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Dat2a has developed the following resources: Introduction - Credits and Acknowledgments : Solving the Governance Puzzle: A Training Curriculum - Acknowledgments
This project was funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities within the Administration for Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a purchase order number 01Y00156101D. Alonzo Stewart was the Project Officer.
Vicki Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Disability Advocacy Training Technical Assistance, was the Project Director and was assisted by Paula Rubin.
- Solving the Governance Puzzle: A Training Curriculum : The cornerstone of every nonprofit and government organization is trust. Operating consistently with the public trust essentially prohibits the organization from behaving in a manner adverse or contrary to the interests of the clients they were created to serve. The governing body is charged with the responsibility of preserving the public trust that the organization will achieve their mission. This is called the ‘fiduciary’ responsibility of governance. To put it simply, the individual members of the governing body are responsible for assuring that their organization functions in a way that preserves both the letter and the spirit of the public trust. The buck stops with the board.
Good governance happens when board and/or council members understand and appropriately exercise their fiduciary responsibilities. Members are guided in the discharge of their organizational responsibilities by legal requirements that range from the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the organization to federal tax laws, authorizing legislation, state nonprofit laws, health and safety codes, laws governing employment taxes and withholding, and many more. Even though members of governance are volunteers there is an expectation that they operate within a puzzling set of criterion and are often held accountable without knowing what those criterion are.
Solving the Governance Puzzle is the first challenge faced by individuals responsible for governing any organizations whether nonprofit or a government agency. This is particularly true for organization run by and responsive to their clients because of the personal stake governing body members have in the services provided by that organization.
This training guide will assist members of the governing authority or advisory councils and their committees of nonprofit or government organizations in developing the necessary skills to fulfil their fiduciary responsibility. The curriculum is a series of training activities designed to promote organizational efficiency in consumer run and consumer responsive organizations.
Competencies - List of Competencies : Governance Curriculum - Individual Governance Skill Development
I. Legal/Ethics Skills
1.1 Shall demonstrate a thorough knowledge of federal regulations which apply to the organization.
1.2 Shall demonstrate a thorough knowledge of state regulations which apply to the organization.
1.3 Shall demonstrate knowledge of disability related federal laws.
1.4 Shall demonstrate the skill to understand the relationships between federal and state laws, regulations and policies and the agency services.
1.5 Shall demonstrate an understanding of insurance issues and legal liability related to their participation in the governance of the organization.
1.6 Shall demonstrate thorough knowledge of the organization’s by-laws and their role in assuring compliance with them.
1.7 Shall demonstrate the ability to identify potential conflicts of interest and knowledge of how to avoid them.
II. Internal Communication/Meeting Skills
2.1 Shall demonstrate active listening skills.
2.2 Shall demonstrate the ability to participate in meetings.
2.3 Shall demonstrate effective understanding of Robert’s Rules of Order.
2.4 Shall demonstrative group facilitation (consensus building) skills.
2.5 Shall demonstrate effective negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
III. Planning & Evaluation Skills
3.1 Shall demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the organization’s mission & vision.
3.2 Shall demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the organization’s capacity to provide services.
3.3 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the role of governance in strategic planning(developing priorities, their purpose, and the reason for priorities).
3.4 Shall demonstrate the ability to participate in strategic planning activities.
3.5 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the role of governance in monitoring agency services.
3.6 Shall demonstrate ability to monitor agency services.
3.7 Shall demonstrate ability to develop and monitor the policies and procedures of the organization.
IV. Fiscal Skills
4.1 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the necessity to link services (priorities) and resources (budget).
4.2 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the role of governance related to capacity building including such activities as increasing the financial resources (fundraising) of the organization.
4.3 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the role of governance in monitoring agency services.
4.4 Demonstrate ability to monitor organization’s resources such as increasing their understanding of its financial reports.
4.5 Shall demonstrate a basic understanding of the federal fiscal requirements including the ability to access money and restrictions related to spending.
4.6 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the federal financial reporting requirements including tax withholding and filing.
