Hello All,

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who is using or has tried the Policy Governance model in small non-profit organizations.

Your organization may be using a similar model, just not aware it has a name. For reference, please see: www.carvergovernance.com/pg-np.htm

Thank you in advance for your time.

Dayna

Dayna...

I fully understand Policy Governance and may be able to offer some information to assist you. While it's certainly possible for nonprofits of any size to transition to Policy Governance, it has been my experience in working with boards that the Carver model is best suited for organizations that have grown to the point that it has become necessary to provide clear delineation between board and staff job products. It's generally easy to idenify when an organization has reached this point because the board has demonstrated an increasing tendency to become entangled in staff work and vice-versa. In these circumstances, should the board fail to recognize what's occuring and make a subsequent adjustment to how it leads, one or both of the following generally happens. The growth of the organization becomes limited by the "work capacity" of the board and/or the organizational leadership environment becomes dysfunctional. Neither situation is good for any organization.

John,

A belated thank you for your response! And, another question: are you aware of examples of how policy governance helps build capacity in new organizations?

Dayna

Dayna...
Broadly speaking, an organization using policy governance will certainly improve the overall productivity of the staff because of the presence of a clearly defined vision and a more integrated effort toward vision achievement. Moreover, because the roles of both the board and Exec. Director (staff) are fully defined, the board's natural tendency to involve itself in staff matters is greatly diminished, empowering the staff in a way not previously experienced.

As I first indicated, this response is generally broad. Feel free to let me know if you need greater detail.

John Martin