The Council

Subject: Review of Effectiveness of Council

Origin: Registrar

Executive Summary

Council are asked to approve prioritisation of the Review recommendations as recommended by the Executive Officers and noted below, together with plans for their implementation, modification or further consideration. The report of the Review was considered at the December 2005 meeting of Council

Action: For approval

Introduction

At its meeting in December Council agreed that the report be referred back to Executive Officers to come forward with a set of prioritised recommendations for the March 2006 meeting.

EMG considered that the recommendations be prioritised as follows:

i) completion of recommendations which were already in the course of implementation at the time of consideration

ii) recommendations which appear beneficial and uncontroversial and which did not require further discussion, to be implemented at an early opportunity

iii) recommendations which required further analysis and discussion, specifically in the context of the development of the new strategic plan

iv) recommendations which it is proposed should be implemented in a modified form

v) low priority

Priority 1: Currently in the course of implementation

‘In the forthcoming search for co-opted members it is recommended that Council selectively use appropriate local and national publications and there indicate the range of skills and expertise that is sought.’ (1)

It is recommended that Council respectfully indicate to Court and the Alumni Association the range of skills and expertise that it seeks among its independent members and the importance that the University attaches to nurturing relationships with the local community through its Council members. (2)
It is recommended that the Nominations Committee now begin succession planning for senior Council appointments and for Chairs of Council Committees required to be filled in the coming two years. This should be an ongoing activity of the Nominations Committee. (3)

· It is recommended that Council reviews the constitution and terms of reference of the Health, Safety and Environmental Committee to enable it more effectively to develop and implement policies across the University. (7)

· It is recommended that Council seek to co-opt an expert in health and safety matters in its forthcoming appointments of co-opted members. (8)

· It is recommended that Council “unstar” HR within the Special Council meeting agendae for the forthcoming session to enable a fuller discussion of the University’s HR strategy for the longer term. (9)

· It is recommended to Council that they consider the greater use of Executive Summaries in papers. (13)

· It is recommended that Council consider tightening the link with the IP Board by co-opting its Chair to Council. (15)

It has been agreed, subject to the approval of Council, that this objective would best be served by inviting the Chair to present an annual report to the Council. EMG felt that this was a suitable solution pro tem, but that there was considerable work still to be done in developing appropriate governance and management arrangements for this area in the longer term.

· It is recommended to Council that they publish the outcome of effectiveness reviews on the internet and within the University’s Annual Report. (18)

Priority 2: To be implemented in the near future

It is recommended that Council develop and implement a modular induction and training programme for Council members in the coming six months. (4)

It is recommended that Council consider the structure of its agendae, seek further to highlight key items requiring Council’s decision and clarify the criteria for items to be reported to Council. (11)

It is recommended that Council is watchful of the costs and benefits of the range of key performance indicators presently in development and balances their benefits against the performance measures already in place. (17)

Priority 3: Require further consideration as part of the strategic review

It is recommended that Council implement a regular series of briefings on important issues of the moment to take place before each Council meeting. A rolling programme should be maintained and published. In addition Council should consider other means of developing the deeper involvement of independent members in university affairs. (5)
It is recommended to Council that a forum be established enabling the Chairs of committees of Council to meet regularly with the Chair of Council. (6)

Members of EMG were concerned that a group consisting of Chairs of all Council and Joint Committees might prove unwieldy and have limited benefits as compared with a smaller advisory group.
It is recommended that Council and Senate actively follow up their review of Committee structure with the aim of simplifying the processes of governance. (14)
It is recommended that Council consider modifying Statute XIII of the University so as to guard against the possibility of the number of members independent and external to the University being reduced together with their majority on Council. (20)

Priority 4: To be implemented in a modified form

It is recommended that Council consider the co-option of an HR specialist as Chair of its HR Committee. (10)

It was felt that appointing a lay chair of HR Committee in place of the VC would bring benefits, since it would allow the VC greater freedom to argue his/her own proposals. It was felt, however, that the lay chair should be a person of wide experience rather than an HR specialist, though specialist lay expertise should be available from amongst the lay membership.
It is recommended that Council commission an annual self- assessment questionnaire on key topics related to its effectiveness in governance. It should include an audit of progress on recommendations accepted from this and subsequent effectiveness reviews. (19)

Members of EMG believed that an annual survey would become something of a paper exercise with limited effectiveness. A more effective alternative, which would synchronise better with the five yearly effectiveness review, would be to conduct a survey at the beginning of each period, and to repeat it mid term to check the impact of measures resulting from the review.

Priority 5: Low priority

It is recommended that Council produce a forward cycle of agenda items planned for future meetings to give members a clearer picture of forthcoming business together with the opportunity to suggest additional items. (12)

Though a worthwhile suggestion, members of EMG had doubts as to the practicality or usefulness of this recommendation in practice.
It is recommended that the reports of the Performance Monitoring Group to Council highlight the key issues in a more focused way, perhaps by means of an Executive Summary. (16)

Members of EMG felt that the Reports of the Performance Monitoring Group already highlighted key issues with suitable focus and that the evidence did not support this recommendation.