4.7 Shall demonstrate an understanding of unrelated business income and program income.
V. Building Collaboration Relationships
5.1 Shall demonstrate an ability to forge collaborative partnerships and lead coalitions with other advocacy groups.
5.2 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the role of governance in enhancing the organization’s public image.
5.3 Shall demonstrate the ability to identify and recruit diverse members of governance.
VI. Human Resource (Supervisory/Court of Appeals Skills)
6.1 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the role of governance in overseeing its human resources.
6.2 Shall demonstrate the ability to hire and appropriately evaluate the Executive Director.
6.3 Shall demonstrate an understanding of equal employment opportunities and other employment laws.
6.4 Demonstrate skills in factual investigation, in the event of an employee grievance.
6.5 Demonstrate an understanding of the role of governance in creating an inclusive work environment for the organization’s employees.
VII. Cultural Sensitivity Skills
7.1 Shall demonstrate sensitivity to diverse cultural viewpoints.
7.2 Shall demonstrate an understanding of the challenges of the everyday lives of people with disabilities, including how they experience oppression.
7.3 Shall demonstrate knowledge of the values of choice, self-determination, respect and inclusion.
7.4 Shall demonstrate the need of the membership of the organization’s governance to reflect the community which they serve including persons with disabilities and their families.
Training Modules - Module List : Governance Curriculum - List of Modules
I. Legal Competency Modules
Overview: Law and Order
Liability Ability
P&A Paper Chase
DD Network
DD Council Paper Chase
PowerPoint Modules
Role of P&A
Role of Council
Responsibilities of Governance
The DD Network
Council Governance Responsibilities
Responsibilities of P&A Governance
II. Communication Competency - Modules
Effective Communication + Productive Meetings = Formula for Success
Effective Listening for Effective Meetings
Bringing the Meeting to Order and Keeping it that Way
Turning Conflict into Consensus: The Communication Connection
PowerPoint Modules
Communication Overhead
III. Planning & Evaluation Competency - Module
Overview of the Planning and Evaluation Process
Priority Setting (Similar to Budgeting Module in Fiscal Competency)
How to Evaluate Programs and Services
Developing and Monitoring Policies and Procedures
Using the PPR as an Evaluation Tool
PowerPoint Module
Overview of Planning & Evaluation
VI. Fiscal Competency - Modules
Overview of Fiscal Management Skills
Budgeting Skills
Fund Raising Skills
PowerPoint Modules
Fiscal Responsibilities
V. Building Collaborative Partnerships - Modules
Overview of Building Collaborative Partnerships
Recruiting a Diverse Governance Membership
Forging Partnerships
PowerPoint Modules
Overview of Collaborative Partnerships
The DD Network
VI. Human Resources Competency - Modules
Overview: Making Human Resources More Human
E-E-O Made E-A-S-Y
HR - Whose Job Is It?
PowerPoint Module
Human Resources Overview
VII. Cultural Competency - Module
Overview: What a Difference Diversity Makes!
Trainer Guide - Trainers Toolkit (Log In Required) : The Trainers Toolkit contains information every trainer can use to conduct a successful training. The Toolkit contains information on how to prepare for the training, accessibility guidance and how to deal with different types of adult learners.
Self Evaluation - Self-Evaluation (Log In Required) : This is a quick checklist that can be used to identify the training needs of each program. The curriculum can than be adapted to develop individualized training.
Individual Modules - Law & Order Overview - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: Serving on the governing body of any organization brings a great sense of reward. Yet it also brings with it great responsibility and exposure to legal liability. If members of governance are to carry out their duty to govern, they must have a working understanding of the legal issues that come with that duty and the pitfalls to avoid. Knowledge and understanding of relevant legal considerations including governance liability, fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest and other ethical considerations are essential. These issues must serve as the framework and parameters within which the body governing the organization operates.
- Liability Ability - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: Serving on a governing body of any organization brings a great sense of reward. Yet it also brings with it great responsibility and exposure to legal liability. If Board members are to carry out their duty to govern they must have a working understanding of the legal issues that come with that duty and the pitfalls to avoid. Knowledge and understanding of relevant legal considerations including individual member liability, fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest and other ethical considerations are essential. These issues must serve as the framework and parameters within which a Board governs the organization.
