The internal communication of the support institution or association depends on the number and democratic principles of the board/management and member meetings held. The conditions and terms for the formal meetings are laid down in the statutes.
a) Board of Directors meetings and decisions
The number of board members is defined in the statutes and will depend on the size and resources of the support institution. With the further development of the institution the board may become bigger and working commissions will be formed. The commissions will prepare decisions referring to their defined responsibility (e.g. finance, programming, etc).
The statutes or bylaws should also limit the term of board members to a maximum of 3 years. After expiration of a member’s term, the board member seat is subject to election. Individuals shall not serve more than a maximum of 2 consecutive terms. A re-election of such a board member is only possible after a one year non-membership.
The board of directors will have to act and decide on a democratic basis. For this purpose, the board will hold at least quarterly regular and additional special meetings. The statutes define the quorum (minimum number of board members that need to be present) and majority requirements (50 % of present votes, two thirds of present votes) in order to take a valid board decision.
Tip 4 How to hold effective board meetings?
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Plan the board meetings for 6 months to one year in advance and communicate the dates to all board members. |
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The meeting agenda should list all decisions/directions asked from the board. Send out the agenda and meeting details at least two weeks before the meeting. |
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Provide the necessary information for decision taking (budgets, programmes, research findings, etc.) at least 1 week before the meeting. |
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Organise a suitably equipped and quiet meeting room that allows for concentrated work. |
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Set time frames for all agenda points and the meeting in general and stick to them. |
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Take complete and accurate minutes of every meeting. Circulate the minutes to all participants and ask for written agreement/changes. File all minutes chronologically for audit purposes. |
b) Member meetings and decisions
The support institution or association shall hold at least one formal member meeting per year. In case of important strategic changes or decisions an extraordinary meeting should be called in by the board of directors. The members will also have the right to ask for an extraordinary meeting to be held, the number of member signatures demanded for such an initiative shall be fixed in the statutes.
Every member meeting including its agenda needs to be announced in writing to the members and should also be advertised in a relevant newspaper. Similar to the board of directors meeting voting rules need to define quora and decision requirements. The meeting outcomes will be summarised in the minutes of meetings sent out to all members.
c) Besides, the executive manager will communicate regularly to the staff and volunteers:
· “big picture”: values, new developments, strategic direction and necessary contributions from the staff and volunteers
· objectives of programmes and activities
· results and achievements
· corrective actions and necessary improvements
· any other important topics
d) The executive manager will report monthly to the board of directors:
· Operational plan and budget to actual
· Open action points
· Human resources topics
· Any other relevant information or development
e) A special form of communication to members, staff, volunteers and external parties is the annual report.
Note 15 An annual report should consist of the following information:
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Letter of the chairman of the board or the executive director |
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Institution’s vision, mission and objectives |
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Latest developments in the institution (HR, memberships, special events) |
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Institution’s work programme of the year in question, accomplishments, accreditation |
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Financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, auditors note if available) |
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Presentation or list of members of the supervisory body and the board of directors |