BAF stands for Board Assurance Framework. It's an NHS Trust's master list of strategic risks — and your goldmine for sales opportunities. Here's what it is, what it contains, and how to use it.
BAF (Board Assurance Framework) is a document that lists an NHS Trust's top strategic risks — the things that could prevent the Trust from achieving its objectives.
Each risk in the BAF includes: what could go wrong, how likely it is, current controls, and gaps where controls are failing.
→ For sales teams: BAF gaps = your opportunities. If a Trust admits their cybersecurity controls are inadequate (a BAF gap), that's your sales opening.
Every NHS Trust is required to maintain a Board Assurance Framework (BAF). It's part of NHS governance and risk management.
Think of the BAF as the Trust's "worry list" — a structured document that tracks the biggest strategic risks facing the organisation.
BAF = Strategic risks (Board-level, big picture, long-term)
Risk Register = Operational risks (day-to-day, departmental, specific incidents)
→ For sales teams, the BAF is more valuable because it reveals Trust-wide priorities and budget-backed initiatives.
Board Assurance Framework
Every BAF risk typically includes these elements (though format varies by Trust):
What could go wrong (e.g., "Failure to recruit and retain clinical staff")
Which Trust objective this threatens (e.g., "Deliver outstanding patient care")
What the Trust is currently doing to manage the risk (e.g., "Recruitment campaigns, retention bonuses")
Where controls are failing or insufficient (e.g., "Recruitment campaigns not reaching target demographics")
→ THIS IS YOUR SALES OPPORTUNITY! Gaps = problems the Trust admits it can't solve.
How serious the risk is (usually a score of 1-25 based on likelihood × impact)
Example: Risk rating 16 (High) = 4 (likely) × 4 (severe impact)
Who's responsible for managing this risk (e.g., "Chief Digital Officer")
→ THIS IS YOUR CONTACT! The risk owner is the person who needs your solution.
Risk ID:
SR-07
Risk Description:
Failure to protect patient data from cybersecurity threats, resulting in data breach, regulatory fines, and loss of patient trust.
Current Risk Rating:
16 (High)
Current Controls:
Gaps in Assurance:
Risk Owner:
Chief Digital Officer
For a cybersecurity supplier, this BAF entry tells you:
The BAF is included in NHS board papers (usually monthly or quarterly). Here's where to look:
Look for an item titled "Board Assurance Framework", "BAF Update", or "Strategic Risk Register"
Most Trusts review the BAF every quarter (March, June, September, December board meetings)
Use Ctrl+F to search for "BAF", "Board Assurance", or "strategic risk" in the board papers PDF
Now you know what BAF is and where to find it. But manually tracking BAF across 300+ NHS Trusts every quarter is impossible.
Result: You can only track 5 Trusts. Miss 97% of BAF opportunities.
Result: Track all 300 Trusts. Never miss a BAF opportunity.
Board Paper Scraper automatically finds BAF gaps that match your solution across all UK NHS Trusts. Try free for 7 days — no credit card required.
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Questions Everyone Asks
Frequently asked questions
Every insight links directly to the source PDF, with the exact page and section reference. You can click through, read the original text, and verify.
Trust but verify — we built that into the core of the product. If it can't cite it, it doesn't show it.
All data comes from publicly available NHS board papers and meeting minutes, published by Trusts on their websites for transparency. We monitor 300+ Trust websites and aggregate this public information automatically.
This is the same information you could find manually — we just save you hundreds of hours. No patient data, no confidential information, just published strategic documents.
We currently monitor 300+ NHS Trusts and ICBs. New board papers are detected and processed automatically. You don't need to check websites — we do that for you.
We surface decision-maker contact details including names, job titles, and email addresses where publicly available. No LinkedIn paywall. No waiting for connection requests.
Sales Directors, Pharma Reps, MedTech Business Development Managers, Construction Tender Teams, IT Services companies, Consultancies — anyone selling to the NHS who wants leads, not PDFs.
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