Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland

What Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland does

Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS) is an independent Scottish charity founded in 1889 with a £70,000 donation from Queen Victoria, originally established to train District Nurses across Scotland. Today the charity provides professional development, leadership training, recognition, and peer support services to community nurses and midwives working in NHS Scotland, the third sector, and independent settings across all Scottish regions including remote island communities and all NHS health boards. Its primary beneficiary population is the contemporary community nursing and midwifery workforce, supplemented by an active retired Queen's Nurses community (pre-1969) receiving lifelong support services.

The charitable portfolio is anchored by the Queen's Nurse Development Programme, a nine-month curriculum of three sequential in-person courses (Queen's Nurse Leadership 1, Queen's Nurse Leadership 2, and the Queen's Nurse Award) whose graduates receive the Queen's Nurse title. Each annual cohort accepts approximately 18 community nurses. Adjacent offerings include the Relational Care Programme (psychodynamic-informed workshops on practitioner emotional wellbeing and complex clinical practice), the Long Service Awards (21+ years of community nursing service, with 112 awards presented in 2025), and the UK-wide Community Nursing Research Forum funded by NIHR. Past projects include Catalysts for Change (23 projects reaching nearly 1,000 people), Creating Healthy Neighbourhoods (with C3 and Burdett Trust), Healthier Pregnancies Better Lives (with Cattanach and National Lottery), and the Think Could learning-disability justice resource. Operationally, QNIS runs a lightweight technology stack (Umbraco CMS, Beacon CRM, MailChimp, Google Analytics, PayPal) and a distributed multi-channel engagement model (website, email newsletters, social platforms including X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky, YouTube, events, and parliamentary exhibitions).

As a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC005751), QNIS is funded through a diversified mix of trust and foundation grants (Burdett Trust for Nursing, Vivensa Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, NHS Lothian Charity, General Nursing Council for Scotland), investment portfolio income, individual donations, legacy giving, fundraising events, and a share of proceeds from Scotland's Gardens Scheme (founded 1931 to raise money for QNIS). Programmes are largely subsidised by charitable funds; the only direct fees are a £75 non-refundable booking fee for leadership courses and a £100 minimum donation for Celebration Wall inscriptions. The organisation operates with approximately 11 staff from a single headquarters at 31 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, governed by a Council of up to fifteen trustees, with Her Majesty The Queen serving as Patron since May 2024.

Name

Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland

Legal name

The Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland

Website

https://qnis.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1889

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland is an independent Scottish charity (founded 1889) that provides professional development, leadership training, and recognition programmes for community nurses and midwives across Scotland, awarding the prestigious Queen's Nurse title through its flagship nine-month development programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment Portfolio Income: QNIS benefits from regular income from an investment portfolio, which covers a proportion of their charitable expenditure.
2. Scotland's Gardens Scheme: Scotland's Gardens Scheme was founded in 1931 to raise money for QNIS. Today QNIS is one of four beneficiaries, receiving a share of funds raised by garden openings each year.
3. Trust and Foundation Grants: External grant funding from trusts and foundations including Vivensa Foundation (formerly Dunhill Medical Trust), Burdett Trust for Nursing, NHS Lothian Charity, The National Lottery Community Fund, and General Nursing Council for Scotland.
4. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, corporate giving, gifts in wills, fundraising events including Kiltwalk, Edinburgh Marathon, and individual challenges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

QNIS is a Scottish charity that delivers professional development programmes for community nurses and midwives across Scotland. Its flagship offering is the Queen's Nurse Development Programme — a nine-month sequence of three in-person courses (Queen's Nurse Leadership 1, Leadership 2, and the Queen's Nurse Award) leading to the award of the Queen's Nurse title. It complements this with the Relational Care Programme, Long Service Awards, retired Queen's Nurse support, and the Community Nursing Research Forum.

