Reviewing the effectiveness of the Governing Body

Adolygu effeithiolrwydd y Corff Llywodraethu

Allan SchofieldKey Associate, Leadership Foundation

This Session

1. Introduction and context.

2. ‘Effectiveness for what?’: the need to clarify the primary roles of a governing body.

3. Trends in governance structures to enhance effectiveness.

4. Reviewing governing body effectiveness: the LF/CUC Effectiveness Framework.

5. The future: generic challenges to governing body effectiveness.

6. Questions and discussion.

2 ‘Effectiveness for what?’: the need to clarify the primary roles of a governing body

• Genuine differences of view remain about the roles of the governing body in HEIs.

• Effectiveness goes well beyond governance codes and statements of responsibilities – important as they are.

• Effectiveness is about ‘how governing bodies work’ as well as ‘what they do’.

• The need for clarity about primary roles underpins all aspects of governance including structure, board engagement, understanding accountability in practice, etc.

• Boards need to understand the differences of view about role amongst their membership.

Three Primary Purposes of Governance in HEIs

Governance for Maximising Institutional Performance

Governance for Representation and Democracy

Governance for Oversight and Compliance

3 Trends in governance structures to enhance effectiveness

• Greater diversity in governance: the different jurisdictions; Privy Council flexibility; private providers; etc.

• Substantial innovation: smaller boards; fewer committees; lead governors; performance orientation; powers to remunerate; possible two tier approaches; etc.

• Governor recruitment: greater emphasis on recruiting high quality external governors and supporting them.

• The student voice: how to make student engagement in governance work.

• Challenging the assumption of an institutional focus on governance: the downside of ambiguity about accountability.

4 Reviewing governing body effectiveness: the LF/CUC Effectiveness Framework

• 2011 LF/CUC project produced a framework to identify the factors influencing board effectiveness in HE.

• 16 volunteer governing bodies of HEIs validated the framework in conducting their own effectiveness reviews.

• For details see www.lfhe.ac.uk/governance/ reviewinggovernance/project.html.

• The framework supports effectiveness reviews but doesn’t do the job for HEIs! It is not a checklist and is not to be used mechanistically.

• Its use requires openness and transparency from governing bodies and an executive.

The Effectiveness Framework

The future: generic challenges to governing body effectiveness

• Greater transparency, and public and political attention: but avoiding the dangers of the politicisation of governance.

• Enhancing the role of the governing body in academic and student matters: the implications of students as customers.

• Getting institutional engagement in governance whilst making governance quicker and more responsive.

• Exercising shared leadership through governance.

• The need for all boards to have robust means of reviewing their effectiveness, including through the use of externals.

Questions and Discussion