UPDATE - 1 June 2006

BCWWA Watermark Article

Governance Update

 

By Jim Levin, President

 

Governance has moved from concept to practical reality for the Association. As you are now aware, we now have a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Ms Natalie Zigarlick – who is fast at work looking at operations and resource requirements. We also have a new Board of Directors operating under the new form and function described in our previous report. This is an interim Board which will dissolve at the 2007 Annual General Meeting. Here are some highlights of the practical achievements we’ve made and the plans we have for moving forward

 

Governance Task Force

The Task Force responsible for leading the governance process is moving towards terminating its own existence. With the interim Board in place and the new form and structure of the Association now approved, the main focus of the Task force is to assist the new Board with its role and to assume management of the governance process, help create the Leadership Council, assist with the Strategic Planning process and develop a membership package that can be implemented by an Ad Hoc committee of the Board.

 

The new Board is pleased to report that the efforts of the Governance Task Force to steward the restructuring of the Association has been recognized by someone peripheral to the process but who has the appropriate expertise.

 

“I just recently reviewed the … new governance system being implemented at BCWWA and would like to congratulate the Association for being progressive in this initiative.

 

As a person trained by Dr. John Carver as a consultant in Policy Governance, and having experience working with an Association that implemented this system successfully, I feel very confident that in the long run the path you are on will serve the Association very well. As the concepts of this model are very logical and simple, it is difficult for anyone to disagree with it on a conceptual level. However, I would caution that implementation is not always easy and there will, undoubtedly, be bumps along the way and will require a lot of dedication and hard work by your committee members and staff. 

 

Just wanted to congratulate your committee for its foresight and wish you well as you progress through the implementation stages.

 

Daisy Foster”

 

Retiring Board Provides Recommendations

On Feb 24, the Governance Task force sponsored a planning session with the retiring Board along with Committee Chairs to develop a set of recommendations for the new Board within the three major areas of the organization: Leadership, Governance and Administration.

 

A full report is available by contacting the office. However, here are some significant highlights. Keep in mind that these are simply recommendations. It is up to the Board to implement them and/or revise as necessary:

 

Regarding the new form of the Association:

Where the organization is going:

• increase profile with various publics
• increase revenue; upgrading education & training efforts
• increase membership

Main areas of focus for the organization:

• Leadership
• Governance
• Administration

Need to develop policy that governs all decisions and communications made by the organization:

• “setting the roles and boundaries governing the business”
• clear policies enable business to be carried out and inform staff and volunteers where the boundaries are

 

Regarding the Purpose and Mandate of the Leadership Council, its role is to:

• Recommend policy to the board
• Provide internal communication between membership and Board including infrastructure needs; support the direction; all to increase wisdom of the Board
• Advise, articulate & support Technical Committees
• Be the “engine”, identifying issues and be the “ears” of the industry
• Filter and vet ideas for the Board
• Make strategic plans to avoid volunteer burnout
• Be accountable to the Board by electing 2 reps that will be appointed to the Board as Directors

 

Regarding the administration of the Association:

The role of administration is to manage time, effort, energy and money

The Board should:

• define Executive Limitations” for the CEO, especially in the areas of finance, ethics and public representation
• develop a personnel management policy

 

In providing this set of recommendations, this group can be a resource for the new Board which it may wish to engage as it completes its work in the ensuing year.

 

Planning for the Future

To ensure that the new form and structure of the Association is truly workable, the interim Board and Leadership Council will work with the Governance Task Force to identify any challenges and determine strategies to address them, implement as many recommendations as possible to “try them out” and revise where necessary and evolve the structure to one that the 2007 Board can work with effectively and efficiently.

 

One of the major activities underway within the interim period is the creation of the Leadership Council. This will not be an easy task but it is one that everyone agrees is necessary. To that end, the new Board, as one of its first formal activities, will lead a planning session that will be asked to draft a structure and elect two representatives that will become Directors on the Board for the interim period.

 

Another major undertaking for the Governance Task Force, and perhaps the only remaining large task, is the development of a membership package.  One of the key objectives for the association in its new mandate is to figure out how to attract and retain new members. That task, headed by Melanie Sawyer, is now examining what the Association should do such as:

• Create messages that position volunteering as worthwhile to both individuals & the industry
• Define clear, concise, observable benefits of membership:
• opportunities for individuals (networking, partnerships, job opportunities, personal marketing)
• act as the voice of the industry when interacting with others (learning needs advice, accurate professional industry information)
• Articulate volunteer needs (job descriptions; short assignments on focused areas)
• Focus membership drives on entry level young professionals (technical colleges, universities & grad schools)
• Target related conferences/seminars, professional Associations
• Retain existing members:
• limit time involvement
• match skills & experience to volunteer needs

 

 

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