EXCELLENCE IN TRUSTEESHIP CONFERENCE - QUEENS HOTEL DUNDEE - FRIDAY 14TH NOVEMBER 2014
Organised by Scotlands Third Sector Governance Forum and attended by around 160 Trustees and Directors.
There were three speakers and a choice of around 12 workshops covering different aspects of being a Trustee.
The three speakers were Maureen McGinn (Scotland Committee Big Lottery), Dorothy Dalton (Governace Magazine) and Roberta Doyle (National Theatre of Scotland). If you would like to see the content of their talks, follow this link. 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxzY290bGFuZHNnb3Zlcm5hbmNlZm9ydW18Z3g6OTQzNDIzMjU4MDYyZDJh
The most useful talk was by Dorothy Dalton as she covered some helpful points on the 12 Principles of Governance that power Exceptional Boards. The principles being:
•	INTERDEPENDENCE STAFF/BOARD
•	MISSION DRIVEN
•	STRATEGIC THINKING
•	CULTURE OF ENQUIRY
•	INDEPENDANT MINDEDNESS
•	ACT IN THE INTEREST OF THE ORGANISATION
•	TRANSPARENCY
•	COMPLIANCE WITH INTEGRITY
•	SUSTAINING RESOURCES
•	RESULT ORIENTED
•	INTENTIONAL BOARD PRACTICES
•	REVITALISATION

Main points from the workshops I attended
How to Encourage More People to Join Boards - Many organisations find it difficult to recruit trustees and often rely on word of mouth to fill appointments. Scotland is not short of people who volunteer but encouraging them to become a Trustee is more difficult as they often don’t see that role’ as being an important volunteering option.
Quote from the NCVO Good Governance Guide 2010 - Boards to be effective need the right mix of skills, knowledge, backgrounds and experiences and perspectives to govern well, as well as embodying diversity in its widest sense.
Need Trustees who are passionate about what the organisation does.
Average age of a Trustee in the UK is 57 with 67% being over the age of 60 - makes me a young thing!!!!
What Matters to Trustees
The importance of Induction Training was stressed – What is expected from them, information about the organisation, the operational role of a Trustee.
Getting the right skills mix and making sure that Trustees skills are used on the Board and for the benefit of the organisation.
Good relationship between Board and Staff.
The importance of Trustees operation within and believing in the values of the organisation.
Evaluation of the organisation and the Trustees role in its success is an option.
Tokenism - important that Trustees are appointed on ability and not to "tick a box"
Succession Planning
Option of producing a Risk Strategy discussion - what is the risk of losing key Trustees, what is in place to attract new Trustees quickly, Trustee skills list and gaps.
The calibre of Trustees, present and future - related to skills and background. Potential funders interested in the strength of the Board and fulfilling their role in good governance.
Intervention Strategy - if Trustees are not fullfilling role - policies and procedure.
Use of outside advice - Consultants, Lawyers etc.
Developments Plans in place and up to date - Produced by senior staff and Board.

Finally, some useful links:
Good Governance Action Plan www.ncvo-vol.org.uk
Guidance for Charity Trustees www.oscr.org.uk
The Getting to Grips with Governance Toolkit www.scvo.org.uk
Guides and tips on Recruiting Trustees www.reachskills.org.uk/great-trustees