I'm stuck..help

Rate this NBPSPP

Why do I doubt that how the Board of NBPSPP evaluates itself is subject to any logical approach? I guess that it is because I haven't been told!?

So, a few questions which might fit into a self appraisal.

1. Do board members have job descriptions?
2. Were you given a job description when you applied and when you joined?
3. Which of these best describes a board meeting?

•  fun
• interesting
• boring
• too long
• too short
• about right
• move briskly
• move slowly
• most board members participate in discussions
• a few members tend to dominate
• members feel free to express ideas and opinions
• members are reluctant to speak up

    4. At either of the last 2 board meetings, did someone raise the question about the relevance of an issue to the Plan's mission?

    5. if a member of the staff (such as it is at Vestcorp) comes to you with a complaint, what do you do?

    6. Which of the following statements best describes the communications that the board receives from Vestcorp?

• too much info
• just about right
• too little info
• sometimes irrelevant
• unclear
• mixed
• we get info prefaced by a statement of purpose

    7. Which of these characteristics apply to a majority of board members?

• zealously committed to the Plan's mission
• loyal to the Plan and its best operation
• strong interest inboard activities
• probably concerned about the Plan and its mission but not overly expressed
• uneven display of interest

     8. The board has an annual work plan about what it intends to accomplish over the next year.

      9. Are minutes of the last meeting and an agenda for up coming meetings sent out in advance.

     10. Are board members generally knowledgeable about the issues confronting retirees and particularly about the changes in the social, economic and political environment in which they live?

      11. Which of the following best describes the climate of the board?

• cool
• stormy
• foggy
• cloudy with occasional showers
• clear and bright
• fresh breezes
• hot

This might be an interesting self appraisal for the board members, as a start...which is pretty much where this board is in its journey to effective governance evaluation. 

Next, a rating scale for board performance. 

What matters most to a Saint John citizen??(#whatmattersmost)

 Looking at the City of Saint John open data portal will emphatically not tell you who or what a local citizen is..or does. 

Compare this to , for example, Calgary or Toronto or Ottawa or Winnipeg 

• Calgary is (or was) oil hosting 63% of all petroleum engineers and 40%of geologists in N. Am.
• Toronto is home 38% of financial and investment analysts, 35% of securities brokers, 32% of actors and comedians, 30% of theatre workers, 31% of IT analysts in Canada.
• Ottawa is home to 30% of economists and 20% of policy researchers.
• Winnipeg is home to 12% of Canada's musicians and singers (although it has 2.25% of Canada's population. 

An open data portal might present what clusters persist or exist in Saint John encouraging birds of a feather to flock together. To encourage one group to cluster who might the city recruit to help?

• The university,
• the community college,
• the board of trade
• the provincial government??
• the feds???

How creative is Saint John society? What venues might the city foster to build this creativity? How do city leaders define creativity? 

Through:

• restaurants up town?
• performance venues
• clubs
• art studios
• music studios
• impact hubs
• sports clubs (amateur, semi pro, pro)
• Yoga coops, kickboxing clubs, bicycle clubs, canoeing/kayaking clubs.
• Political clubs (Politics is said to be a blood sport in the Maritimes. You could fool me with the really poor voter engagement at all levels , here).  

These are not easy questions to answer. But, questions are the first step to building an open data portal. 

#whatmattersmost is a creative environment. The nest post will start to focus how one might begin to build a creative hub.

 I'm stuck

I haven't posted anything about my board game, Women on Boards  because I can't figure out what to do next. I have posted:

• barriers
• hazards
• opportunities for success
• strategies to pursue a position on a corporate board
• how different countries enable the advancement of women
• how different countries (our own as an example) unwittingly throw up barriers
• how different industries do and don't help
• what industries and sectors are more likely amenable to placing women on boards
• and those sectors and industries which are not. 
• bios for players have been presented
• the role of sponsors and mentors has been presented. 
• the mechanics of the game are noted

Its a lot of "stuff". But, are there similar games? Do they use as much research as was put into this game? 

Yes, actually,  there are.

One is Networking
www.socialnetworkaudit.com/game/index.php
and could apply here. It is a board game about how to build relationships as one advances one's career. It resonates with this my game because a portion of my game deals with getting help from not only mentors and sponsors but friends one meets along the way. 

There is another analogous game called Careers, by Parker Brothers Inc. designed to help guide people into a particular career, how it is done, what one might expect in terms of working conditions, what is needed to advance. Victory points are money, fame and recognition. 

I suppose that the next step is to consider career life cycles for women. What paths might one take to advance along a career path to a directorship? I wonder, is there a book about women similar to the one Harry Levinson wrote about men (Seasons of Man)? 
(Can't over think this). 
But the career cycles would be standard: early, mid late. What would the divergent paths be for each phase?

Can anyone out there in the ether help?