- DD Council Paper Chase - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : Overview - The legal foundation of Developmental Disabilities Council is the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. It is from this statute that all activities are authorized, circumscribed and funded. A working knowledge of this law is fundamental to a council member’s ability to effectively govern his/her organization. Likewise, knowledge of the requirements for any federal grant recipient helps governing boards shape the activities and strategic plans of the organizations they serve.
- P&A Paper Chase - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: The legal foundation of Protection & Advocacy Systems is the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. It is from this statute that all activities are authorized, circumscribed and funded. A working knowledge of this law is fundamental to a board member’s ability to effectively govern his/her organization. Likewise, knowledge of the requirements for any federal grant recipient helps governing boards shape the activities and strategic plans of the organizations they serve.
- DD Network - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: The legal foundation of Protection & Advocacy Systems and State Councils on Developmental Disabilities is the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. It is from this statute that all activities are authorized, circumscribed and funded. A working knowledge of this law is fundamental to a board member’s ability to effectively govern his/her organization. This module highlights the role of the DD Network in improving the qulaity of life of people with developmental disabilities and their families. Likewise, knowledge of the various disability laws helps governing boards shape the activities and strategic plans of the organizations they serve.
- Responsibilities of Governance - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the role of any governing body. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Council Governance Responsibilities - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation of DD Council governance responsibilities. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Responsibilities of P&A Governance - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation of the Responsibilities of P&A Governance. Speaker notes are included. To download right mouse click and select save target as.
- Role of the DDC - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the role of the DD Council as described in the DD Act. Speaker notes are included. To down load, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Role of the P&A - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the role of the governing body of the P&A as described in the DD Act. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- The Developmental Disabilities Network - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the role of the DD Network as described in the DD Act. There is a particular focus on collaboration. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- DD Act Jeopardy - Legal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint version of an activity highlighting the DD Act. Answers and questions are included. See the Trainers Toolkit for directions. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Legal Module Materials (Log In Required) : These are all of the handouts and overheads used in the Legal Competency modules. They are ready to be copied.
- Effective Communication + Productive Meetings = Formula for Success (Log In Required) : Overview: This learning module covers the essential skills needed to ensure effective communications among members of the governing body. This module includes short interactive discussions on the fundamentals of each skill comprising the communication competency followed by individual and group exercises. Participants will learn to accomplish their own individual goals and work with the larger group to accomplish specific tasks as a governing body.
- Effective Listening for Effective Meetings - Communication Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: A cornerstone of good communication is effective listening. Effective listening helps create an environment that fosters innovation, helps avoid conflicts through misunderstanding and reduces stress. Becoming an effective listener requires an understanding of listening fundamentals, verbal and nonverbal signals and a willingness to be self aware and honest.
- Bringing the Meeting to Order and Keeping it that Way (Log In Required) : Overview: Meetings are the primary way a governing body performs its duties. It is at meetings the organization’s vision and mission are implemented. The more effective meetings are, the more the governing body and consequently, the organization will be able to accomplish. For a governing body to carry out its business, its members must take its meetings seriously and be fully prepared to participate and fully engaged when present.
- Turning Conflict into Consensus - Communication Competency (Log In Required) : Overview - The need to overcome differences of opinion is as old as time. We all know the story of how King Solomon resolved the conflict between two mothers. Ever since, humans have struggled to learn more about conflict and ways to bridge differences to reach consensus. Members of governance are not immune to this challenge. Even if all agree on the ultimate mission and purpose of the organization, it is unlikely that there will be uniformity on how that mission should be achieved. Instead of viewing these differences as a detriment to the organization, conflict is an opportunity for innovation through consensus.
- Overview of Communication Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation that can be used as an overview for all communication modules. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Communication Modules Handouts (Log In Required) : These are all of the handouts and overheads used in the Communication Competency modules. They are ready to be copied.
