Pathway to Partnership

Partner Governance Questionnaire

Please note, your responses are anonymous.

Please select the answer that is closest to the current situation for your partnership.

If through this project and questionnaire you identify gaps or issues with the current approach at your partnership. This is a challenging area to get ‘right’.

Approx patient list size *

Less than 3,000	3,000 - 6,000	6,000 - 9,000	9,000 - 12,000	More than 12,000
Less than 3,000Item #1 Less than 3,000	3,000 - 6,000Item #1 3,000 - 6,000	6,000 - 9,000Item #1 6,000 - 9,000	9,000 - 12,000Item #1 9,000 - 12,000	More than 12,000Item #1 More than 12,000

1-2	3-4	5-6	7-8	9 or more
1-2Item #1 1-2	3-4Item #1 3-4	5-6Item #1 5-6	7-8Item #1 7-8	9 or moreItem #1 9 or more

If more than 9, add number below

Following discussions on day 4 of Pathway to Partnership and the triangle of the Governance Structure Layers - Standard Model (and with your Partner hat on) *

The partnership focuses predominantly on the top 2 sections (organisation direction and governance and practice performance) and operational oversight and service delivery is managed in separate meetings by others in the practice	The partnership covers a mix across the top four layers of the triangle (organisation direction and governance, practice performance, operational oversight and service delivery)	The partnership predominantly focusses on the middle layers of the triangle (operational oversight and service delivery) and we rarely spend much time on organisation direction setting, governance and practice performance
The partnership focuses predominantly on the top 2 sections (organisation direction and governance and practice performance) and operational oversight and service delivery is managed in separate meetings by others in the practiceItem #1 The partnership focuses predominantly on the top 2 sections (organisation direction and governance and practice performance) and operational oversight and service delivery is managed in separate meetings by others in the practice	The partnership covers a mix across the top four layers of the triangle (organisation direction and governance, practice performance, operational oversight and service delivery)Item #1 The partnership covers a mix across the top four layers of the triangle (organisation direction and governance, practice performance, operational oversight and service delivery)	The partnership predominantly focusses on the middle layers of the triangle (operational oversight and service delivery) and we rarely spend much time on organisation direction setting, governance and practice performanceItem #1 The partnership predominantly focusses on the middle layers of the triangle (operational oversight and service delivery) and we rarely spend much time on organisation direction setting, governance and practice performance

How does the partnership approach historical performance and forward planning? *

Partnership governance combines both a review of historical performance and a look forward to the strategic direction, forecasting and planning ahead	Partnership governance mainly focuses on the future: developing the strategic direction, forecasting and planning ahead (12+ months)	Partnership governance mainly focuses on past performance and short term future planning
Partnership governance combines both a review of historical performance and a look forward to the strategic direction, forecasting and planning aheadItem #1 Partnership governance combines both a review of historical performance and a look forward to the strategic direction, forecasting and planning ahead	Partnership governance mainly focuses on the future: developing the strategic direction, forecasting and planning ahead (12+ months)Item #1 Partnership governance mainly focuses on the future: developing the strategic direction, forecasting and planning ahead (12+ months)	Partnership governance mainly focuses on past performance and short term future planningItem #1 Partnership governance mainly focuses on past performance and short term future planning

How do you oversee the performance of the practice as a partnership? *

We have reports aligned to our practice objectives and targets which are reviewed at partner meetings allowing us to easily identify areas of concern and quickly determine actions to resolve	We have data on some aspects of practice performance but this does not cover the whole suite of partnership responsibilities and we sometimes have to rely on intuition/gut feel from our clinical knowledge	We rarely have access to or look at data/reports in partner meetings
We have reports aligned to our practice objectives and targets which are reviewed at partner meetings allowing us to easily identify areas of concern and quickly determine actions to resolveItem #1 We have reports aligned to our practice objectives and targets which are reviewed at partner meetings allowing us to easily identify areas of concern and quickly determine actions to resolve	We have data on some aspects of practice performance but this does not cover the whole suite of partnership responsibilities and we sometimes have to rely on intuition/gut feel from our clinical knowledgeItem #1 We have data on some aspects of practice performance but this does not cover the whole suite of partnership responsibilities and we sometimes have to rely on intuition/gut feel from our clinical knowledge	We rarely have access to or look at data/reports in partner meetingsItem #1 We rarely have access to or look at data/reports in partner meetings

