security drawing on their learnings.
How can UK research organisations address the key challenges they and their international partners face when undertaking due diligence? This was the question at the heart of the ARMA Complex Collaborations project. Building on the work of ARMA’s initial report on due diligence, Research England commissioned further investigation into the challenges faced by organisations in creating coordinated approaches to trusted research and security. RESPONSE AND STRATEGY The response called for a combination of academic rigour, relationship building, strategic leadership and understanding of the international security space all of which the team which was co-led by Formation founder and MD Sapna Marwaha as well placed to deliver. In phase 2, the associates set out to explore how the recommendations made by the ARMA-led Due Diligence in International Research – Options for Improved Efficiency, Equity and Quality project (phase 1) could be broadened to encompass all international research. The project engaged over 70 major universities and research organisations in roundtables, surveys, and qualitative research. The team was able to gain deep insight and learning during the research stages due to their focus on building trust and equitable partnerships, particularly with international colleagues. The resultant Complex Collaborations Efficiency, Equity, Quality and Security in International Research report tested the recommendations in phase 1 making the recommendations more robust and took into consideration practical issues and challenges that were uncovered during the research process. Formation was able to draw on associates’ additional expertise to the EDI space to bring an additional lens to the process and explore the intersection between equity and rigour within security, highlighting the possible issues around prejudice and xenophobia and recommending safeguards. IMPACT The resultant March 2023 report has continued to gain sector recognition and credence. Notably, the research collaboration diligence system wireframe and the individualised maturity curve methodology are all recommendations against which all relevant organisations can benchmark their progress. Part of this was developing solutions that are practical and accessible to partners in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, the learnings and consultations conducted during the research stages and the resultant solutions have led to a series of international workshops. As a result, Formation has been invited to develop a new round of capacity strengthening projects on research security drawing on their learnings.
In March 2023, Formation and its collaborators delivered the resultant Complex Collaborations Efficiency, Equity, Quality and Security in International Research report for ARMA. Formation recognised that for necessary change to take place the context, challenges and recommendations they laid out needed to be widely shared, explained and implemented across the research sector. Formation also recognised that fostering a keener sense of community and international collaboration was crucial for driving meaningful change. RESPONSE AND STRATEGY Together with Loughborough University and the University of Stirling, we secured funding from the FCDO Science and Innovation Network to drive greater cooperation across Europe. It was important to give practitioners in the field the opportunity to ask questions and explore the themes, learnings and learnings from the report. In April 2024, Formation presenters delivered a research security summit as a pre-conference event at the EARMA 2024 (European Association of Research Managers and Administrators) Annual Conference in Odense, Denmark. Formation designed an interactive summit that went beyond traditional presentation formats. A series of workshops animated the report's key themes on the UK response and enabled the audience to explore diverse international approaches from different perspectives including universities, security services and funders. This facilitated sharing knowledge between participants from across Europe, the United States, Canada and New Zealand and helped establish a basis for further collaboration to build the capacity of research managers to identify and mitigate research security risks in international collaborations. The event was followed by a series of responsive online seminars that enabled the community to continue to connect and develop their skills. IMPACT Feedback from attendees was highly positive with connections and insights gained during the event carried into organisations throughout the global research community. Engagement was high, thanks to the dynamic content and structure of the event. It also allowed the team to tailor the webinar content based on the discussions and feedback from the main event