THE ONE VISION ONE VOICE OF GOVERNANCE Lloyd Cowin

THE ONE VISION/ONE VOICE OF GOVERNANCE Lloyd Cowin, Executive Director; Julie Tubman, Board Chair Roger’s House, 399 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, ON K 1 H 8 L 2 BACKGROUND GOVERNANCE MODEL Governance is the strategic leadership, stewardship and oversight of an organization. It provides direction & accountability to an organization. ROLES OF THE BOARD GENERATIVE ROLE - David O. Renz, Philanthropy in the U. S. : An Encyclopedia, 2004 • ROGER’S HOUSE Is an 8 -bed pediatric residential hospice set in a homelike, family environment providing: • • Temporary respite (planned and emergency) • Acute pain and distressing symptom management • Holistic “end of life” care • Temporary “transition to home” care • Grief and bereavement care • THE BOARD • • ESTABLISHING A NEW BOARD 1. 2. 3. 4. Define who the organization is: mission, vision, values Develop a common understanding and expectations among board members Clarify roles of the board vs. staff Educate the board about the organization and hospice care Skills required: • Board experience • Finance/accounting • HR • Legal • Family perspective • Clinical • Business/management • Construction/project management • Community/public service • Marketing • • Various roles of the Board Role of individual board members Policies: confidentiality, conflict of interest, attendance, code of conduct Committees and reporting structure Board member orientation— resources Time at the hospice • Form completed anonymously by individual board members Compiled by administrative assistant Results reviewed by Governance Committee first, followed by discussion with entire board Plan of action developed by Governance Committee Align internal strengths & weaknesses with external opportunities & threats Are services meeting needs? What do families want? Where does the organization have a competitive advantage? What are the organization’s core competencies? Prevent theft, waste or misuse of resources Ensure resources deployed effectively & efficiently to advance the mission Maintain focus on mission, vision & values Ensure directors and staff are operating in the best interests of the organization GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE • • EVALUATION • • EDUCATION • • STRATEGIC ROLE FIDUCIARY ROLE - Jim Nininger as adapted from R. Chait et. al. , Governance as Leadership, 2002 SELECTION Executive(s) and board collaborate from a perspective of high engagement Focuses on framing the problem rather than solving it Encourages a plurality of opinion Cultivates the intellectual, reputational, political and social capital of board members Develops board policies Orients new board members Develops Board member reference binder Responsible for Training and educating board members Evaluates board performance Recruits and nominates new board members Grooms potential new board members (committee work) REFERENCES: 1. The High Performance Board: Principles of Nonprofit Organization Performance, Pointer and Orlikoff, Jossey-Bass, 2002 2. Board Work: Governing Health Care Organizations, Pointer and Orlikoff, Jossey-Bass, 1999 3. Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, Chait, Ryan and Taylor, Wiley, 2005 4. Guide to Good Governance, Ontario Hospital Association, 2005 5. Auditor General of Ontario Annual Report 2007 -08, Chapter 3, Section 3. 11—Hospital Board Governance 6. www. rogershouse. ca