How do you as a partnership team cover the full scope of the partnership responsibilities (refer back to the Governance Structure Layers and the standard and Thornton Board Agendas)? *

We split the partnership responsibilities (e.g. including Strategy; Financial Performance; Quality and Assurance; Operations etc) into different 'portfolios' and a partner leads on each	We all equally cover the scope of partnership responsibilities as a team - we don't have particular roles or portfolios at the moment	One or two senior partners oversee/manage the scope of partnership responsibilities and any other partners have input at the partner meetings	There are no formal partnership responsibilities, we allocate tasks on an ad hoc basis
We split the partnership responsibilities (e.g. including Strategy; Financial Performance; Quality and Assurance; Operations etc) into different 'portfolios' and a partner leads on eachItem #1 We split the partnership responsibilities (e.g. including Strategy; Financial Performance; Quality and Assurance; Operations etc) into different 'portfolios' and a partner leads on each	We all equally cover the scope of partnership responsibilities as a team - we don't have particular roles or portfolios at the momentItem #1 We all equally cover the scope of partnership responsibilities as a team - we don't have particular roles or portfolios at the moment	One or two senior partners oversee/manage the scope of partnership responsibilities and any other partners have input at the partner meetingsItem #1 One or two senior partners oversee/manage the scope of partnership responsibilities and any other partners have input at the partner meetings	There are no formal partnership responsibilities, we allocate tasks on an ad hoc basisItem #1 There are no formal partnership responsibilities, we allocate tasks on an ad hoc basis

How do you approach the annual planning of partnership meetings and governance? *

We have a rolling 12 month plan of partnership meetings with expected focus for different meetings (e.g. quarterly reviews; strategic meetings etc)	We meet regularly but don't have a 12 month plan with a different emphasis for different partner meetings, most meetings follow a similar format	Other
We have a rolling 12 month plan of partnership meetings with expected focus for different meetings (e.g. quarterly reviews; strategic meetings etc)Item #1 We have a rolling 12 month plan of partnership meetings with expected focus for different meetings (e.g. quarterly reviews; strategic meetings etc)	We meet regularly but don't have a 12 month plan with a different emphasis for different partner meetings, most meetings follow a similar formatItem #1 We meet regularly but don't have a 12 month plan with a different emphasis for different partner meetings, most meetings follow a similar format	OtherItem #1 Other

If other, please explain

The partner meeting agenda (select which option most closely matches your practice): *

Is fixed and covers clinical, strategic, financial and operational items with close to equal time spent discussing each area	Varies from meeting to meeting and covers elements of clinical, strategic, financial and operational items with close to equal time spent discussing each area across a 12 month period	The agenda and discussions predominantly focus on clinical aspects with much less time spent discussing strategic, financial or operational items	We have separate business and clinical meetings	We usually don't have an agenda for the partner meetings and issues are shared and discussed on an adhoc basis
Is fixed and covers clinical, strategic, financial and operational items with close to equal time spent discussing each areaItem #1 Is fixed and covers clinical, strategic, financial and operational items with close to equal time spent discussing each area	Varies from meeting to meeting and covers elements of clinical, strategic, financial and operational items with close to equal time spent discussing each area across a 12 month periodItem #1 Varies from meeting to meeting and covers elements of clinical, strategic, financial and operational items with close to equal time spent discussing each area across a 12 month period	The agenda and discussions predominantly focus on clinical aspects with much less time spent discussing strategic, financial or operational itemsItem #1 The agenda and discussions predominantly focus on clinical aspects with much less time spent discussing strategic, financial or operational items	We have separate business and clinical meetingsItem #1 We have separate business and clinical meetings	We usually don't have an agenda for the partner meetings and issues are shared and discussed on an adhoc basisItem #1 We usually don't have an agenda for the partner meetings and issues are shared and discussed on an adhoc basis

