The board understands its role and responsibilities.
The board understands and debates the vision, mission and business model.
The board is representative of its sector and has a good range of skills, experience and diversity.
Those skills and experience are used.
Meetings are effectively run and that decisions are taken and minuted.
Succession planning is in place for chair, board and CEO/director/artistic director.
The board reviews itself and its performance on an annual basis, as well as the CEO/director/artistic director.
The chair/CEO relationship is central to good governance, with clear understanding of their respective responsibilities and regular, supportive communication. They need to maintain a good but discerning relationship based on respect, trust and mutual dependence.
The chair acts as additional spokesperson for the organisation, letting the artistic head of the organisation take the lead except on formal occasions where the chair’s input would be appropriate.
In some constitutions, a chair is given a casting vote. This means that if there is a deadlock, and a vote for a resolution is tied, then the chair is awarded a second vote to make sure that the resolution is passed or rejected. In new commercial companies, it is not possible for the chair of a members’ meeting to have a casting vote.
Download Sample job description template for:
A more in depth guide for a prospective Chair/CEO is available to purchase from the ACEVO website.
For more about the Chair's role in improving Board dynamics read this guide from the Association of Chairs.
A guide for companies and executive search firms on improving the diversity of company boards within the frameworks set out by the Equality Act 2010 and the Financial Reporting. Published:
This guide will help your charity learn how to: identify the trustee skills and attributes your charity needs; promote your vacancy; select trustees; and confirm and induct your new trustees. Published: June 2018.
Following the publication of the Report on Corporate Culture and the Role of Boards by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the City Values Forum and Tomorrow’s Company have published a guide entitled Governing Culture: Risk and Opportunity? – a guide to board leadership in purpose, values and culture. Published: September 2016.
This report investigates one aspect of trustee diversity by looking at young people’s attitudes towards trusteeship. Published: 2010.
Find out what being a charity trustee involves, if you can claim expenses and where to get help and advice. First published: May 2013, latest updates: May 2018.
10 practical tips to get the best out of your trustees. Published: February 2017.
What is the role of a board director and how should they go about fulfilling their responsibilities?
Company Directors have a legal duty to avoid conflicts of interest. This help sheet is designed to help you identify and deal with them correctly.
Top tips on self-care, developed with the Chairs of smaller charities.
This briefing looks at the Chair’s role in helping the board to navigate risk. Charities face a multitude of risks, that could derail you from achieving your charity’s aims. The challenge for Chairs is to ensure that your board understands and successfully navigates risks and seizes opportunities, without getting bogged down in details or being excessively cautious. This briefing explores how as Chair, you can help your board take a strategic approach.
In today’s dynamic and fast-moving workplace, the board plays an important role in risk management and establishing an effective risk culture. Published: August 2015.
A director’s practical guide to asking the right questions at the right time.
A blog post from the Battersea Arts Centre on artistic freedom and risk and its relationship to governance. Published: October 2016.
The network of choice for women seeking to build their board career.
A leading resource of trustees and board roles for not-for-profit organisations
Vacancy listings for board members roles.
Trustee vacancies in the independent museum sector.
Yasmin Khan speaks with consultant Stephen Feber, who has been providing creation and production services to the cultural sector for over 30 years, about what makes best practice for museum boards. Published: July 2016.
Managing board meetings is a key part of the Chair’s role. A good board meeting requires preparation. Here we share some top tips to help with this.
This report was commissioned by Arts Council England to better understand the current landscape of leadership in the sector and to survey the support available for leaders to address these pressing challenges. Published: September 2018.
Leadership style is changing, from the extrovert personality controlling from the front to someone who shares power and develops and fosters relationships. Published: January 2014.
Getting the right behaviours and dynamics on the board and between board members is an essential ingredient in determining whether organisations succeed in their work. Published: October 2017.
A corporate governance handbook for arts organisations. Published: 2008.
Clore Leadership's Governance Associates Prue Skene, Tom Wilcox and Keith Arrowsmith have created this toolkit of useful resources for Trustees and staff who work with boards. Published: May 2017.
Clore Strategic Review of Governance Development Needs 2016/17. Published: August 2017.
Report on a conference organised by the Cultural Leadership Programme in March 2009.
The good governance code for the charity sector.
Adapt for Arts (AfA) exists to help arts and culture organisations become more sustainable. The On Board Project is on a mission to create amazing governance teams in the arts & cultural sector.
The guide will prove relevant to CEOs and their chairs but is also recommended reading for all those involved in the governance of third sector organisations. Published: November 2013.
Template for assessment of a smaller charity's governance, including purpose, leadership, integrity, decision making, risk, effectiveness, diversity, accountability.
Template for assessment of a larger charity's governance, including purpose, leadership, integrity, decision making, risk, effectiveness, diversity, accountability.
In response to evidence suggesting an increase in concern regarding governance-related issues in the voluntary sector, the ACEVO Governance Commission set out to produce a practically-focused piece of work, focused on supporting voluntary organisations to understand and address the issues and challenges that can affect their governance. Guided by the concerns raised by respondents to the Commission’s consultation exercises, the report focuses on three main areas: appraisal and accountability; understanding roles and responsibilities; and board management. Published: 2013.
These slides present the findings of a roundtable on 14th March 2018, organised by NPC and Green Park. Published: June 2018.
The research highlights that whilst the gender gap at board level is narrow compared to other sectors, there is still an imbalance at the top compared to the overall make-up of the workforce. Published: 2018.
Growing the cultural sector is, in part, dependent upon changing the perception of the sector and making entry to it more transparent to individuals while removing practices that are not inclusive. It’s not about doing everything but doing what is achievable for your organisation. Published: 2017.
This briefing looks at the Chair’s role in making board committees work.
Supports Chairs of charities and non-profit organisations.
Helps Chairs explore and strengthen the relationship they have with their CEO. Published: 2016.
Top tips on chairing from Chairs and Vice Chairs of smaller charities.
To be an effective board you need clear, timely and comprehensive information from your CEO or the person who regularly undertakes key tasks. Association of Chairs provides a framework to help you work together so that you and your board get the information you need.
A Chair’s Compass – a guide for Chairs of charities and non-profit organisations focuses entirely on the Chair’s perspective and the particular challenges and opportunities of the role. Whether you are a new Chair, or highly experienced, this guide provokes both thought and action.