The Advisory Community

A standing circle of counsel convened by the Board. Membership is by invitation, one person at a time.

The Forum is governed by its Board: Bert Verdonck, Jaana Sinipuro and Stuart
Mackintosh. The Advisory Community sits alongside it, a small circle of people
whose judgement, standing and relationships help the Forum move faster, and
more safely, than it could alone.

We would rather have ten of the right people than thirty of the available ones, which is why each invitation is written for one person.

What it is

A standing circle of counsel convened by the Board: a source of credibility, perspective and connection, and an open door to expertise, institutions and patrons. Members shape direction by influence.

Standing, and its limits

These limits protect the people who accept, so they are set out plainly rather than implied. The Advisory Community is an advisory circle only. It has no legal personality and no place in the governance structure defined by the Statutes.

Members are not directors, officers or agents of DHCF and are not described as such. They hold no fiduciary duty, no duty of care and no liability for the actions of the Forum. They take no decisions, cast no votes, and cannot bind DHCF in any matter. They carry no executive workload, no delivery accountability and no obligation to fund.

Advice is offered freely and taken seriously. Decisions rest with the Board.

What is asked

Counsel: Four meetings a year of ninety minutes, held online, plus the occasional short conversation between them on a matter inside your field.
Credibility: Willingness to be named publicly as a member of the Advisory Community.
Connection: One or two warm introductions a year, and readiness to join selected conversations with prospective partners and patrons where you judge it right.
Candour: Say what you actually think, particularly when it is inconvenient.

The terms, in brief

Nothing is conditional. Introductions carry no expectation of contracts, mandates or commercial return in either direction, and interests are declared on joining and as they arise.

Members serve two years, renewable by agreement, and may step away at any time without explanation. The role is unpaid; reasonable travel is covered when the Forum asks someone to attend in person.

The full arrangements are in the Terms of Reference, which appointment is made on.

Who is in it

Ten to twelve members, weighted towards Europe, spanning health system leadership, data governance and ethics, law and risk, philanthropy and capital, delivery, and international health. The Terms of Reference set out what is looked for in each.

Members are listed among the contributors to the Forum once they accept.

How the circle grows

By invitation, one at a time. Each member is invited by the Forum, and each member may in turn propose one person; the Board decides whether the invitation is made. It grows the way a forest grows rather than the way a committee is appointed.

If you have been invited

Reply to the person who invited you. Stuart Mackintosh will follow up with a short conversation, the current state of the work, and the date of the first gathering. Appointment is made on the Terms of Reference.

If you have not been invited and believe you belong here, the ordinary route in is get involved, and the Board reads every message sent through get in touch.