The partner meeting agenda (select which option most closely matches your practice): *

Is developed, prepared and managed by the Practice Manager (or other admin member of staff) with partners making suggested additions as necessary	Is developed, prepared and managed by the partner (this could be with admin support) who is also the meeting chair with partners making suggested additions as necessary	Is developed, prepared and managed by a different partner on a rotation basis with other partners making suggested additions as necessary	I don't know who sets the agenda	We don't have an agenda set prior to the meeting
Is developed, prepared and managed by the Practice Manager (or other admin member of staff) with partners making suggested additions as necessaryItem #1 Is developed, prepared and managed by the Practice Manager (or other admin member of staff) with partners making suggested additions as necessary	Is developed, prepared and managed by the partner (this could be with admin support) who is also the meeting chair with partners making suggested additions as necessaryItem #1 Is developed, prepared and managed by the partner (this could be with admin support) who is also the meeting chair with partners making suggested additions as necessary	Is developed, prepared and managed by a different partner on a rotation basis with other partners making suggested additions as necessaryItem #1 Is developed, prepared and managed by a different partner on a rotation basis with other partners making suggested additions as necessary	I don't know who sets the agendaItem #1 I don't know who sets the agenda	We don't have an agenda set prior to the meetingItem #1 We don't have an agenda set prior to the meeting

What information do you review before and during the partner meetings? *

We have summarised information (e.g. performance reports, business cases) shared with us ahead of the partnership meetings so we can come prepared with questions to move quickly to decision making	We have lots of information shared with us ahead of the partnership meetings. It is sometimes too much to digest ahead of the meeting and doesn't really support the meeting to be effective	We seldom have information shared ahead of the partner meeting and look at what we need to during the meeting	We don't have access to information/reports so feel the meetings aren't as effective as we can't easily review practice performance or properly understand or appraise new initiatives/projects
We have summarised information (e.g. performance reports, business cases) shared with us ahead of the partnership meetings so we can come prepared with questions to move quickly to decision makingItem #1 We have summarised information (e.g. performance reports, business cases) shared with us ahead of the partnership meetings so we can come prepared with questions to move quickly to decision making	We have lots of information shared with us ahead of the partnership meetings. It is sometimes too much to digest ahead of the meeting and doesn't really support the meeting to be effectiveItem #1 We have lots of information shared with us ahead of the partnership meetings. It is sometimes too much to digest ahead of the meeting and doesn't really support the meeting to be effective	We seldom have information shared ahead of the partner meeting and look at what we need to during the meetingItem #1 We seldom have information shared ahead of the partner meeting and look at what we need to during the meeting	We don't have access to information/reports so feel the meetings aren't as effective as we can't easily review practice performance or properly understand or appraise new initiatives/projectsItem #1 We don't have access to information/reports so feel the meetings aren't as effective as we can't easily review practice performance or properly understand or appraise new initiatives/projects

How would you describe your partner meetings? *

Effective decision making forums where we have all the information we need and rarely do we push things onto the agenda for the next meeting for a decision	We spend some time discussing agenda items and are sometimes missing the information/reports/data required to make decisions or to really have a good handle on all aspects of the practice (clinical and non-clinical)	We struggle to get through the agenda. Clinical matters dominate and there is little time available to discuss other aspects (e.g. strategy, finances, health & safety, cyber security etc)
Effective decision making forums where we have all the information we need and rarely do we push things onto the agenda for the next meeting for a decisionItem #1 Effective decision making forums where we have all the information we need and rarely do we push things onto the agenda for the next meeting for a decision	We spend some time discussing agenda items and are sometimes missing the information/reports/data required to make decisions or to really have a good handle on all aspects of the practice (clinical and non-clinical)Item #1 We spend some time discussing agenda items and are sometimes missing the information/reports/data required to make decisions or to really have a good handle on all aspects of the practice (clinical and non-clinical)	We struggle to get through the agenda. Clinical matters dominate and there is little time available to discuss other aspects (e.g. strategy, finances, health & safety, cyber security etc)Item #1 We struggle to get through the agenda. Clinical matters dominate and there is little time available to discuss other aspects (e.g. strategy, finances, health & safety, cyber security etc)

When do you have your partner meetings? *

In the evenings outside of sessional time	In the day during sessional time	Weekends
In the evenings outside of sessional timeItem #1 In the evenings outside of sessional time	In the day during sessional timeItem #1 In the day during sessional time	WeekendsItem #1 Weekends

How often do you hold partner meetings? *

Less than once per month	Monthly	Every 2 weeks	Once per week	More than once per week
Less than once per monthItem #1 Less than once per month	MonthlyItem #1 Monthly	Every 2 weeksItem #1 Every 2 weeks	Once per weekItem #1 Once per week	More than once per weekItem #1 More than once per week

If you hold special partner meetings more infrequently, how often are they? *

Annually	Quarterly	Monthly
AnnuallyItem #1 Annually	QuarterlyItem #1 Quarterly	MonthlyItem #1 Monthly

How long are your meetings planned for? *

More than 2 hours	2 hours	1.5 hours	1 hour	Less than 1 hour	Other
More than 2 hoursItem #1 More than 2 hours	2 hoursItem #1 2 hours	1.5 hoursItem #1 1.5 hours	1 hourItem #1 1 hour	Less than 1 hourItem #1 Less than 1 hour	OtherItem #1 Other

Who chairs the partner meeting? *

Always the same partner chairs the meetings	The chair rotates between partners	The practice manager (or other non-partner manager) chairs the partner meetings	Other
Always the same partner chairs the meetingsItem #1 Always the same partner chairs the meetings	The chair rotates between partnersItem #1 The chair rotates between partners	The practice manager (or other non-partner manager) chairs the partner meetingsItem #1 The practice manager (or other non-partner manager) chairs the partner meetings	OtherItem #1 Other

If other, please let us know who below

Do partner meetings run to time? *

Partner meetings always overrun by half an hour or more	Partner meetings sometimes overrun but never by more than half an hour	Partner meetings occasionally overrun, but only by less than half an hour	Partner meetings occasionally overrun, but only by less than half an hour	Partner meetings always run to time
Partner meetings always overrun by half an hour or moreItem #1 Partner meetings always overrun by half an hour or more	Partner meetings sometimes overrun but never by more than half an hourItem #1 Partner meetings sometimes overrun but never by more than half an hour	Partner meetings occasionally overrun, but only by less than half an hourItem #1 Partner meetings occasionally overrun, but only by less than half an hour	Partner meetings occasionally overrun, but only by less than half an hourItem #1 Partner meetings occasionally overrun, but only by less than half an hour	Partner meetings always run to timeItem #1 Partner meetings always run to time

Do you usually get through the agenda? *

We always get through the whole agenda within the time allocated for the meeting	We usually get through the agenda but sometimes have to overrun a bit	We seldom manage to get through the whole agenda but we cover the important things	We seldom manage to get through the whole agenda as it is usually diverted by external events (e.g. NHSE directive) or by partners changing the focus
We always get through the whole agenda within the time allocated for the meetingItem #1 We always get through the whole agenda within the time allocated for the meeting	We usually get through the agenda but sometimes have to overrun a bitItem #1 We usually get through the agenda but sometimes have to overrun a bit	We seldom manage to get through the whole agenda but we cover the important thingsItem #1 We seldom manage to get through the whole agenda but we cover the important things	We seldom manage to get through the whole agenda as it is usually diverted by external events (e.g. NHSE directive) or by partners changing the focusItem #1 We seldom manage to get through the whole agenda as it is usually diverted by external events (e.g. NHSE directive) or by partners changing the focus

If you seldom get through the agenda or often overrun, what do you think the issue could be?

Any other thoughts or comments to improve the partner meetings or things that work really well at your practice that you would like to share with your peers?

Partner Governance Questionnaire

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