Hi, I'm Yvonne Harrison,
Associate Professor and Director of the Voluntary Sector Studies Network at
Luther College at the University of Regina welcoming you to
the third course in a series of courses on Developing
Leadership and Improving Governance in Nonprofit Organizations.
In this video, I will review course three: Introduction To
The Factors That Influence The Effectiveness of The Governance Process.
I will begin with the learning outcomes and the leadership competencies
emphasized along with the learning activities that you will engage in each week.
I'll conclude with an assessment of learning that
will take place in the fourth and fifth week.
By the end of this course,
you will have developed knowledge of the factors
associated with the effectiveness of the governance process.
You will have worked with the board of directors or with
information gathered from a board of directors to
identify a set of best practice recommendations
that will help the board improve its governance effectiveness.
And finally, you will have applied knowledge and developed skills as nonprofit leaders.
This course is designed to introduce you to
the leadership competencies required by academic programs that are accredited by NASPAA.
And NASPAA is the Network of Schools of Public Affairs in North America.
This course emphasizes two NASPAA leadership competencies: To
analyze and think critically about leadership and governance effectiveness challenges,
and to lead and participate in the governance process.
It should be noted that this course was
developed with North American requirements in mind.
And we do appreciate that the nonprofit sector,
nonprofit organizations leadership and
governance may not be the same in other parts of the world.
It is our intention, however,
that the course content will be of value to others and
that cultural differences will provide a rich forum for discussion.
Now, turn to the topics and questions addressed in this course.
The topic of week one is Board Meetings, Structures and Procedures.
Some of the questions we will explore this week are,
what factors influence the effectiveness of nonprofit board meetings?
What are board structures and procedures and why are they important?
Why do boards experience problems with inadequate procedures and structures?
And what could a board do to intentionally change its meetings,
its procedures, and structures to increase its effectiveness?
In week two, the topic is,
Composition and Development of the Board.
The key questions you will explore this week are,
what do we mean by board composition and development and why is it important?
Why is it difficult to change the composition of the board
and how do you design the ideal mix of board members?
How do you locate, recruit,
and develop the board?
The topic of week three,
is the Informal Culture and Leadership of the Board.
The key questions you will explore this week are,
what do we mean by culture,
board culture and why is it important?
How do boards develop and pass along culture?
What shapes culture and can it be changed?
Some of the leadership questions are,
what is leadership in the context of governing?
What do effective nonprofit leaders involved in governance do?
Why are some leaders more effective than others?
And how can leadership be managed for higher levels of effectiveness?
Within the platform, you'll find weekly lectures, videos,
readings, and links to external resources that point you to important content.
Once you've reviewed the content,
you're ready to engage in the learning activities.
Take a practice quiz.
Based on the required content,
the quiz is a chance to test your knowledge and further develop it.
Because it is a practice assessment,
your scores will not be counted into the final course grade.
Post a commentary.
Commentaries can be based on an insight from the readings that
helped you understand a situation or event that you have experienced.
Anything from the reading that you found confusing or unclear could also be posted.
Remember, the basic goal is to help you connect
the dots by linking your ideas and questions on the topic,
drawing on what you've learned from the readings,
and applying it to your own experience.
Analyze a nonprofit case.
A case is based on a real world situation.
Like the real world,
there is usually no single correct answer to the issues they raise.
The cases assigned in this course are intended to provide
you with a chance to reflect and apply concepts from
the course as well as enable you to understand and resolve
practical problems in governance Work on the course project.
The course project is
an academic service learning experience that provides you with an opportunity to apply
the course content and your learning to help
a real board develop leadership and improve governance effectiveness.
Whether you gather information from
a real board or you use the information that we gathered,
we'll upload instructions and information that you need
to complete the work associated with the course project.
The end of course assessment of learning will take place in the fourth and fifth week.
The first assessment of learning strategy comes from
Michaelson's method of teaching and learning known as Team-Based Learning.
TBL is used to test mastery of course concepts
using Readiness Assurance Tests and application exercises.
In the fourth week,
we'll open two multiple choice readiness assurance tests,
or RATs as we will humorously refer to throughout the course,
for you to complete.
One RAT will assess knowledge based on reading comprehension,
and the other will test knowledge application based on a case.
In the fifth week,
we will encourage you to discuss the RATs in the forums and to take them again
should you wish to change any of your answers based on the information exchanged.
We chose this method of assessment because it is associated
with student learning including concept comprehension,
student motivation, communication, accountability,
problem solving, and superior academic performance.
The second assessment of learning is the Board Effectiveness Assessment Reflection,
which we will humorously refer to as the BEAR.
In a nutshell, the BEAR is a short written reflection
on the nonprofit board and organization you are working with.
You will be asked to analyze information and communicate
the results of the board's effectiveness assessment to the board.
Your assignment should show the board's top ten strengths and
challenges along with perceptions of board effectiveness in the nine dimensions assessed.
From your review of the literature,
what best practices and other practical recommendations can
be applied to improve the effectiveness of the board you have been working with?
Be creative in how you communicate results and present recommendations.
Use tables and charts to tell the board's story.
Be sure to include an introduction to
the reflection and a description of how it's organized.
In the fifth week, you'll be asked to peer review BEAR assignments.
To receive a course grade,
you must complete peer reviews.
In this video, we've reviewed course three,
Introduction to The Factors That Influence the
Effectiveness of Boards of Directors within the Governance Process.
We've reviewed the learning outcomes, the leadership competencies,
the topics and key questions,
and the learning activities you'll explore each week.
We've also discussed the end of course assessment
of learning which will take place in the fourth and fifth week.
For more information, refer to the course content.