Best Practices for Governance
Click on "related links" for any statement below to see the most relevant Resources.
| 1. | To provide for effective governance of the society, design, document in the Board manual, and periodically modify, a governance structure that
|
| 2. | To ensure the volunteer Board has the resources and support to practice good governance of the society, recruit an executive director or administrator who is both a competent manager and also knowledgeable about governance and committed to helping the Board achieve good governance practices. Related Links >> |
| 3. | To ensure directors understand their roles and responsibilities and deliver effective governance of the society, clearly explain expectations to prospective directors, supply all directors with a current Board manual that includes job descriptions, and provide thorough orientation and appropriate training. Related Links >> |
| 4. | To provide organizational direction, develop operational goals that can be monitored, and to ensure the society fulfills (but does not stray from) its constitutional purpose, develop a clear mission statement that expresses core purposes and values, document it in the Board manual, and review it annually for any needed revision. Related Links >> |
| 5. | To identify and organize the work needed to fulfill the mission, to consider relevant opportunities and constraints, and to allow for evaluation of progress, develop and document in the Board manual a plan that considers both the medium term and the long term and that sets out measurable goals (planned outcomes). Related Links >> |
| 6. | To guide the Board in its stewardship and oversight responsibilities and to provide a framework for staff to make decisions and do their work, develop and document in the Board manual, and periodically review, clear policies on such issues as:
|
| 7. | To enable the Board to monitor compliance with policies and progress in achieving established operational goals (planned outcomes), develop, document in the Board manual, and periodically review, clear mechanisms to generate monitoring information the Board needs and when it needs it. Related Links >> |
| 8. | To ensure the Board meets its governance responsibilities and that key work is completed on time, and to guide agenda planning, use an annual Board calendar documented in the Board manual that includes such items as:
|
| 9. | To fulfill the Board’s responsibility to be accountable for results, to learn what is working well and what needs to be improved, and to identify and implement needed changes, develop, document in the Board manual and annual calendar, and implement, an organized system of performance evaluation that includes assessment of
|
