ICB Network
The only independent, national network bringing together the senior leaders of England's integrated care boards.
Strategic commissioning
Supporting integrated care board leaders with strategic commissioning.
Commissioning
Exclusively for integrated care boards (ICBs), we convene ICB leaders across a range of forums to support teams in their roles, as well as through activities that support ICBs to evolve as strategic commissioners.
Shaped by members, we help leaders exchange ideas, share experiences and challenges, and provide peer support.
We give our members a voice through our government influencing, policy work, media appearances and our work on key health and care developments.
Why join?
Membership unlocks access to advice and guidance for ICBs as they move into the role of strategic commissioners, including our Strategic Commissioning Forum to meet and discuss ideas and challenges.
Our networking forums, annual conference and dinner, provide unique opportunities for ICB leaders to discuss common challenges and learn from each other.
This is in addition to:
- exclusive insights, resources and digital communities designed to help navigate complexity
- opportunities for direct engagement with government, parliament and national bodies.
Forums to connect, share and learn
Forums exclusively for ICB Network members
- ICB Chairs Forum: chairs of ICBs only; meets quarterly.
- ICB Chief Executives Forum: chief executives of ICBs only; meets quarterly.
- ICB Directors of Strategy Forum: directors of strategy of ICBs; meets quarterly.
- ICB Primary Care Directors Forum: primary care directors of ICBs; meets monthly.
- Strategic Commissioning Forum: directors of commissioning, strategy, and population health; meets monthly.
Forums available to all members of The NHS Alliance
- NHS Leaders Forum (successor to NHS Providers’ Chairs and Chief Executives Network): chairs and chief executives from across NHS trusts, ICBs, community CICs and primary care collaboratives. Meets twice yearly with all system leaders invited. Meets twice yearly in sector-specific groups – e.g. NHS trust chairs and chief executives only.
- NHS Non-Executive Directors Forum: Non-executive directors from across NHS trusts and ICBs.
- NHS Workforce Leaders Forum: directors of HR, workforce and organisational development.
- NHS Digital Innovation Leaders Forum: digital and innovation leaders at board level across trusts and ICBs; digital primary care senior leaders; board-level non-statutory members providing NHS funded patient care. Meets quarterly.
- NHS Communications Forum: directors of communications and engagement across trusts, ICBs and other parts of the system; other senior communications leads. Meets quarterly.
- NHS Quality and Safety Forum: series of webinars for board level leaders on key issues relating to quality and safety.
- NHS Work and Health Forum: broad ICB membership including ICB work and health leads, strategy and workforce leads and chairs. Non-ICB membership includes NHS trusts, local/strategic authorities, DWP, VCSE and national colleagues Currently monthly.
- Neighbourhood Leads Forum: primary care, acute, community, mental health and ICB neighbourhood health leads who are responsible for making neighbourhood working a reality at place and system.
- Outpatient Reform Forum: NHS trusts, community trusts, primary care and neighbourhood ICB; anyone involved with outpatient pathway redesign. Meets quarterly.
- EDI Directors Forum: directors, associate directors and high-level strategic leads for EDI or health inequalities within NHS organisations
- NHS BME Leadership Network: black and minority ethnic leaders, aspiring leaders and allies from across the NHS. We convene network members through our three annual in-person events: our anti-racism conference in April, network lunch at NHS ConfedExpo in June and our Black History Month event in October.
- NHS LGBTQ+ Leadership Network: LGBTQ+ leaders, aspiring leaders and allies from across the NHS. We convene members every quarter via virtual meetings and annually for our in-person networking session at NHS ConfedExpo.
- NHS Women Leaders Network: women working at all levels across health and care. We convene members several times a year via mix of in-person and virtual events including our quarterly fireside chats, annual conference and International Women’s Day celebrations.
- NHS Disability Leadership Network: new network.
Invaluable peer learning
Strategic Commissioning Forum
Chaired by Hannah Iqbal, chief strategic, digital and transformation officer at Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB, and Sarah Mansuralli, chief strategy and population health officer for North Central London ICB, the forum brings together directors of commissioning, strategy, and population health from across the health and care landscape to move towards the new vision of strategic commissioning.
Each monthly meeting is focused on a step within the strategic commissioning cycle, and brings together key speakers, examples of good practice, key insight from system partners, and opportunities for peer learning to support you to move to strategic commissioning. Sign up for the Strategic Commissioning Forum.
Strategic Commissioning Peer Consulting Groups
As part of our work to support our ICB members with the transition to becoming strategic commissioners, we are establishing a series of peer consulting groups to support shared development, learning and challenges.
These virtual peer consulting groups aim to provide opportunities to check and challenge on plans and processes with your peers, on topics focused on the key steps within the strategic commissioning cycle. They will start later this month.
The focus is on obtaining tangible feedback, insight and advice from colleagues and friends. It involves active listening and a focus on ‘how’ one might tackle something rather than what or why.
The sessions involve small groups of peers, focused on learning from each other and sharing new perspectives and approaches to shared or common challenges.
The planned dates are:
- Monday 30 March - Delivering the strategy through the payor function and evaluating impact
- Monday 27 April - Final group session of the series which will focus on the areas of the commissioning cycle that members have identified as most challenging
The groups will take place online and you can attend all, or just choose whichever sessions are most relevant for you. To find out more, or submit your interest in taking part, please contact the ICB network.
We are here to support you through the current changes, and are always looking to hear your views on how we can best do this. Please contact Ian Perrin if you have views on how we could be best supporting you.
Join our Strategic Commissioning Forum
Each monthly meeting is focused on a step within the strategic commissioning cycle, and brings together key speakers, examples of good practice, key insight from system partners, and opportunities for peer learning to support you to move to strategic commissioning.
Join the forumOur priorities for 2026/27
- Demonstrating the impact of ICBs as commissioners
- Helping you to evolve as strategic commissioners
- Upholding the importance of NHS-local government integration
- Influencing the future NHS operating model
We will continue to work as one voice to influence the centre on members' behalf while also creating new opportunities for peer-led learning, development and improvement.
Interested in membership?
Be part of the only independent national network bringing together the senior leaders of integrated care boards.
Join the network