Non-Executive Directors in Whitehall

This is the first major study of non-executive board members in Whitehall, assessing their contributions in and outside departmental board meetings.

We began by compiling a database of every non-executive board member and their backgrounds. We then reviewed published information about the work of non-executives and in summer 2017 we conducted 70 interviews of board members: non-executives, ministers, senior officials and stakeholders. With Cabinet Office support, we also issued an online survey to non-executive board members and, in October 2017, we held a private seminar at the Institute for Government to discuss our emerging findings.

In January 2018, we published Critical Friends? Non-Executive Directors on Whitehall Boards. We found that non-executives are high calibre, committed people, whose expertise is greatly valued by the civil service. Non-executives, however, find the role frustrating and feel they could be much more effective if the system only allowed.

Project information

The project was led by Professor Robert Hazell and three other former civil servants: Alan Cogbill, Howard Webber and Hilary Jackson, with strong support from David Owen and Lucas Chebib. Its report was published in January 2018.