- Overview of the Planning and Evaluation Process (Log In Required) : Overview: Strategic planning is a tool to help an organization do a better job - focus its energy, ensure that members of the organization are working toward the same goals. It is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. The process of strategic planning assess the current status of the organization and allows governance to adjust its direction and respond to a changing environment. This process is about intentionally setting goals and developing an approach to achieving those goals. An important component of planning is evaluation. In order to develop an effective strategic plan, planners need to know where the organization is, where it needs to go, and how it is going to get there.
- How to Evaluate Programs and Services (Log In Required) : Overview: Programs must be evaluated to decide if the services are useful to constituents and operating efficiently. Evaluation is the deliberate collection of information about a program or some aspect of a program in order to make decisions about that program. Program evaluation comes in many forms including needs assessments, cost/benefit analysis, effectiveness, efficiency, formative, summative, goal-based, process, outcomes, etc. Sometimes they’re as simple as documenting that the program did what it was supposed to do. Sometimes more in-depth evaluations are necessary to test whether some anticipated change occurred as a result of the project. The type of evaluation should be determined by what the decision makers need to know about their program.
- Priority Setting - Planning & Evaluation Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: Linking resources and activities is an important responsibility of governance. It is the governance role to raise sufficient resources to implement those activities most important to the mission of the agency. It must provide direction and oversight to management’s implementation.
- Developing and Monitoring Policies and Procedures - Planning & Evaluation Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: It is the role of governance to develop specific policies about how services are provided and key decisions are made. This is not to be confused with the day to day implementation of those services or the role of management in making certain decisions. Rather governance adopts policies which ensure that staff and clients are treated equably and fairly, that money is being spent appropriately and the public trust is protected.
- Using Program Performance Reports (PPR) as a Program Evaluation Tool - Planning & Eval Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: Evaluation is the deliberate collection of information about a program or some aspect of a program in order to make decisions about that program. Program evaluation, therefore, comes in many varieties including needs assessments, cost/benefit analysis, effectiveness, efficiency, formative, summative, goal-based, process, outcomes, etc. P&As and State Councils are required by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities to submit an annual program performance report (PPR) which documents demographic information about the clients and services of the agencies. The PPR is not just a reporting requirement and annual burden, it is an important evaluation tool.
- Planning & Evaluation - The Role of Governance (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation that can be used as an overview to the Planning & Evaluation modules. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Planning Overhead # 1 (Log In Required) : This is the first overhead for the Planning & Evaluation competencies. It is ready to copy.
- Planning & Evaluation materials (Log In Required) : These are the handouts and overheads used in the Planning and Evaluation Competency modules. They are ready to be copied.
- Overview of Fiscal Management Skills (Log In Required) : Overview: There is increasing pressure for not-for-profits and governmental entities operating within the public trust to develop quality assurance mechanisms. This in part translates to making sure that the money allocated for a specific program is appropriately spent by that program. Advocacy organizations are not exempt from this scrutiny. In fact the more muscle any advocacy organization flexes the more likely someone will attempt to neutralize these efforts with allegations of misuse of its money. Governance can help ensure that the agency is inoculated against such charges by developing sound fiscal practices. Fiscal management includes cash management, developing adequate internal controls, planning and budgeting.
- Budgeting Skills - Fiscal Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: Linking resources and activities is an important responsibility of governance. It is also the governance role to make sure that money is being spent on those activities most important to the mission of the agency and consistent with the expectations of funders. It must provide direction and oversight to management’s implementation of the budget and work plan approved by the governing body. How the agency spends it money directly impacts what type of services it provides when implementing its mission. The budget is an important tool in that process.
- Fund Raising Skills - Fiscal Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: There is increasing pressure for not-for-profits and governmental entities operating within the public trust to develop sufficient resources to fulfill their mission.
- Fiscal Responsibilities - Fiscal Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation that serves as an overview of the Fiscal Competencies. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Fiscal Competency materials (Log In Required) : These are all of the handouts and overheads used in the Fiscal Competency modules. They are ready to be copied.
