Board of Directors Evaluations - Co-op Creator

Early Stages

Choosing a business structure: A questionnaire How to name your co-op: a by-province guide How to start a co-operative: a step-by-step guide Creating an action plan What is a steering committee, and what does it do? Transitioning a Business to a Co-operative Co-operative Members and Governance Choosing a Co-op Type Hosting a Community Meeting Focusing Ideas for Your Co-operative Co-operative Business Model Comparison with Other Models Building Consensus

Incorporating

A Guide to writing Rules of Association in BC Guide to Writing a Financial Plan

A Guide to writing co-op bylaws in Manitoba

Guide to writing Bylaws in Saskatchewan

Guide to Federal Bylaws

Choosing a ‘Co-op Type’ and its Impact on Your Business Incorporating a co-op in Western Canada — a provincial comparison Incorporation time frame Articles and bylaws (video) Choosing a name (video) Why should you incorporate your co-op? (video) Shaping your Co-op’s Identity Incorporation Checklist

Business Planning

Risk Identification and Management Legal Risks for Co-op Start Ups Do a PESTLE Analysis How to find new co-op members How to create a governance structure Creating a Preliminary Budget — A Guide Building a Business Model Canvas Why create a business plan? (video) Roles and Responsibilities Business Planning Pitch Practice How to allocate your co-op’s profits Co-operative Members and Governance

Financing

How to handle share capital in a co-op Debt vs Equity (video) Tax Treatment of Co-operative Businesses Ongoing Capitalization Guide to Writing a Financial Plan Financing your Co-operative Business Budgeting and Co-operatives

Up and Running

Three AGM Resolutions Every Co-op Needs for their Annual General Meeting What you need to know for your first AGM How to Waive an Audit Sample Board Duties How to Build a Board Calendar How to write a Board of Directors’ Code of Conduct Write a compliance checklist How to issue dividends Creating a Terms of Reference Creating a Strategic Plan Creating a Human Resources Policy Free Online Governance Course Creating a Conflict of Interest Policy Board of Directors Evaluations Board Member Recruitment Board Decision-Making Exercise How to allocate your co-op’s profits

How to write a Board of Directors’ Code of Conduct Write a compliance checklist

Board Governance Tips for Indigenous Co-operatives Sample Bookkeeper Contract How to write a Board of Directors’ Code of Conduct Write a compliance checklist How to issue dividends Sample Co-op Equity Statement A Guide to Co-operative Insurance How to Read Financial Statements Keeping track of members in a co-op Everything you need to know about managing records Member Engagement and Onboarding Guidelines for co-operative elections Filing your Annual Return Co-operative Annual General Meetings Ongoing Capitalization How to allocate your co-op’s profits

Additional Resources

Co-ops and charitable status

Back

Board of Directors Evaluations

The board of directors is central in a co-operative business. The directors need to be able to make good decisions to ensure the co-op remains healthy, and they should work to improve their knowledge of the business and how best to run it.

Understanding where a board is performing well and where it has shortcomings is important. It will help the board figure out what it can do to strengthen its ability to make good decisions. A great strategy for a board is to do an evaluation of its progress and capacity.

This is an exercise boards can use to evaluate themselves in a planning session with all directors or with an expert consultant.

Board of Directors Evaluations

On a scale of 1-5 (with 1 being ‘Very Poor’ and 5 being ‘Very Good’), rate the board’s performance on the following:

Identify the top three to five challenges, opportunities, or issues the board should work on right now:
Issue 1:
Issue 2:
Issue 3:
Issue 4:
Issue 5:

Build on these three issues by filling out the following table:

For more information check out The Common Share podcast. Episodes 3 to 7 deal with different aspects of board governance:

Episode 3: Why we need governance

Episode 4: Getting people involved in board governance

Episode 5: Working board versus Policy board

Episode 6: Dealing with conflict on a board

Episode 7: The importance of board diversity

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