{"id":24,"date":"2014-11-13T21:14:58","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T21:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/miles-weaver\/?p=24"},"modified":"2014-11-13T21:15:52","modified_gmt":"2014-11-13T21:15:52","slug":"encourage-people-join-boards-discussion-trustee-week-2015-conference-dundee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/miles-weaver\/2014\/11\/13\/encourage-people-join-boards-discussion-trustee-week-2015-conference-dundee\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How to Encourage More People to Join Boards\u2019 – Discussion at Trustee Week 2015 Conference Dundee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tomorrow I shall be leading four table discussions on the topic of\u00a0\u2018How to Encourage More People to Join Boards\u2019 at the Trustee Week Conference in Dundee. \u00a0Here are my notes and discussion questions. <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I would value any comments that you may have.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Aim of Discussion<\/h2>\n

To identify ways in which Trusteeship can be encouraged and how we can build relationships and networks to support the development of trustees in Scotland.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Challenge: Encouraging more people to join boards<\/h2>\n

Trustees play a vital contribution to society across approximately 45,000 Voluntary Sector Organisations in Scotland (SCVO, 2010).\u00a0 However, many third sector organisations find it difficult to recruit trustees and often rely on word-of-mouth to fill appointments.\u00a0 In Edinburgh alone, the Volunteer Centre reports an estimated 90% of board-level vacancies, across 1800 Voluntary sector organisations.\u00a0 Nevertheless, Scotland is not short of volunteers, with 1.2m adults (28% of Scotland\u2019s population) undertaking volunteering activity each year.\u00a0 Trusteeship is one form of volunteering that provides a unique experience to gain valuable skills at a strategic level and a great way to \u2018grow\u2019 and \u2018give back\u2019.\u00a0 The Charity Commission report low levels of awareness amongst the public that a trusteeship can be regarded as a volunteering opportunity – less than 5% of people are aware that trusteeship can be a way to support a charity (Tomorrow\u2019s World Telephone Omnibus Survey, 2006). There are also perception issues around the amount of time required to fulfil a trustee position, concerns with potential liabilities and interestingly some individuals believe they lack the necessary skills (DCLG, September 2008). Key to unlocking this is to promote the benefits of Trusteeship and to develop new and existing networks (i.e. existing volunteers, local interfaces, umbrella organisations, support groups) to communicate this message to inspire others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Discussion 1. How can we encourage more people to consider being a Trustee?<\/i><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/h3>\n

Ensuring an effective board: Fit, skillsets and promoting diversity<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Board\u2019s to be effective need the right mix of skills, knowledge, backgrounds and experiences and perspectives to govern well, as well as embodying diversity in its widest sense (The NCVO Good Governance Guide, 2010).<\/h6>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the 2013 Trustee Week Dundee Conference, there was a lot of discussion around ensuring the right \u2018fit\u2019 between the prospective trustee, board and the vision and values of the organisation.\u00a0 Firstly, there was consensus that the individual should be passionate about what the organisation does and for some, have volunteered for the organisation in the past.\u00a0 There was also general support for greater demographic diversity (e.g. age, gender, and ethnicity) on boards.<\/p>\n

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Charity Commission statistics show that (in England and Wales):<\/h6>\n