Governance Process

POLICY TITLE: GP11 - Board Planning Cycle & Agenda Control

To accomplish its mandate with a governance style consistent with board policies, the board will follow an annual agenda which (a) completes a re-exploration of Ends policies annually and (b) continually improves board performance through board education and enriched input and deliberation.

1. The Board shall maintain control of its own agenda by developing each year no later than January, an annual schedule which includes, but is not limited to:
   1. Considered review of the Ends in a timely fashion which allows the President to build a budget
   2. Consultations with selected groups in the ownership, or other methods of gaining ownership input, prior to the above review.
   3. Education related to Ends determination (for example, presentations relating to the external environment, demographic information, exploration of future perspectives which may have implications, presentations by advocacy groups, and staff).
   4. Self-evaluation of the Board’s own compliance with its Governance Process policies, and for review of the policies themselves.
   5. Documentation of monitoring compliance by the President with Executive Limitations and Ends policies, and for review of the policies themselves. Monitoring reports will be provided and read in advance of the board meeting, and discussion will occur only if reports show policy violations, if reports do not provide sufficient information for the board to make a determination regarding compliance, or if policy criteria are to be debated.
   6. Time for education about the process of governance.
2. Based on the outline of the annual schedule, the Board delegates to the Chairperson the authority to fill in the details of the meeting content. Potential agenda items shall be carefully screened to ensure that they relate to the Board’s job description, rather than simply reviewing staff activities. Screening questions shall include:
   1. Clarification as to whether the issue clearly belongs to the Board or the President.
   2. Identification of what category an issue relates to - Ends, Executive Limitations, Governance Process, Board-President Relationship.
   3. Review of what the Board has already said in this category, and how the current issue is related.
3. Throughout the year, the Board will attend to Consent Agenda items as expeditiously as possible. When an item is brought to the Board via the Consent Agenda, provided that compliance with all of the criteria in Executive Limitations has been demonstrated, the Board will not discuss the item prior to approval. An exception will be made only if a majority of the Board votes to remove the item from the Consent Agenda for discussion.

Date Approved: 19 Jun 2007

Date Revised: 20 May 2009

Date Reviewed, 21 Sept 2011