At their June meeting, the Board accepted the final report from the Third-Party Board Effectiveness Review. Brian O’Riordan and Maia MacNiven, the consultants from DABOR Consulting and TBG MacNiven who conducted the review, joined the meeting to present the findings and recommendations.
The external review found that the College’s Board is functioning well, with a strong culture of collaboration, a clear focus on the public interest, and a solid understanding of its governance role. The review highlighted the Board’s effective leadership, commitment to strategic planning, and ongoing dedication to equity, diversity and inclusion. Looking ahead, opportunities were identified to continue strengthening succession planning, risk management, and governance training to support continued excellence and effective oversight of the College’s mandate.
A third-party was engaged to conduct this evaluation process in alignment with the College’s governance policies, as well as in support of College Performance Measurement Framework requirements and best practice for accountability in governance. In conducting the review, the consultants assessed the Board’s effectiveness and the College’s governance practices against a set of principles that they developed based on Canadian and international best practices, which are as follows:
- The Board has a solid understanding of its role in protecting the public interest
- The Board has established measures to ensure that it has the requisite competencies, skills and attributes to enable it to function effectively.
- The Board has the appropriate governance structures and processes in place in order to enable it to function effectively
- The Board understands that the Chair plays a key role in the success of the governance framework and in ensuring the effectiveness of meetings
- The Board is actively involved in developing the organization’s strategic plan and monitoring its implementation and use
- The Board ensures that the College operates in. transparent and accountable way with respect to the public, those it regulates, and the system partners with whom it collaborates
- The Board reviews at least annually a risk register relating to internal and external factors that are impacting, or could impact, the ongoing governance and operation of the College. The Board is able to attest that the organization has established mitigation processes to manage risk and has clearly identified the severity of the risks
- The Board’s culture reflects the College’s commitment to principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDI-B)
The results of the review found that 6 of 8 principles were fully met (principles a, b, d, e, f, and h) and 2 were partially met (principles c and g).
This review process contributes to the College’s ongoing pursuit of governance modernization and continuous improvement. The recommendations from the report are minor in nature and aim to further enhance the strong governance work already happening at the College. The recommendations all build on existing and planned governance initiatives.
The next steps will be for the Board to develop and implement an action plan in response to the recommendations from the report.
The College and its Board of Directors thank the consultants, Brian and Maia, for their review and insights.