The benefits and risks of teams working remotely Over the past few years, beliefs about how, where, and when work is performed have shifted, and emplo...
Charities are at the heart of social ecosystems and play a vital role in building and sustaining flourishing communities. Yet, charities face several ...
Articles on Governance and Leadership in Purpose Driven Organisations.
Strategy & Risk
Scaling Impact Through Cross-Sector Partnerships: A Spotlight on Shared Value
Innovation and change is not the responsibility of one sector alone. Nor can the elements of innovation and change (funds, resources, motivation, creativity, scale) be neatly carved off to individual sectors in the hope they each play their role. By bridging sector boundaries, the osmosis of ideas and practices naturally gives rise to new models where individuals and communities can thrive without overtaxing social sector resources or extinguishing private sector profit.
Felicity Green
Board Performance & Metrics
The Importance of Being Heard
Listening to consumers, their families and carers, is critical to succeeding in an increasingly competitive climate. For example, the commencement of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and emergence of disruptive technologies, introduces informed choice. As purchasing power shifts to individual consumers, they will become more critical in their choice of service. To meet their due diligence responsibilities, directors must have an effective oversight of the processes in place for engaging with consumers and effectively monitoring and managing the quality and safety of services.
Shane Rendalls
Governance
Board Fundraising Check-Up
Not-for-profit boards are under increasing pressure from the press and regulators to ensure the propriety of their fundraising practices. The Shane Warne and E.J. Whitton Foundations are simply two of the latest examples where boards are asked to explain their approach to raising and distributing funding. If you have been thinking about reviewing your own fundraising practices, we have put together a series of eight points to guide your review.
Gavin Nicholson
Leadership
Disrupt or Be Disrupted ... The Six Leadership Challenges of the New Customer-Driven Competitive Marketplace
The strategic and organisational impacts and implications of the new customer-driven, competitive marketplace of human services are profound. Never before and probably never again will the boards, chief executive officers and senior managers of Australian community businesses (NFPs) face such a cataclysmic shift in the way they need to think, behave and operate. The shift from a government-funded, welfare paradigm to a customer-driven, competitive market paradigm should not be underestimated – there are immense strategic and organisational challenges as well as significant opportunities.
Michael Goldsworthy
What Does an Innovative Board Look Like – Value Creating
In an increasingly complex and uncertain world, change is happening faster and more often than ever before. As an example of major change in the Australian not-for-profit sector, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has transformed the way people with disabilities are supported, with the move away from the block funding of disability services by government towards a system in which individuals with a disability have a greater choice and control over the services they purchase.
James Beck
Three Cheers for the Chair
Every board member has an important role to play in the governance of your organisation, but it is your board Chair who has the greatest influence over the culture and focus of your board activities. As such it is crucial that boards carefully consider their Chair’s appointment and make sure they choose the right person for the job. When discussing the role of Chair for your organisation, there are several things you may want to consider.
Kerri Tilby-Price
Keeping Your Reputation – Integrity Risks for NFPs
Recent cases questioning the integrity of some Not-for-Profit (NFPs) organisations highlight changing accountability requirements for the sector. As more public funds are provided to the NFP sector to deliver public services a higher level of public accountability is being applied to the sector. NFPs able to negotiate this transition will distinguish themselves in the market. For some, the recent Anzac commemorations were tainted by the Department of Veteran Affairs stripping the Camp Gallipoli Foundation of its permit to use the protected word “Anzac”.
David Burfoot
Darren Fittler on the How Purpose Drives Choices
In this short video, Darren Fittler – Partner at Gilbert + Tobin – outlines how your organisation’s purpose drives what your organisation does at multiple levels. Darren presented on “Never Forget Your Purpose… Ever!” at the Better Boards Conference 2015.
Darren Fittler
Tech in the Boardroom: Beyond the Board Portal
Discussion of boardroom technology has almost exclusively been focused on board portals. This makes sense as board portals have probably had one of the most significant impacts on boards of any widely available technology to date. However, we are now beginning to see the consumerisation of a wide range of far more complex and advanced technologies that have the potential to make a significant impact on the boardroom and the way boards operate.
Raphael Goldsworthy
Board Recruitment
Director Selection: Finding the Right Fit
Getting the right people onto a board can be critical to a non-profit’s effectiveness. Yet while the recruitment of a new CEO typically follows a rigorous process, the appointment of a new director is frequently ad hoc, informal and heavily reliant on a closed network of acquaintances. As a result, many non-profit boards may be missing an opportunity to add value to their organisation. Boards are unique work groups. They meet infrequently and spend limited time together outside the boardroom.
Natalie Elms