Boards We Help
At BoardClarity we specialize in helping boards and trusts to become more effective and efficient. Our clients include national and regional agencies, health organisations, businesses, schools and large non-governmental organisations (NGOs) throughout New Zealand.
Client: CCS Disability Action
What: Two day, Full board Policy Governance Training
When: March 2010
CCS Disability Action is a not-for-profit organisation that supports and services people with physical disabilities in New Zealand and advocates for their rights. The national board of CCS Disability Action has been working with the Policy Governance model for a number of years. But before implementing a new strategy, the board decided to engage the services of external governance specialists to support the organisation at this crucial time.
BoardClarity was engaged to lead a two-day board Policy Governance training workshop. Prior to the workshop, facilitator Sandy Brinsdon spoke with a number of board members to gain an appreciation of the board’s current capability with Policy Governance. She discovered the board was already strong on parts of the model but value could be added in other areas.
The workshop gave the board members a deeper understanding of Policy Governance principles and how they applied to CCS. Importantly, the board members were also able to learn more about each other, discuss board values as a whole group and complete their governance policy manual to enable the board to function more effectively.
“We really appreciated the facilitation style of Sandy; she challenged our thinking and made a great allowance for the board’s conversation to develop but could still stem it when required. Sandy knew her subject thoroughly and had relevant experiences and stories. It was great to make the model come alive and to leave with a resource.”
Wendy Coutts, Board Chair
Client: Anglican Care, Canterbury Westland
What: Training workshops and ongoing board mentoring
When: Since 2004
Anglican Care Canterbury/Westland is the social services and social justice arm of the Diocese of Christchurch. The charity faces many challenges and in the mid 2000s recognised the need for significant change at an organisational and board level. External support was required so governance specialists BoardClarity were engaged to assist.
Anglican Care’s organisational structure means a number of levels of governance are delegated within the organisation. With BoardClarity’s assistance, clear accountability lines have been established and ongoing training and support is provided to ensure new board and staff members are aware of how the organisation functions.
At the board level, BoardClarity has helped Anglican Care develop a stronger governance capability. Governance policies have been developed so more time is spent on the right discussions. Clear monitoring is in place so the divisional managers are held accountable for ensuring the organisation achieves its purpose and roles are well defined empowering individuals to perform at their highest level.
“Developing an ongoing relationship with Sandy and Cam has meant that we have a relationship with experts in governance who really understand our organisation. They bring an external voice to keep us on track as needed and they have been creative in helping us to see where we needed to do things differently to achieve the results we wanted”
Pamela Hindin-Whitewood, Board Chair
Client: The Antarctic Attraction
What: Governance coaching
When: 2009
The Antarctic Attraction at the International Antarctic Centre is Canterbury’s leading visitor attraction and has been a multiple winner and finalist in the New Zealand Tourism Awards. Richard Benton, the Centre’s entrepreneurial owner, has a number of other enterprises in his portfolio and was looking for an approach to governance that would be workable from a business owners perspective.
Richard identified BoardClarity as an organisation with the skills and knowledge to work through this challenge with him. Sandy introduced Richard to Policy Governance and lent him a copy of “Corporate Boards that Create Value“. Richard was drawn to the rigours of this approach and the discipline of formalising his values and ownership interests. With Sandy’s assistance he was able to get a full understanding of the governance model and principles that could enable him to protect and enhance his business entities.
“I have had a long association with Cam and Sandy Brinsdon, so was more than willing to listen when they introduced me to the principles of Policy Governance. As a practical business man, I quickly saw the value of this approach and how it could help me clarify ownership interests and values across my tourism businesses”
Richard Benton, Managing Director
Client: Partnership Health, PHO
What: Two half-day workshops, Policy Governance Training
When: March 2010
Partnership Health strives to improve the health of all its enrolled communities in Canterbury. It is the largest Primary Health Organisation (PHO) in the country and the board has a representative make up including among others community members, professional directors and a range of health professionals. The health area, and particularly PHOs, are undergoing many changes and it is vital the board functions well as a group.
External support was needed in early 2009 so governance specialists Cam and Sandy Brinsdon of BoardClarity were engaged to deliver a Policy Governance training workshop during two evenings. From discussions with board members prior to the workshop Sandy and Cam were able to identify specific issues to raise and address. So while the workshops covered all the Policy Governance principles, there was a specific focus on discussion around the concept of board holism (acting collectively). A number of board members also found the learning useful in relation to the functioning of other boards.
“The individual and group discussions were great and empowered us to ask the difficult questions. You enabled a good balance of listening and talking. It provided us with a good chance to reflect on our various board roles and the cultures of different boards we are on. The handouts were excellent and your deep understanding of the health sector was beneficial, you know what we are grappling with. Our board meeting discussion will be different following this workshop”.
Jane Cartwright, CEO
Client: Fundraising Institute of New ZealandWhat: Two day, Full board Policy Governance Training
When: July 2010
The Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) is New Zealand’s not-for-profit professional body for fundraisers and a core resource for fundraisers. The FINZ board wanted to move from a management board to a fully functioning governance board. They had the right professionals on the board and a new CEO in place so sought help to make this crucial transition. Policy Governance was their model of choice because, among other things, it would enable the board to better clarify roles and responsibilities.
Governance specialist Cam Brinsdon of BoardClarity worked alongside the board to plan a two-day governance workshop to clearly explain Policy Governance principles and enable the board to discuss their vision for FINZ. Topics included what difference FINZ wants to make for which members; what executive limitations would work for the Institute and how the board would monitor a genuinely empowered CEO. After the first day the board decided to commit to this best-practice approach to governance. With Cam’s assistance on day two the members recorded their collective values in a concise governance manual which became a reference document for future decision making.
“Cam clearly knows this topic very well and was able to modify the learning to fit our organisation. All board members were encouraged to fully participate and the value of learning as a group was apparent. The support BoardClarity provided us, still continues now, be it a small meeting about governance outcomes, a quick question answered over the phone or Cam dropping in on our Wellington office to catch-up with James our CEO“
Clive Pedley, President, Fund Raising Institute of New Zealand Council
Client: Ministry of Health
What: half day, Funder governance workshop
When: 2008
The Ministry of Health, Operations Team has responsibility for Public Health funding across New Zealand. As a funding agency they have multiple connections with NGO’s who deliver services to local communities. In recognition of the importance of ensuring they have positive and effective relationships with these agencies they wanted to learn more about the boundaries of management and governance, specifically in relation to their own role as a funder.
Governance specialist, and previously a government funder, Sandy developed a workshop specific to their needs. Sandy spent time with the team prior to the workshop identifying the key questions they wanted answered. This ensured the training was tailored, practical and effective. The team left the half day workshop with a stronger understanding of the governance role, tools to assess the strength of governance within an NGO and the confidence to ask the right questions when meeting with agencies.
“The team’s feedback indicated they appreciated the practical content of the course and were clear that it would improve their effectiveness when working with the sector. We selected Sandy to provide this workshop for us because of her strong knowledge of health sector and experience and knowledge in governance. I believe this is an essential course for any funders to ensure they fully understand the relationships in the sectors they work in”
Jacqui Akuhata-Brown, Group Manager, National Screening Unit