Dean Fathers

An experienced Chair, Non-Executive, Coach and Mentor Dean has had a portfolio career for over twenty years combining senior NHS Board roles with academic and commercial Non-Executive Director appointments strongly related to the Health Sector.

In addition to being the Chair of Acute, Community and Mental Health provider Trusts, responsible at one time for over 17000 staff and a turnover circa £1b, Dean has also Chaired/been on the Board of NHS commissioning bodies. With a strong interest in leadership/workforce development as well as governance Dean has held roles on the NHS’s National Training Group, the East Midlands SHA’s Learning and Development Board, the East Midlands Leadership Academy, two Workforce Development Boards, the NHS’s Workforce Race Equality Standards (WRES) Advisory Group, the NHS’s Leadership Culture Working Group, the East Midlands Talent Board, the NHS Accelerated Access Review Leadership Group, the National Strategy for Improvement and Leadership Development Advisory Group (Smith and Rose Reviews), NHS Improvement’s Chairs’ Advisory Partnership Board, the Chair Competence Framework Working Group, the Kark Review Reference Group and the Conflict of Interests reference group. In addition Dean has been Vice Chair of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, a Trustee of NHS Providers, a Trustee of three NHS Workforce Charities and is also an independent Director of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman.

Dean’s involvement in Executive Education was initiated with the Institute of Directors where he was a lead tutor for 17 years and on the design team that created the Charted Director Programme. He subsequently moved on to become a Professor in the Practice of Healthcare Management at Cass Business School, being the Chair of the School’s Centre for Health and Care Enterprise. Dean is currently Chair of the National Centre for Organisational Resilience at the University of Lincoln where he is also Professor of Resilience. He also holds a Professorial Fellowship with the University of Nottingham’s Institute of Mental Health

Of equal significance is Dean’s commercial interests. Starting his career initially in logistics with Pioneer, TNT and Abbey Hill BMW, Dean became a serial entrepreneur and Non Executive Portfolio holder, developing an international business base. He now focusses primarily on health and insurance related businesses that apply technologies to support health systems. A commercial mentor on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur’s programme, Dean also supports commercial health and care organisations through his role on the Board of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, where he also Chairs their Health and Care Enterprise Committee.

Department Responsibilities

The ten global challenges, identified by research that the University of Lincoln has undertaken with its global academic partners, are having an increasing impact on all organisations worldwide, and together with the specific UK challenges, have by necessity brought the resilience of employers and employees under even greater scrutiny and sharper relief than previously. The creation of the National Centre for Organisational Resilience (NCOR) rests in the context of both these global challenges and numerous specific national economic drivers.

The National Centre for Organisational Resilience aims to, develop research in order to address the major issues affecting the productivity of the UK workforce, through the delivery of evidence based products and services, which:

• Improves the resilience of start-up businesses, enabling them to increase their probability of surviving more than ten years. • Enhances the ability of SMEs to scale up. • Supports the Boards and workforce of medium and large private and public sector organisations to improve their governance and leadership so as to create strategies and cultures capable of delivering sustainable outcomes through an empowered, strategically aligned and resilient workforce.

The Centre, whilst national in scope, is based in the University of Lincoln’s International Business School (LIBS). Research collaborations, initially across England are open to being established under Memoranda of Understanding with Universities across England who have also established Research Centres aligned to the NCOR and ultimately there is scope for international research partnerships to be established as the National Centre seeks best practice from around the world. The National Centre will collaborate with Universities throughout England who share in the Centre’s vision, purpose and desire to disseminate learning intended to impact on the key outcomes contained in that purpose.