Board Self-Assessment: 6 Free Resources With 352 Questions

Some great comments and additional resources here, everyone! Carter, I particularly appreciate the extra context that you added around the "How" of doing Board evals.

Audit Committee self-evaluation form at my website: http://davidtate.us/files/Audit_Commi ... e_Tate_Esq_1025092.v1.pdf

Regards,
Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco)
http://davidtate.us
tateatty@yahoo.com
By Dave Tate, Esq. http://davidtate.us

(cross-posted from LinkedIn)

Thank you for the resource links. I am working on revising my workshop information and board assessment is a strong topic. I am also advising three new NPOs and this is an immediate need of theirs - to think about their current boards and who they see actually setting on the board. Thanks.

By Sherrie Graham (cross-posted from LinkedIn)

You mention such an important activity -- Board evaluation. Perhaps the following is a different discussion (e.g., "How should Board self-evaluations be done?"), but I've often found that, as important as picking a suitable self-assessment questionnaire, is guiding the Board to do the assessment in a very useful way. Here's what I've learned:
1. Now is the best time to do a Board self-evaluation, if they haven't done one in over a year. If Board members want to wait until new members are experienced on the Board, tell them that that's like waiting until someone feels fine before they see the Doctor.
2. One of the best ways to get Board members focused and energized -- and to stop personalizing issues -- is by doing a short Board evaluation.
3. Don't just focus on accuracy, validity and reliability when picking a tool -- also focus on relevance, utility and practicality.
4. Carefully consider that Board members are volunteers with very limited time -- so it's very important that the evaluation tool not require a great deal of time from a member to complete -- getting more than 1 hour from a Board member is difficult.
5. Have each member do the tool alone, not as a group. Whatever dysfunction might exist in the Board as a group is also likely carried into how they complete the evaluation.
6. First test the tool with a few Board members to ensure that it will likely be understandable and acceptable to the Board overall.
7. Don't have lots of staff members do the same tool -- consider having only the Executive Director do the tool. Otherwise, results will likely reflect what many other people don't -- and probably don't have to -- know about the Board.
8. Always produce a Board Development Plan with goals to address results of the evaluation, even if the Plan is only one page long. Have Board members approve the Plan and mention the approval in the Board minutes.

By Carter McNamara (cross-posted from LinkedIn)

Thanks, Laura.

By Chris Bonney (cross-posted from LinkedIn)

Thanks! I've also added the resources to the Free Management Library at http://www.managementhelp.org, along with the many other free resources in there now. They're in the topic "Board of Directors," which includes extensive free resources in all aspects of Boards, along with all types of operations of Boards. Like IdeaEncore, you can submit free materials to the Library, as well. Thanks!

By Carter McNamara (cross-posted from LinkedIn)

Hi Laura,

Thank you for finding and sharing these tools.

I encourage you to also add each of the individual resource links ("Share", then "Share a Link") on www.IdeaEncore.com, the nonprofit knowledge sharing marketplace that Flo Green and I created to help nonprofits avoid re-inventing tools / templates / and practical resources. Through your profile, others will be able to see the resources you have shared and quickly click-through or download them.

In addition to links to resources, authors / creators of resources also upload documents for free or to sell (to help defray the development and maintenance cost).

By making sharing more rewarding, we have found that more people from across the sector are willing to share more broadly - which makes everyone more efficient and spreads innovation farther.

By Scott Bechtler-Levin (cross-posted from LinkedIn)

You're welcome, Kylie! Anne, thanks for continuing to help round out this list! (cross-posted to LinkedIn)

Thank you Laura. These tools are very helpful! I appreciate you posting them.

By Kylie Pierce (cross-posted from LinkedIn)

Laura --

There are several arts-related assessment tools here: http://www.ncnonprofits.org/principles.asp

Anne Ackerson

(cross-posted from LinkedIn)