BOARD DEVELOPMENT

This is the only area of work for which a charge is made, though course costs reflect the fact that BIA:NW is a subsidised organisation. BIA:NW’s work in this area takes several forms:

Whole board work, Bespoke to the need of each organisation, and sometimes funded by the Arts Council; this may involve devising and delivering training or away days or the production of a report.

Facilitation of board retreats

Course development and delivery:

• Making the Most of your Board – for chief executives
• Role of the Chair – specifically for the chairs of boards
• Role of the Board - for board observers

The quality of the work carried out by BIA:NW can be judged by the evaluation forms that have been completed both for courses and for whole board work.
Overall, 87% of attenders rate the course Excellent or Very Good and non rate less than Good.  

Making the Most of Your Board

Excellent 76% Very good 24%

Comments include:
A great opportunity to step back from the hurly-burly and think about how we actually do things and how we might improve.
Excellent, thought provoking and very useful.  Will make a real difference to the way we work!
An invaluable course.

The Role of the Chair
 

Excellent 66% Very good 34%

Comments include:
I think the course is amazing...the best, most interesting trainer/speaker I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.
At the conclusion of the session I felt more confident in my own abilities to lead the board.
A really well thought out, well organised and well run programme that utilised the experience of the delegates.

Role of the Board  for Observers

Excellent 17% Very good 50% Good 33%

Comments include:
Really enjoyed the way the whole course revolved around open discussion.
Fine, clear and flexible.
Really useful and detailed course backed by excellent support pack.
Trainer knew her stuff & dealt well with a barrage of questions while keeping the session moving.

Bespoke board development work: this is not always evaluated, according to the wishes of the commissioning organisation. However, whenever possible it is carried out. The same question is asked about the overall quality and effectiveness of the session.

Results for 6 sessions, involving 39 people:

Excellent 51% Very good 33% Good 16%

Comments included:
It was tailored to be very specifically about our remit as opposed to a standard generic presentation on boards.
Super-experienced and appropriate. Never patronising, always rigorous.
It was an inspiring exercise - the whole of it.
Trainer allowed group to be active in the training process - active learning more likely ro be retained
Very engaging facilitator. A good listener too.
A real motivation session.

Any organisation interested in this area of work should call BIA:NW to discuss their requirements.