Outsourced Governance
Outsourced governance means Cognito Consultants runs all or part of your organisation’s governance for you. Keeping service users, patients, residents, clients and staff safe comes first, and governance is how an organisation does that and shows it. We act as your governance function, or work alongside the people you already have, so that risks have owners, incidents and complaints are overseen, audits are completed and your board sees what it needs to see.
Who outsourced governance is for
It suits providers and organisations that need governance done properly but do not have the people in place to do it. That includes organisations without a governance lead, organisations that are recruiting one and need safe cover in the meantime, and smaller providers, charities and NGOs that need real governance without a full-time team. We work with healthcare and social care providers, children’s services, charities, NGOs and public sector bodies.
What we can run for you
- Risk registers. Set up, kept up to date and reviewed, with a named owner for every risk.
- Incident oversight. Review of incidents as they arise, the themes across them, the actions agreed and whether they were completed.
- Complaint oversight. Tracking of complaints, the quality and timeliness of responses, and the learning that follows.
- Audits. Planning the programme, carrying out audits and reporting what they found.
- Policies. Review, update and document control, so that staff work from the current version.
- Board and committee reporting. Clear papers, dashboards and escalation routes, so that leaders see problems early.
How it works
You choose how much we take on, all of your governance or one part of it. We agree the scope, the time we will give, the reporting you will receive and who is responsible for what in writing before we start. You have a named lead at Cognito Consultants and regular reports, and when you no longer need us we hand the work back with the records in good order.
Accountability always stays with your board and senior leaders. We provide the function and the assurance, and we do not replace your responsibility.
Ready for scrutiny from the CQC and other regulatory bodies
Well run governance is what inspectors and regulators look for. We support organisations that answer to the CQC and other regulatory bodies by keeping the evidence of how risks, incidents, complaints and audits are managed up to date and easy to show. If you would like to know where you stand today, our free governance self-assessment takes about 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is outsourced governance?
It means we run all or part of your governance for you. That can include your risk registers, oversight of incidents and complaints, audits, policies, and the reporting your board and committees receive. We work as your governance function, or alongside the people you already have.
Can you cover while we recruit a governance lead?
Yes. Many organisations use us to keep governance running safely while they recruit, or when a post becomes vacant at short notice. We can hand everything back to your new lead with the records in good order.
Does our board still hold responsibility?
Yes. Accountability stays with your board and senior leaders. We provide the function and the assurance, and we make sure the board has what it needs to ask the right questions and show that it has done so.
Can you take on only part of it?
Yes. Some organisations ask us to run only their risk register or their audit programme, and others hand over the whole function. The scope is agreed with you at the start and can change as your needs change.
Do you also investigate serious incidents and complaints?
Yes, as a separate independent service. Overseeing incidents and complaints day to day is different from investigating a serious one, and we keep the two apart so that an investigation stays independent. See our independent investigations page.
How do we start?
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We talk through what you have, what is stretched and what you need covered, and then agree a scope with you in writing.
Not sure what you need? Book a free 30-minute consultation and we will talk it through with you.