Board Member Competencies

Serving on the Brandon Regional Health Authority Board is a very rewarding experience, but it does require a significant time commitment. The Minister of Health is responsible for appointments to the Board. The Brandon RHA Board has developed the following Board Member characteristics to assist individuals who may be interested in serving on the Board.

Ideally, Board members:
• Are passionate about achieving the Brandon RHA Board Strategic Priorities.
• Have a working knowledge of policy governance or a commitment to learn and use this style of governance.
• Are team players and big picture thinkers.
• Are forward looking and future oriented.
• Are trusting and open to change.
• Are respectful of all cultures.
• Have the ability to commit the time required as a Board member including attendance of all board, committee, and workshop meetings.

What is policy governance?
Policy governance is a method of governing an organization that is based on the development of policies. These policies identify the many ways in which a not-for-profit organization needs to show accountability. They also provide a framework for the Board of Directors to do its job. The Board of Directors is ultimately accountable for the organization, but delegates responsibility for the day-to-day operations to the CEO.

The Board of the Brandon Regional Health Authority has adopted a modified form of the Policy Governance model developed by John & Miriam Carver, known as the Carver Model. Under this model there are three areas of policy. Two relate to the Board and how it functions. These are known as Governance Process and Board/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Relationship. A third component details how the CEO does the work the Board expects and is described under the term Executive Limitations. The fourth category is called Strategic Direction. The policies in this section define the Mission, Vision and Values of the organization and identify a process for development of corporate priorities.

Board Job Products

The Board has three responsibilities that cannot be delegated.

1. Determining Corporate Strategic Priorities and linking with its owners.

Corporate Strategic Priorities
• Board defines outcomes to provide direction to management of the organization 
• Written with a long term perspective 
• Strategic Corporate Priorities are similar to a mission statement

The Strategic Corporate Priorities adopted by the Brandon RHA in 2005 are:

• Human, financial, and capital resources, including equipment, that support and sustain programs and services that are people-centered, evidence-based, and needs driven.
• Improved health status of the population, through strategies that focus on wellness and the factors that determine health.
• Health system integration with partnerships that enhance access and minimize duplication.
• A culture that focuses on safety, disclosure, learning, and improvement, using a system-wide approach.
• An organization that attracts and retains employees who feel valued and supported.

Corporate Strategic Priorities focus on the intended results and the intended recipients of those results. These priorities encompass the totality of what the organization intends to accomplish.

Linkage with Stakeholders - Why does the Board link with its stakeholders?
• To determine needs, hopes, desires and concerns relative to achieving the long term vision of people in the Brandon Region being as healthy as they can be 
• Seeking to understand what prevents people from being as healthy as they can be
• Board must have the ability to seek, listen to and translate the wisdom of the stakeholders into Corporate Strategic Priorities.
• Linkage is not about seeking feedback as to what the Region needs to do to achieve the Corporate Strategic Priorities five year down the road. That has been delegated to the CEO.

How does the Board Link with stakeholders?
• Includes presentations by or from groups of owners, results of proactive consultation such as surveys, focus groups, community health assessment, etc.
• Board must be focused on the big picture, future oriented thinking
• Linkage is not “public relations” but listening

2. Policies 
• Board states its expectations in policy format
• Policy statements are the criteria or benchmarks against which the Board evaluates
• There are four types of policies:

Strategic Direction - Executive Limitations: boundaries that apply to staff in defining actions to achieve strategic priorities
Board-CEO Relationship: how authority is delegated to the CEO and how the CEO is monitored based on performance relative to addressing Corporate Strategic Priorities and compliance with Executive Limitations
Governance Process: Board’s philosophy, job description and accountability

3. Monitoring
The CEO is responsible for achieving the Corporate Strategic Priorities and for complying with Board Policy. The Board monitors CEO performance.

For more specific and detailed information about Policy Governance, please contact the Brandon Regional Health Authority office at 578-2300. Information on the Carver Model of Policy Governance is available at the John Carver Website at www.carvergovernance.com.