NBPSPP, Board Bios and Transparency
To follow up on yesterday's post, if you have not read the NBPSPP 2016 Annual report and you are a pensioner with this plan, you should...especially the Trustee biographies. If nothing else, it will assuage any fears you might have that the board is under qualified.
To be sure, there is a lot more training that they might profitably receive to enhance their governance skills. Certification or Accreditation would be high on that list. It is, in fact somewhat surprising that this has not been broached given that one of the trustees was on the board of the CICA.
Go to the CICA website.
There are some truly excellent materials focused on governance including downloadable handbooks.
Some trustees have had non-profit board experience and one continues that journey.
So, what skills are they likely to have developed as a consequence of some of this corporate and non profit experience?
The National Study of Board Governance Practice in the Non-Profit and Volunteer Sector in Canada, a new non profit director can expect to learn:
- how to evaluate the board based on agreed governance practices
- measure the effectiveness of board meetings
- determine stakeholder satisfaction
- set board goals and measure success in reaching these
- build milestones into that process
- distinguish between evaluating the board and measuring the effectiveness of the organization
- learn how to measure both over time
- determine the relative success of the strategic plan's implementation
- use qualitative as well as quantitative measures
- set expectations for board members and monitor performance accordingly
- set expectations for board members and evaluate it based on accomplishments
- hold annual peer, board and individual member assessments.
The annual report references some board education supplied to the board members. None of these opportunities dealt with governance. Nor was there reference made to the kinds of newspaper materials circulated to the board. Nor was there any reference made to the use of external governance authorities in board continuing education.
So, once the website is up and posted (2018) presumably the kind of education board members will receive in the next fiscal year will be shared with those of us who are pensioners.
More on this tomorrow. Did you know that despite union affiliations, directors on NBPSPP are still designated as independent? How does that work, I wonder?
