Our governance

Lawson is a joint venture of two incorporated entities representing the research institute of each of the London hospitals.  Lawson Research Institute is the research institute of St. Josephs Health Care, London (St. Joseph’s), and London Health Sciences Centre Research Inc. is the research institute of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).  The joint venture is not a legal entity; rather, the two bodies function together as a single organization through a memorandum of agreement that enables them to function jointly through shared governance.  Both legal entities are incorporated under the provisions of the Canada Corporations Act, without share capital and both have charitable status. Either legal name can be utilized for the purposes of research and/or donor agreements.

The governance of Lawson consists of a Board of Directors with the following membership:

From the LHSC Board of Directors:
Chair of LHSC                                                
Vice Chair LHSC                                            
Chair, Finance & Audit Committee LHSC                 
President LHSC                                                         
Vice President Research LHSC                                

From the St. Joseph’s Board of Directors:
Chair of St. Joseph’s
Vice Chair St. Joseph’s
Chair, Resource Planning St Joseph’s
President St. Joseph’s
Vice President Research St. Joseph’s

The Board of Lawson therefore has a potential maximum membership of 10.  Currently there is only a membership of eight, as two of the positions for LHSC and St. Joseph's, (President & Chief Executive Officer and Vice President Research) are filled by a single individual (Cliff Nordal and Dr. David Hill).

For Lawson, as structured by the bylaws, the Members and Directors are the same people.  The Board is structured such that neither hospital has a majority of Directors or Members.

Lawson utilizes the governance committees of LHSC and St. Joseph’s to provide support to the Board.  The Finance and Audit Committee of LHSC and the Resource Planning and the Audit Committee of St. Joseph’s provide the due diligence reviews and make recommendations to the Lawson Board.

Operational leadership is provided by Dr. David Hill, Scientific Director and Vice President, Research at LHSC and St. Joseph's.  He has a direct reporting relationship to the President & Chief Executive Officer of LHSC and President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Joseph's, Mr. Cliff Nordal.

Lawson Research Institute Charitable BN 868552647-rr0001
London Health Sciences Centre Research Inc. Charitable BN 88428369 -rr0001