- Overview of Building Collaborative Partnerships (Log In Required) : Overview: Organizations that are run by and responsive to their constituency are successful organizations. To be successful, organizations must involve their clients - their constituency - in identifying shared problems and the possible solutions - the desired outcome(s) to those problems. Because disability confronts individuals from all ethnic and social-economic backgrounds the organization must identify and work with diverse populations, finding common ground. To accomplish this, governance will have to consciously and strategically inform the public of the organization’s activities. Communication with the public at large as well as the disability community is a critical element of governance’s fiduciary responsibility and greatly impacts their ability to form collaborative partnerships.
- Recruiting a Diverse Governance Membership - Collaboration Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: In order to be effective the governing body of any organization must be aware of the needs of its constituency. An effective governing body reflects the diversity of voices that constitute its client base. This requires a recruiting mechanism that ensures solicitation members from a wide variety of experiences including different points of view from: racial/ethnic groups, different disabilities - both primary and secondary( family) viewpoints, geography, gender/sex, age and area of expertise (legal, fiscal, business, etc.).
- Forging Partnerships - Collaboration Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: To be successful, organizations must involve their constituency - in identifying shared problems, the solutions, and the desired outcome(s) to those problems. Disability confronts individuals from all ethnic and social-economic backgrounds therefore the organization must identify and work with diverse populations. Sometimes finding common ground means addressing different points of view of the same problem. Organizations have struggled to learn more about conflict and ways to bridge differences to reach consensus. Members of governance are not immune to this challenge. Even if all agree on the ultimate mission and purpose of the organization, it is unlikely that there will be uniformity on how that mission should be achieved. Instead of viewing these differences as detriments to the organization, conflict should be viewed as an opportunity for innovation through consensus.
- Building Collaborative Efforts - Collaboration Competency (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation that can be used as an overview for the Collaboration competencies. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Collaboration materials (Log In Required) : These are all of the handouts and overheads used in the Building Collaborative Relationships modules. They are ready to be copied.
- Making Human Resources More Human - Human Resources Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: A significant proportion of the resources of a service provider agency is dedicated to its human resources. It is essential for governance to understand its role in overseeing those resources. Members of governance must understand where their responsibilities begin and end. They must know how to appropriately support management’s day to day supervision the agency’s human resources.
- Governance and Management: Making the Difference - Human Resources Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: The role of the governing body is vastly different from the role of management. And yet, differences are separated only by a fine line. Understanding the delicate balance between management and governance is critical to helping members of governance carry out their duty to govern effectively and fairly. This includes hiring and evaluating the organization’s Executive Director, investigating grievances and ensuring that the organization is managed in accordance with applicable laws.
- E-E-O Made E-A-S-Y - Human Resources Competency (Log In Required) : Overview: If members of governance are to carry out their duties effectively and fairly, they must be given the tools necessary to do so. Knowledge and understanding of the relevant equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws are the foundation upon which governance is able to meet this responsibility. These laws form the parameters within which governing bodies may act as well as assess the actions of those who manage the organization.
- Human Resources Overview (Log In Required) : This is a PowerPoint presentation that serves as an overview for the Human Resources competencies. Speaker notes are included. To download, right mouse click and select save target as.
- Human Resources Competency materials (Log In Required) : These are all of the handouts and overheads used in the Human Resources competency modules. They are ready to be copied.
- Overview: What a Difference Diversity Makes! (Log In Required) : Overview: Diversity is not new. The United States has been a melting pot for hundreds of years. Yet, as there has always been resistance to accepting people who are different (races, religions, abilities) as equally entitled. And, despite the impact of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, diversity still encounters varying degrees of resistance. The DD Act defines culturally competent services as those that are conducted or provided in a manner that is responsive to the beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes, language and behaviors of the individuals receiving them and have the greatest likelihood of ensuring their maximum participation in the program. Governance must ensure that their services are provided in such a manner.
- Cultural Sensitivity materials (Log In Required) : These are all of the handouts and overheads used in the Cultural Sensitivity competency. They are ready to be copied.
Bibliography - Bibliography (Log In Required) : This is a list of resources used to develop this curriculum.
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