A Board assessment is all about learning: learning more about how to operate as a Board and how to work better as a group with the aim of providing stronger governance and leadership to the National entity. Within Amnesty, Core Standard 7 (IV) says that in order to: “improve Board performance, the Board adopts a process for an annual Board assessment (collective assessment) that is undertaken by the Board and periodically with external assistance”.
This is linked to what we find beyond Amnesty, where it is clear from several studies that a high-performing Board is likely to improve the overall performance of the organisation and that high-performing Boards tend to take their development, including Board assessments, seriously.
Indeed, being a Board member implies the responsibility to contribute leaving Amnesty in better position after their term in office. To do this, Boards need to have the necessary skills and competencies to provide leadership and identify what strategic new opportunities and challenges the national entity faces. Given the Board’s key role in setting the strategic vision of the organisation and working closely with management to provide effective governance, small improvements in the Board’s performance can have profoundly positive impact on the effectiveness of the national entity.
To make sure that the Board is effective, it should regularly assess its own performance and that of individual members. This means assessing the Board’s objectives and what was set to achieve during a set period of time. Because Amnesty is a volunteer-led organisation, the effectiveness and preparation of Boards is crucial. To make the right use of members’ time, skills and knowledge, and ensure that their capabilities are enhanced through development and training activities, Boards need to take a step back from time to time and reflect on their performance and future direction. A Board assessment is an exercise that gives the members time for self-reflection and is one of the most effective ways for identifying areas for improving performance, for example those linked to the Core Standards, such as: agenda development, meetings, reporting, oversight and accountability.
More comprehensively, a Board assessment:
By not conducting Board assessments, there is a danger that an opportunity for learning and improvement could be missed. Without feedback and reflection it might be difficult to know whether a national entity is on the right path towards continuous improvement to provide the best leadership possible to the organization. Board assessments are tools to assess if performance and organisational behaviours are enabling or blocking the national entity towards achieving human rights impact. In other words, organizations cannot learn without feedback. No matter how good a Board is, it is bound to get better if it is assessed in a purposeful manner. However, as noted by Stanford University in 2016, for Board assessments to be successful they need to cover the adequate depth of assessment and be conducted in a safe and conducive environment.
Any assessment process should be mindful of the barriers and motivations for individuals and groups to change. Board assessments are more likely to succeed if every individual involved in the exercise sees value and benefits from the process. It is very important for every Board member to be mindful of what challenges might come up during the assessment and to tackle them as a group, looking forward to lean from the assessment.
Top 10 tips for Board Assessments:
A Board assessment would normally start by looking at Core Standard 7. Core Standard 7 can be divided by looking at
Issues Related to Board’s Governing Roles and Responsibilities:
Issues that Affect the Board’s Capability to carry out its Governance Functions:
Methodologies
The use of an external person is advisable at regular intervals, perhaps every two years with a self-assessment in between. The main function of an external person would be to collect opinions and data independently and analyse it for consideration by the Board. The external person will provide an independent view on the performance that the Board can react to before setting the next workplan. Also, an external person can take the role of facilitating the assessment which can be very helpful in managing conversations around Board relationships and collaboration. If you would like to engage an external person to facilitate the Board assessment, it is suggested that the function and role of that person is agreed in a terms of reference document.
Beyond externally facilitated assessments, methodologies for a Board self-assessment can include questionnaires and surveys to reflect on individual Board member performance. In relation to external assessments, confidential interviews are found to generate richer information than either surveys or questionnaires – they allow the assessment to explore issues more deeply with the participant(s) and to focus on future needs. Reflecting solely on previous performance (i.e. what we have done over the last year) is not an effective technique for improving future performance, especially for Boards who must be constantly scanning the context/environment and preparing the organisation to respond to present and future challenges.
Board assessments are very important to lead the national entity towards a supportive culture of evaluation and learning, starting from within the Board to the whole organization. There must be an atmosphere of collaboration, trust and respect between the Board, the management and everyone else involved in making the organisation better. This means the ability of the Board to lean from itself through assessments and to have honest and constructive conversations with the management and members. Therefore, Board assessments should not be used to ‘blame’ somebody, but to seek solutions to narrow the gaps identified in the assessment and develop as a Board leading the national entity.
In summary, whether you decide to start with a Board self-assessment, an externally facilitated self-assessment or a fully external process, it would be good to be mindful of:
Board self-assessment: The Terms of Reference should specify which member of the Board will lead the process. This document should also outline the main purpose of the exercise, the questionnaire/survey that you will use, the method for discussing the findings from the questionnaire/survey and how these lessons will be taken forward. As specified in the Core Standards, this exercise should happen annually.
Board externally facilitated self-assessment: The Terms of Reference should specify the role of the selected external person to facilitate the process. The external reviewer would analyse the findings from surveys/questionnaires, present these findings for Board discussion and facilitate a discussion to capture learning moving forward. It is recommended this exercise takes place every two years. One possibility for an externally facilitated self-assessment would be to invite a Board member from a peer-national entity.
Board external assessment: The Terms of Reference should be agreed by the Board and the management for an external consultant to carry out an external evaluation and provide recommendations for improvement. A fully external evaluation is best placed when the organisation is planning to make significant governance changes. One example might be a National entity/Structure looking to adapt its national governance in line with Amnesty’s global governance regulations. One possibility for an external assessment would be to invite a Board member from a peer-national entity.
