As part of the ongoing work of the In Trust Center’s Wise Stewards Initiative, participating schools are completing board self-assessments, which their faculty coaches are using to create board development plans. This work is demonstrating the importance of assessment, echoing the words of an article on board assessment from La Piana Consulting:

…there are common qualities of a healthy, engaged board that has the capacity to govern effectively and the self-awareness to continue to grow and evolve with the organization. Assessment can help boards examine these qualities and identify where they are doing well, where they could be stronger, and how they should prioritize board development efforts.

 

La Piana Consulting, a firm that works to improve leadership and management practices in nonprofits, has several free articles on board assessment, including "Your Board at Its Best: Benefits of Board Assessment." They also point to articles available on other sites, including CausePlanet’s "Using Assessment to Accelerate Board Performance." You can access a plethora of resources through La Piana at www.lapiana.org/insights-for-the-sector.

If your board is undergoing (or is considering undergoing) an assessment, and you would like more resources and information on the topic, contact us at resources@intrust.org.

More information on the Wise Stewards Initiative is available at www.intrust.org/programs/WiseStewardsInitiative.