Change Lecture 2018

  
​Consultancy firms make hospitals worse?

This was the controversial headline in The Times on 21st February, following the publication of a research study which examined the link between expenditure on management consultancy and the efficiency of NHS Acute Hospital Trusts in England.

The findings and conclusions of the research were welcomed by critics of the management consultancy profession - including NHS trades unions and left wing commentators in academia and the media - but refuted by management consultancy organisations and representatives.  The WCoMC has therefore decided that it should provide a neutral forum to provide an in-depth analysis of this important area.

We are pleased that the authors of the research study, led by Professor Andrew Sturdy, have agreed to present their research findings at the Company's Change Lecture.  We have asked them not only to cover their findings, but also to explain their methodology and the data they used to draw conclusions.  Members might also be interested in why their press release and media coverage was more dramatic and definitive than the more considered and nuanced conclusions in their published paper.  The apparent absence of any significant management consultancy expertise or experience in the research team might also be an area for discussion.

Following the presentation by Professor Sturdy, Alan Leaman - the Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association - will provide commentary from the perspective of the management consulting industry and those firms who undertake management consultancy work in the NHS.  He is expected to explain that the range of management consultancy work undertaken is much wider than that assumed by the research team.

We will then have an extended period for attendees to question the speakers and offer their own observations on this important topic.  We encourage WCoMC Members to invite guests who have an interest in this area and to come along with your own questions.  Our role as the Livery Company for the management consultancy profession is to expose the findings of this work to independent and objective scrutiny, and to help shape future research into the effectiveness and value of the profession.

Members and registered Event Account Holders can click on this Participant Listing link to see who has booked. Please note that payment for this event will be by Direct Debit for members or by PayPal for other attendees.

Dress code is Business Attire.