NCB’s governance structure
Background
At NCB’s AGM in November 2009,
members formally approved a new governance structure and new
constitution, agreeing that these would improve the governance of
NCB and facilitate stronger engagement with members and
other partners. The organisation is now governed by a
smaller, more focussed Board of Trustees complemented and advised
by a larger Membership Forum. The Forum is drawn from NCB’s
members, councils, fora and networks.
Below is a brief outline of the Board of Trustees and
Membership Forum, the representatives on both bodies to be drawn
substantially from the membership.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees now comprises the following 13 –14
members:
- 3 x honorary officers, appointed by the full
membership
- 2 x young Board members, appointed by Young NCB
- 5 x Board members drawn from NCB’s Membership Forum and
appointed by the Selection Committee
- 3-4 co-options appointed by the Selection Committee
The Board of Trustees is responsible for all governance
issues and includes trustees selected from among
self-nominated Forum members and some co-options, the latter
(possibly also drawn from the Forum) intended to address identified
gaps in trustee skills or experience. Trustees are selected
according to an agreed set of governance criteria, skills and
experience, and not according to membership categories. All
Forum members who meet those criteria are entitled to put
themselves forward for selection as trustee vacancies arise.
The structure provides for all trustees to be drawn from the
Forum, except the honorary officers and the co-opted trustees (who
might but need not be Forum members), and all trustees serve an
initial three-year term. The two young Board representatives,
appointed by Young NCB, are not trustees but have rights
and safeguards similar to those they were accorded in NCB’s
previous constitution. Trustees under the previous governance
system were "passported" initially to the new structure to ensure
continuity.
The Board of Trustees has seven meetings a year, including the
trustee awayday and AGM. The Chair and the Vice Chair are
expected to attend meetings of the Board and either or both also
attend Forum meetings. Other trustees are encouraged to
attend Forum meetings.
Membership Forum
The Membership Forum consists of up to 55 members drawn
from NCB members, fora, councils, networks and partners, and from
Young NCB. The Forum functions as an advisory body to
NCB and to its Board of Trustees. The primary focus of the
Forum is to strengthen member engagement with NCB, to provide a
link between trustees and the wider membership, and to advise the
Board on policy development and strategic direction. To
facilitate meaningful Forum engagement representatives are
encouraged to participate in online and other forms of
communication. The Board of Trustees has a specific duty,
although not a legal requirement, to take account of the Forum’s
recommendations and to incorporate them in its governance of
NCB.
Forum members are either elected or appointed to the
Forum from among NCB members, networks, fora and
councils. As with the Board of Trustees, Forum member terms
of office are three years, with existing trustees passported across
initially to ensure continuity. The Forum is responsible
for appointing its own Chair and may choose to have a young
representative as co-chair.
Selection of Board of Trustees
Trustees
drawn from the Membership Forum are appointed by a standing
committee comprising the Chair and one other member of the Board of
Trustees, together with the Chair and two other members of the
Membership Forum. The Selection Committee additionally has
oversight of the election of the honorary officers, the appointment
of young Board representatives, and the election or appointment of
Forum representatives.
As instructed by the Selection Committee, the Company Secretary
will be responsible for identifying forthcoming vacancies on the
Board and for drawing up and circulating the relevant criteria in
advance to the Membership Forum, full membership or Young NCB, as
appropriate. Members of the Membership Forum are invited to
self nominate and the Selection Committee makes appointments
to the Board based on the extent to which nominees meet the
advertised criteria. The co-option vacancies are
also appointed by the Selection Committee, from among the
Membership Forum or from outside it, at the discretion of the
Selection Committee and depending on the Committee’s assessment of
any current gaps in trustee skills and experience. Trustees
drawn from the Membership Forum are replaced on the Forum. The
Forum meets up to three times a year, including the AGM.
Election/appointment of Forum members
In
consultation with the Selection Committee, the Company Secretary is
responsible for identifying forthcoming Forum vacancies and for
informing the relevant appointing body or issuing a call for
nominations to the relevant membership constituency, and for
holding any subsequent ballots which might be required.
For further details of NCB's governance, please contact Company
Secretary Lynne Stackhouse on lstackhouse@ncb.org.uk or click
here to
view our constitution.