30. Governance

Function Senior Leadership Team: Susan Barry, Jo Zamani and Chris Smith

Executive Senior Responsible Owner: Ann Wieland

The Governance Function ensures that the RDN operates with transparency, accountability, and in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. It develops, implements, and manages frameworks for information governance, data protection, corporate risk management, and corporate governance, safeguarding organisational integrity and supporting effective decision-making.

In doing so it will initiate and share best practice and review training needs taking into account new legislation. It contributes to compliance reporting and performance management via risk and issue reporting, incident reporting and management, and training completion to relevant Boards and Committees and leads the submission of the Data Security Protection Toolkit for the RDNCC.

The team also provide a consultancy style data protection advisory service to RDN and wider NIHR colleagues and manages/contributes, as necessary to project and service developments e.g. to Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), Record of Processing Activities (ROPAs), policies and SOPs relevant to the NIHR. Team staff work very closely with colleagues in Service Management, Contracting, the NIHR Cyber Information Security Assurance Team (CISAT) and wider NIHR colleagues to deliver an efficient and effective service.

• RDN Governance Framework - Version 7.2 12_05_2026 (accessible to those with an nihr account)

• RDN Governance Framework page on The Bridge (accessible by NIHR RDN staff)

• Coming soon: existing Terms of Reference for mandated RRDN Governance Groups