Board Evaluation Tools

Massachusetts Cultural Council Organizational Self-Assessment Tool

This board evaluation tool is lengthy, but it's very comprehensive and evaluates all aspects of an organization, such as its strategic planning and evaluation, programming, advocacy and public relations, marketing, financial planning, monitoring and reporting, board management, and human resources. It helps big organizations identify problem areas as well as where they're performing well. Small companies can also use it to identify the skills they need to develop in their boards and recruitment process.

This is a very short and basic evaluation tool that's focused on the board rather than the whole organization. Its results can show board members and chief executives how well they're doing. Although the questionnaire is rather basic, it provides space for the board to offer suggestions on how it can improve its performance. This provides an opportunity for the board to explore ideas that aren't covered by the questionnaire, but are relevant to the organization and individual members.

This checklist has a number of indicators that board members must rate as "met," "need work" or "N/A." Indicators are rated "E" for essential, "R" for recommended and "A" for additional things the board can implement to improve its performance. The checklist shows the board what it needs to do to be efficient and effective, but board members must be honest with their ratings, only marking indicators as "met" if they feel they've been fulfilled to the highest level. They should mark indicators as "N/A" if they're not applicable, they're not sure of the need to fulfill them, or they're not currently working on them.

This simple 20-item questionnaire is designed specifically for the board of directors of not-for-profit organizations, where board members are volunteers. It's aimed to help them evaluate their performance as a body and how each board member feels about the group. The questions are straightforward and answerable by "yes," "no," "don't know" and "doesn't apply." It's quick to complete and analyze, and not appropriate for us by bigger for-profit organizations.

A number of independent companies offer customized board evaluation tools. They not only create the evaluation tool, but will also conduct it and analyze the results. Using customized tools allows you to tailor them to the needs and objectives of your organization. Having an independent assessor assures your investors and sponsors that the results are transparent and impartial.