Product overview

QNIS operates as a professional development charity offering a portfolio of programmes for Scotland's community nurses and midwives. The core offering is the Queen's Nurse Development Programme, delivered as three sequential in-person courses (Queen's Nurse Leadership 1, Leadership 2, and the Queen's Nurse Award) leading to the prestigious Queen's Nurse title. QNIS also delivers the Relational Care Programme through workshops and study days, supports retired Queen's Nurses through visitor networks and annual gatherings, and has delivered past projects including Catalysts for Change, Creating Healthy Neighbourhoods, Healthier Pregnancies Better Lives, and Wellbeing resources. Additional offerings include Long Service Awards, the Think Could justice resource, and the Community Nursing Research Forum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Queen's Nurse Development Programme A flagship nine-month professional development programme for community nurses and midwives in Scotland consisting of three sequential in-person courses (QNL1, QNL2, and the Queen's Nurse Award) focused on values-based leadership, relational practice, and community nursing excellence, leading to the award of the Queen's Nurse title.
• Relational Care Programme Programmes and study days focused on contemporary relational knowledge and skills for complex clinical work, enabling practitioners to extend their capacity for expert relational practice through psychodynamic and relational approaches to care.
• Long Service Awards Recognition awards presented to registered nurses and midwives who have worked in a community setting for 21 years or more, including badge and certificate, with support for locally organised award events. 112 awards were presented in 2025.
• Retired Queen's Nurse Support Services A range of support services for retired Queen's Nurses who qualified before 1969, including volunteer visitor networks, regular newsletters, an annual gathering with lunch, and subsidised annual group holidays.
• Community Nursing Research Forum A UK-wide forum for nurses and midwives interested in community research, led by QNIS and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), aiming to strengthen research capacity through peer support and mentorship.
• Healthier Pregnancies, Better Lives (HPBL) A programme launched in 2021 with support from Cattanach and The National Lottery Community Fund to advance preconception health, education and care throughout Scotland, working with healthcare colleagues and those with lived experience.
• Catalysts for Change A grant funding programme that enabled community nurses and midwives to develop and deliver their own practice development projects aimed at promoting health equity, supported by National Lottery Community Fund partnership. 23 projects reached nearly 1000 people.
• Creating Healthy Neighbourhoods A project partnering with C3 and the Burdett Trust for Nursing to support Queen's Nurses in piloting the CHESSTM evidence-based mobile tool with local communities to explore health-promoting features of neighbourhoods.
• Think Could A written resource and animation developed to support those working within justice services, highlighting key areas of consideration when supporting people with learning disabilities, with practical examples of reasonable adjustments.
• Wellbeing Resources A collection of wellbeing practices and self-care resources for community nurses, midwives and others working in health and social care, including a QNIS podcast series focusing on self-care.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 170 contemporary Queen's Nurses working across Scotland in diverse community settings
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• CattanachmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with QNIS on Healthier Pregnancies, Better Lives programme launched in 2021. Currently holding the programme space while coalition members decide next steps.
• C3 (Collaborating for Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with C3 and Burdett Trust for Nursing supporting three Queen's Nurses to pilot the CHESSTM tool for creating healthy neighbourhoods.
• Human Development ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided support in developing relational care workshop programme for community nurses working in least affluent areas.
• Queen's Institute of Community Nursing (Qicn)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQNIS collaborates with Qicn to ensure the Community Nursing Research Forum can support nurses and midwives across Scotland.
• Her Majesty The Queen (Patron)coreOthersHer Majesty The Queen became Patron of QNIS in May 2024, continuing the Royal Family's long-standing support since Queen Victoria's founding gift in 1887.
• Florence Nightingale FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of six-charity partnership funded by Burdett Trust for Nursing focusing on nursing-led person-centred care, leadership in policy, and health advocacy.
• Foundation of Nursing StudiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of six-charity partnership funded by Burdett Trust for Nursing focusing on nursing-led person-centred care, leadership in policy, and health advocacy.
• Institute of Health VisitingmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of six-charity partnership funded by Burdett Trust for Nursing focusing on nursing-led person-centred care, leadership in policy, and health advocacy.
• Venture ScotlandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharity partner represented at Palace of Holyroodhouse reception hosted by Her Majesty The Queen.
• Chance2ChangeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharity partner represented at Palace of Holyroodhouse reception hosted by Her Majesty The Queen.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Institute of Health Visiting: A UK charity for health visitors and community practitioners, the Institute of Health Visiting is part of the same six-charity Burdett Trust partnership as QNIS and serves an overlapping community-based nursing audience with similar professional development offerings.
• Royal College of Midwives: The UK's professional body for midwives, RCM is a direct peer for the midwifery half of QNIS's mission and represents the broader institutional counterpart to QNIS's midwifery professional development work in Scotland.
• Florence Nightingale Foundation: A UK nursing charity focused on leadership development and policy advocacy, the Florence Nightingale Foundation is part of the same six-charity Burdett Trust partnership as QNIS, pursues a similar leadership development mission for nurses and midwives, and competes for the same funder pool.
• Foundation of Nursing Studies: Fons is a UK nursing charity focused on person-centred practice development and is part of the same six-charity Burdett Trust partnership as QNIS, making it a direct peer in the UK nursing leadership and practice development charity space.
• The Queen's Institute of Community Nursing (Qicn): Qicn is the England/Wales/Northern Ireland counterpart to QNIS, with an almost identical mission of supporting community nurses. QNIS formally collaborates with Qicn on the UK-wide Community Nursing Research Forum, making it the most direct operational peer.

Broad incumbents

• Royal College of Nursing: The UK's largest nursing professional body and trade union, RCN offers broader nursing advocacy, education, and representation across all specialties including community nursing. QNIS operates alongside RCN Scotland as a focused community-nursing specialist, while RCN covers the entire profession.
• NHS Education for Scotland: NHS Education for Scotland is the public-sector body that took over nurse training from QNIS in the late 1960s and is where QNIS CEO Dr Sarah Doyle previously led workforce development programmes. It is a broad incumbent in the same space rather than a direct charity competitor.

Emerging players

• Macmillan Cancer Support: Macmillan funds specialist nursing roles across the UK, including community-based cancer nurses, and intersects with QNIS's community nursing ecosystem through funding and workforce development, though its primary focus is cancer-specific support rather than general community nursing.
• Marie Curie UK: Marie Curie employs community-based nurses (particularly palliative care) and is a UK charity with comparable scale to QNIS. It overlaps with QNIS's community nursing mission through end-of-life and home care nursing, though focused on a specific specialty.

Others

• Burdett Trust for Nursing: Burdett Trust for Nursing is a major QNIS funder and operates the partnership programme involving QNIS, Florence Nightingale Foundation, Fons, Institute of Health Visiting, and others. As a grantmaker rather than a service provider, it is an ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/QNI_Scotland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCUedt0GrN48AXPWY-9a00Yw
• Facebookfacebook.com/QNIScotland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/queen's-nursing-institute-scotland
• Instagraminstagram.com/qni_scotland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland