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EnglishHow does the Florence Nightingale Foundation influence health and care policy?
Updated
The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) influences health and care policy primarily through its Think Tank, which exists to bring the nursing and midwifery voice to health and care issues. This sits alongside its wider mission of developing nurse and midwife leaders so they can "stay, thrive, lead and transform health and care" across the UK and globally. If you want to understand how nurses and midwives get connected to policy conversations, the Think Tank is the entry point to look at first.
The policy role in FNF's wider mission
FNF describes itself as a charity working across the UK and globally, building on Florence Nightingale's legacy by supporting nurses and midwives to become strong, influential and confident leaders. Policy and influence is presented as one of the organisation's core areas of work, alongside:
- Leadership – development opportunities, membership and support
- Impact – measuring the difference the work has on the professions and on health and care
- Policy & Influence – connecting the nursing and midwifery voice to health and care issues
- Support us – fundraising to extend that support to more nurses and midwives
The logic connecting these strands is that leadership development produces nurses and midwives who are confident and influential, and that influence is then channelled into policy through the Think Tank. Policy work is therefore not a separate activity but an output of developing leaders.
How the Think Tank fits in
The site's own framing of the policy area is short and specific: "Connect with our Think Tank to bring the nursing and midwifery voice to health and care issues." From that, three things are clear about how FNF approaches policy influence:
- It is profession-led. The stated aim is to bring the nursing and midwifery voice into policy, rather than to speak for the professions from outside.
- It is issue-based. The Think Tank is described as engaging with "health and care issues," not a fixed single campaign.
- It is a connection point. The wording invites people to "connect with" the Think Tank, suggesting it functions as a route for nurses, midwives and others to engage rather than a closed internal unit.
Who this matters for
| If you are… | The relevant FNF route |
|---|---|
| A nurse or midwife wanting a policy voice | Policy & Influence / Think Tank |
| Looking for leadership development | Leadership programmes, scholarships and membership |
| Wanting evidence of effect on health and care | Impact reporting |
| Wanting to fund or extend the work | Support us |
Where to verify current detail
The homepage evidence confirms the Think Tank's existence and purpose but does not list specific policy positions, consultations, or named campaigns. For current activity, the "Latest News and Blogs" section is the place the organisation publishes updates — recent items visible there include an FNF CEO fundraising event, an impact report, a personal FNF journey piece, and a legacy-giving awareness item. Policy-specific outputs would be expected to appear through the Policy & Influence pages and the news feed rather than the homepage summary.
If your question is about a particular policy area, check the Policy & Influence section directly and look for Think Tank outputs; if your question is about how nurses and midwives are equipped to engage in policy at all, the leadership development and membership routes are the starting point.