Board Meetings & Recruitment

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Practical guide Board Meetings & Recruitment How to prepare an agenda

How to prepare an agenda

A well-structured agenda will make sure that a board is given the right information to use its time effectively for strategic discussion and decision making.
Ensure your chair has input in structuring meeting agendas and solicit input from others well in advance.
Ensure you know which agreed standing items must appear. These can include things like minutes of the last meeting, a review of previous action items and a financial update – and then there should be a rolling appearance for all your policies (HR, EDI, Safeguarding etc) where they can be reviewed, refreshed and approved.
There will also be some regular items specific to your organisation (e.g. if you have a big project on the go, or a specific task in hand). These may be where trustees need to understand, approve and sign something off, be updated for information only, or for discussion.
Put the main items at the top of the agenda and make clear what is for decision, discussion or information only.
In a cultural organisation an artistic/curatorial report should be placed at the front of the agenda rather than tucked down among less relevant matters.
For charities, board meeting agendas should broadly reflect the focus on the charity’s mission (as recommended by the Charity Governance Code).
Timings per item can be helpful but rely on good chairing to maintain them.
Assume that board members have read the papers in advance – when discussing pre-circulated papers only highlight the essential points.
This means that board papers need to be circulated at least a week in advance. Ensure board members can access agendas, board papers and other important information easily, securely and in a format that is suitable for each member.
Consider giving digital access to papers such as governance documents, including historical board minutes.
Only circulate papers at a meeting in an emergency.

Related resources

Inside The Board Secretary’s Handbook

The Board Secretary’s Handbook tells you what a board secretary is and why you need one. It explains the roles, duties and responsibilities depending on your organisation.

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