We see that advisory boards are becoming more common in the commercial space, especially with SME, but I haven’t noticed this flowing through into the for-purpose sector.
Advisory boards are set up to provide guidance and expertise to an organisation on a specific issue or strategy, not the business-as-usual governance, compliance and decision making that boards of trustees/directors are usually involved with.
A great trustee may not be the best person to advise on a new initiative. Their role is to help set the scene through strategic planning and then engage the appropriate resource.
If we want to see significant change, we need to engage the right people to advise us.
If two trusts are talking about merging services, an advisory board of people who have experience in mergers should be able to provide practical advice to steer the journey.
Want to start a social enterprise to generate funds? A board of say three entrepreneurs with experience in start-ups will have a wealth of knowledge to share.
These people may be very willing to share their advice on an area they know a lot about, for a defined period of time, rather than taking up a permanent trustee/director role.
So why don’t we use them?
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The Optimistic Cynic 