Governance
Boards are under increasing scrutiny and pressure. We can help you by leading governance reviews, strategy workshops or Trustee training sessions.
The third sector is heavily dependent on the dedication of the thousands of individuals who serve as Trustees. However, increased regulatory oversight, escalating service demands, and shrinking financial resources are all contributing to the mounting pressures on charity Boards.
We offer support for your governance responsibilities and challenges. DB Associates provides training for individual boards and Hospice UK members. Additionally, we conduct governance for trustees and senior staff and lead strategic planning sessions.
We are also an approved consultant for Digi-Board, the digital review tool that employs custom analytics to deliver unique insights into a charity's governance.
'David has worked closely with us for over five years delivering governance reviews to Digi-Board’s clients. He is our most highly valued and trusted associate for so many reasons. We have shared values, which we live and work by.' Helen Michaels, MD for Digi-Board
Getting Trustees and Directors together for board development work is really important in these challenging times. We facilitated a day at Wigan and Leigh Hospice to explore their respective roles and discuss the results of their Digi-Board Governance Review.
As with most charities, two of their top chosen ways to improve performance in the Board Effectiveness dimension of Digi-Board were ‘Taking time to discuss how we work together, our individual motivations, behaviours and expectations’ and ‘Making time to get to know each other outside of meetings’. Such days represent an ideal chance to do both of these.
CEO, Jo Carby, said, ‘It was very helpful to discuss the results of the governance review together. Similarly, to work together as Trustees and Directors to think how we would respond to fictional (but plausible) scenarios. Likewise, the roles of each group in all stages of strategy, from development through implementation and review. We found the day thought provoking and refreshing.’
The Community Heartbeat Trust aims to help and support communities in the correct provision of defibrillators in sustainable, resilient manner, underpinned by good governance. As part of their strategic development, they asked db associates to advise them around their legal structure and related governance issues.
Ron Simpson Chair, said; ‘We were aware that several aspects of our existing legal status and operations needed to be updated, both for the charity itself and for our trading company.
David provided a series of recommendations based on his knowledge of governance that have enabled the Board to clearly plan our way forward. His active engagement throughout the process was of great benefit and we are now looking forward to the next chapter in the development of the charity.’
Digi-Board is an on-line tool that provides detailed insights into a charity’s governance practices and performance. Participants answer questions based not only on the eight principles of the Charity Governance Code, but also other important areas such as income generation, CQC readiness, board culture and safeguarding. Respondents can rate present performance, identify areas of improvement and add their own specific comments.
The results provide rich, detailed assessment of your current performance and show areas of strength and weakness to help you plan future board development activities. You can also see any contrast in the perspectives of trustees and directors.
Moreover, you can benchmark your results against those of the other charities who have used the tool - and against the twenty plus hospices who have also done so.
We also now have benchmarking around the make up of the Board in terms of how a participating charity compares to the whole universe in factors such as age, sex, duration of service, ethnic background, etc.
'As the incoming Chair, I found Digi-Board a valuable and insightful tool. Our results were very positive, but the recommendations gave us a really helpful framework for further improvements to our practice and processes.’ Shaun O'Leary, Chair, St Wilfrid’s Hospice (Eastbourne)
To discuss the use of Digi-Board further, contact me.
