The Challenge

The NHS continues to experience significant financial pressures, driven by rising demand for care, workforce shortages, and the increasing cost of delivering services. In response, NHS organisations are required to implement Cost Improvement Programmes (CIP) to deliver efficiency savings and ensure financial sustainability. These programmes are designed to reduce unwarranted variation, eliminate waste, and optimise the use of resources while safeguarding the quality and safety of patient care. Effective delivery of CIP is therefore central to maintaining organisational viability, supporting system-wide transformation, and enabling the NHS to meet the evolving needs of the population within constrained budgets.

The Approach

MIAA deliver a CIP workshop with the input and guidance from the NHS organisation on what they feel will be most beneficial.  It is important to co-author the approach to the workshop as the senior leaders within an organisation can advise were they feel would enhance the organisations CIP delivery.   MIAA then tailor the workshop to ensure these outcomes are met, below is a broad example of a proposed workshop approach.

Context and Objectives

• Open with a clear overview of financial challenges and the role of CIP.
• Outline workshop goals: collaboration, idea generation and accountability.
• Reinforce the importance of delivering efficiencies.

Facilitate Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Bring together multidisciplinary teams (clinical, operational, financial).
• Use icebreakers or case examples to encourage open discussion and shared ownership.
• Discuss MIAA insight on CIP delivery and the understanding of the organisation.

Idea Generation and Prioritisation

• Use brainstorming and benchmarking to identify opportunities.
• Apply structured prioritisation (e.g., impact/effort matrix) to focus on high-value projects.
• Capture and group ideas under key themes (e.g., workforce, digital, pathways, estates).

Action Planning and Accountability

• Convert ideas into tangible projects with clear owners, milestones, and metrics.
• Discuss the current governance in respect to CIP delivery and seek insight from stakeholders.
• Agree on mechanisms for monitoring and reporting progress (dashboards, review meetings).
• Define next steps and ensure alignment with wider organisational and system plans.

Close and Commit

• Summarise the workshop and re-enforce any key outputs from the day.
• Secure commitment from participants to champion delivery in their areas.
• Reinforce the collective responsibility for sustaining improvements.

The Outcomes

• Improved Collaboration and Engagement – Brought together clinical, operational, and financial teams to build shared ownership of efficiency initiatives and align objectives.
• Identification of Opportunities – Facilitated structured discussion to uncover new savings ideas, highlight best practice, and prioritise high-impact projects.
• Capacity Building – Strengthened staff knowledge and skills in financial management, change methodology, and service redesign, supporting sustainable delivery.
• Enhanced Accountability and Monitoring – Established clear action plans, roles, and milestones, improving transparency and tracking of CIP progress.

For more information about our services contact Ken Jones, Director of Finance & Corporate Performance Team