I can help you streamline your administrative processes and remove mysteries surrounding board or committee good governance.
The objective is to tie any decision to achieving the strategic plan and goals of the organisation. This is also in the context of the risk assessment of the decision.
I can help you with a model agenda and minutes developed for your organisation and a tool that monitors the action taken in respect of decisions made.
You may also need help with developing and managing policies such as in respect of conflicts of interest.
Common issues in organisation governance:
- conflicts of interest;
- oversight issues – effective reporting by management, or key staff or volunteers to the committee; and delaing with performance issues. This casn be a problem for small organisations.
- accountability issues – From management to volunteers, each level and division of the organisation should report and be accountable to another as a system of checks and balances. Overall they need to be accountable to members and stakeholders.
- transparency – the perfornce of the organisation both financially and in achieving its purpose must be accurate and timely to members, regualtors and other stakeholders;
- ethics violations – the fiduciary duty of the board or management committee to ensure decisions are made and their conduct is in furtherence of the objectives of the organisation. They must also have as duty to act with the care and diligence expected from a reasonable person in the same role and same circumstances.
Online Member Polling
Firstly you need to check your constitution as to whether electronic ballots are permitted to determine any issue or proposal. (Clause 26 of the NSW Model Constitution under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009). If your constitution does not provide for an electronic ballot a ballot can still be held but it will be non-binding.
If the voting process does not require a secret ballot then you can use Mailchimp. It is preferable to set up a separate Mailchimp including only those entitled to vote. You then use the survey function in Mailchimp. This provides that a person (mail address) cannot vote more than once. People can vote directly from the email they receive or a special landing page provided by Mailchimp.
If a secret ballot is required then I suggest using my online tool, onlineballot.com.au .
A roll of eligible voters is sent to me in a spreadsheet. This includes their full name and email address. I should also receive a list of positions and the candidates, their election statements if permitted under the rules, and any resolutions being voted upon. Starting and closing dates and times for voting should also be included.
A random voting code (username) and password are generated for each voter.
The returning officer sends each voter an email with a link to the voting website and also their unique code and password so voters can log in and access the voting form. Also, candidate statements can be included in the email to voters. The file which can link the voting codes to voters’ identities is kept offline and only available go the returning officer. The voter then completes the voting form using their unique code.