Tuesday 10th November 2026
EDI did not die because of Trump, Reform or the legal challenges now facing UK charities. It died because it worked exactly as designed: delivering visible representation and reputational credit while leaving the way boardrooms distribute credibility unchanged.
Darren Franklin, Doctoral Researcher at Henley Business School, will make the uncomfortable case that a more diverse board can still govern badly and that diversity can hide the problem. Drawing on his doctoral research with Black and Asian trustees, Darren will show how boards can dismiss warnings about conflicts of interest and weak controls from the very trustees appointed to provide challenge, only recognising the error when an auditor arrives.
This is not a defence of EDI. It is the argument that survives its collapse: this is a governance failure, not a diversity failure. Boards that cannot hear challenge carry risks that may not appear in their annual report.
The session offers chairs, chief executives and trustees four practical tests to assess whether their board can hear challenge before external scrutiny. It will examine who is heard the first time they speak, how the board decides whom to pay, and what happens to the trustee who turns out to be right.
Expect an inquest rather than a lecture. The room will examine a real, anonymised case and reach its own verdict. There will also be an opportunity to network after the session.
Agenda
30-minute presentation: Darren Franklin will explore why representation can earn a board credit while costing it the challenge it appointed trustees to provide. He will share four practical tests and invite the room to reach its own verdict.
Reserve your spot here.
For questions, please contact becci.butler@trustees-unlimited.co.uk.
