Our sector is supported by trustees and directors who, through their passion and skills, have stepped up to support organisations when the need has been greatest. But, as Jonathan Mayes argues, our boards could do better.
“The world is turned upside-down” – a line from the musical Hamilton, as true in the early 21st century as it was in the late 18th century. We all recognise the speed of change brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, by social causes such as #BlackLivesMatter and #WeShallNotBeRemoved, by climate change.
Many boards have shown resilience and fortitude as they have had to meet more regularly, make decisions more quickly and adapt to new risks more rapidly. It has been hugely edifying... more
Over the past year, Amanda Parker has been privy to several board-level conflicts that she describes as nightmarish. Boards, she advises, need to ensure democratic processes support equitable redress.
Ten years ago, while most 21-year-olds were exploring their freedom, Toks Dada was spending his evenings and weekends reading company management reports, annotating business plans, and scrutinising financial accounts. Here he explains why.
Boards in the cultural sector often focus on improving the delivery of a conventional model, but as Anisa Morridadi argues, both trustees and organisations need to change.
One of the oddities of sitting on a board or being a trustee of a cultural institution is that there are no rules for how to do it - still less how to do it well. John Tusa offers a guide for survival.