Board Surveys is thrilled to announce the launch of a new affordable Entry Level Board Survey in partnership with the Institute of Community Directors in Australia (ICDA). The new Entry Level Survey, which comes with a world-class benchmarked report, only costs $499.
Adele Stowe-Linder, Executive Director, ICDA, said, “We are excited to be able to offer our members a world-class benchmarked board survey at a price they can all now afford. This new Entry Level Survey will be a game changer for improving the governance of boards of the more than 600,000 small organisations in Australia”.
Nicholas Barnett, Chair of Board Surveys, said, “ICDA’s numerous tools, templates, resources and training courses are a perfect fit for boards who use our Entry Level Survey. ICDA’s practical approach and deep commitment to improving governance and board effectiveness align very well with ours”. Learn more about ICDA’s resources here.
Who can benefit from the Entry Level Survey?
The Entry Level Board Survey helps small organisations in Australia with a turnover under $1.5 million—over 600,000 in total—including sporting clubs, associations, kindergartens, churches and other community groups and not-for-profits. Many of these organisations refer to their governing bodies as a Committee, Committee of Management, Family Council or similar rather than a board. The Entry Level Board Survey is designed to suit all these structures effectively.
Why is the Entry Level Survey so affordable?
As a specialist governance division of Insync with over 20 years of experience in survey development, we have made the Entry Level Board Survey more accessible by significantly reducing costs. This affordability is made possible through a streamlined, self-managed process, advanced technology, and large volumes, which drive down expenses without sacrificing quality. Developed in response to research by ICDA and Board Surveys, which identified cost as a key barrier for smaller organisations, the Entry Level Board Survey is now available for just $499.
Previously, our most affordable option—the Lite Survey—cost $1,425. By condensing the report to a concise 10 pages (down from 16), the Entry Level Board Survey delivers similar insights while keeping costs low by omitting the full benchmarked report.
A major opportunity for growth in smaller organisations
Our research highlights that boards of small organisations are often less effective than those of larger ones in key areas. For example:
- Only 67% of directors on small organisation boards fully understand their roles, compared to 78% for larger organisations.
- Just 35% of small organisation boards report ongoing renewal versus 49% for larger boards.
These findings suggest a tremendous opportunity for improvement among smaller boards. With the Entry Level Board Survey, your board can gain valuable insights and target areas needing development.
14 most important measures for an effective board
The benchmarked report evaluates the 14 key categories that research identifies as essential for assessing the effectiveness of a governing body in a small organisation. These categories include board composition and renewal, role clarity, Chair leadership, strategy, and board reporting. By focusing on these critical areas, small boards can zero in on what matters most for improving their governance and organisational success.
Better boards means better organisations
Most, if not all, directors agree that improving the effectiveness of the board will have positive flow effects on the organisation. The opposite is also true. This is why the new Entry Level Board Survey is a game changer for the improvement of boards, with the flow of improvement in their organisations, too.
A reliable path to board improvement
Most boards don’t have a standard view of the areas in which they excel and those where improvement is needed. Further, they don’t know all the categories of effectiveness that are relevant to their effectiveness as a board.
The Entry Level benchmarked report shows the board’s overall benchmarking, strengths, and areas for improvement in each of the main categories of an effective board.
The Entry Level Board Survey, together with the many templates, tools, resources, and training of the ICDA, provides a clear pathway to improvement for your board.
John Altman, Chair of Green Collect, said following his board review, “The benchmarked report gave us great insights that will enable us to improve out of sight over the next year”. Having gained those insights into each area that his board needed to improve, his board did, in fact, significantly improve in the following year.
Ready to take the first step toward better governance?
The Entry Level Board Survey provides small organisations with the tools they need to make meaningful progress toward better governance. Get started with our affordable, accessible Entry Level Board Survey for just $499 and see the difference effective governance can make. Click here to learn more.
