Professor Dame Donna Kinnair DBE
Chair, Independent Advisory Board
Independent leadership perspective across healthcare, governance, patient safety and public policy.
- Healthcare Leadership
- Governance
- Patient Safety
- Public Policy
Overview
Professor Dame Donna Kinnair DBE chairs IG-Smart's Independent Advisory Board.
She brings decades of senior experience across healthcare, professional leadership, governance, education, patient safety and public policy.
Her role provides IG-Smart with independent strategic perspective and challenge, particularly where governance decisions intersect with healthcare, organisational leadership, public accountability and the interests of patients and service users.
Areas of Expertise
Dame Donna's areas of expertise include:
- Healthcare governance
- Executive leadership
- Board governance
- Patient safety
- Public policy
- Health workforce strategy
- Professional standards
- Healthcare reform
- Organisational accountability
- Evidence-based decision-making
- Ethics
- Leadership development
A distinguished healthcare leader
Dame Donna has held senior leadership positions within the Royal College of Nursing, one of the world's largest professional nursing organisations.
Her career has included significant involvement in:
- Healthcare leadership
- Nursing policy
- Professional standards
- Workforce development
- Patient safety
- Healthcare reform
- Public policy
- Education
- Organisational governance
Her work has influenced the development of nursing and healthcare policy nationally and internationally.
Independent Advisory Board
The purpose of IG-Smart's Independent Advisory Board is not operational management.
It exists to provide perspective, challenge and independent insight as the firm develops its services, strategic direction and approach to complex governance questions.
Dame Donna's leadership helps ensure that IG-Smart continues to consider governance not only through a regulatory or technical lens, but also through its consequences for people, organisations and wider society.
Governance with people at its centre
Technology governance can sometimes become dominated by frameworks, controls and regulations.
Those are important.
But particularly in healthcare, governance ultimately affects people.
Decisions about data, AI, cybersecurity, digital systems and clinical technology can affect:
- Patient safety
- Quality of care
- Professional practice
- Equality
- Public confidence
- Workforce experience
- Access to services
- Organisational accountability
Dame Donna's perspective reinforces the importance of keeping these wider outcomes visible.
Healthcare Transformation
Modern healthcare organisations increasingly depend upon complex digital ecosystems.
Electronic patient records, clinical applications, AI, remote care, digital diagnostics and interconnected services create opportunities for significant improvement — but also introduce new governance and safety risks.
IG-Smart's multidisciplinary health model therefore considers:
Clinical safety + privacy + information governance + cybersecurity + regulation + organisational assurance
rather than treating each discipline independently.
Academic and Policy Contribution
Dame Donna has also contributed to healthcare education and academic development, including as an Honorary Professor of Nursing.
Her wider experience encompasses healthcare policy, education, professional development and evidence-informed reform.
Role within IG-Smart
As Chair of the Independent Advisory Board, Dame Donna provides strategic perspective across areas including:
- Healthcare strategy
- Governance
- Organisational leadership
- Patient safety
- Public-interest considerations
- Professional standards
- Ethics
- Health policy
- Responsible innovation
A broader standard of assurance
IG-Smart believes organisations should ask more than:
“Are we compliant?”
They should also ask:
“Is this well governed?”
“Is it safe?”
“Can we evidence the decisions we have made?”
“Have we considered the impact on people?”
That broader perspective is central to Dame Donna's contribution to the firm.
Relevant Services
Need specialist support?
Talk to IG-Smart about your governance, risk or assurance requirements.