“Developing Your Board”
Research Team Contacts
Dr Gavin Nicholson
07 3138 9299
/ Dr Cameron Newton
07 3138 4043
/ Prof. Myles McGregor-Lowndes
07 3138 2936
Description
This project is being undertaken as part of a research project conducted by the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at QUT. The project is funded by the ANZ Queensland Community Foundation (A. N. Carmichael Memorial Fund, managed by ANZ Trustees) and the John T. Reid Charitable Trusts. The funding body will only have access to aggregated data summaries.
The purpose of this project is to develop evaluation tools which boards of nonprofit organisations will be able to use to assess their performance and to make decisions about their future governance practices. Boards of nonprofit organisations are in a unique position to influence the performance of their organisations. The evaluation tools will help nonprofit boards to examine their performance and become reflexive, that is, learn to adapt to changing circumstances and pass their skills on to incoming board members. In this way, the board can ensure the sustained effectiveness of their organisation. The evaluation tools will be made available on the Developing Your Board website which will be created by ACPNS.
The research team requests your assistance because the tools need to be relevant to nonprofit boards and their particular context. Therefore, it is essential that the evaluation tools be developed in consultation with members of nonprofit boards.
Participation
Your participation in this project is voluntary. If you do agree to participate, you can withdraw from participation at any time during the project without comment or penalty. Your decision to participate will in no way impact upon your current or future relationships with ACPNS or QUT.
This project has been divided into a series of questionnaires assessing the major roles of the board as well as the board as a whole. Your participation will involve responding tothese questionnaires, which are hosted online, at your convenience. Each questionnaire will take approximately 10 to 20 minutes to complete. In order to gain the most complete picture of your board’s performance, we encourage you to complete the full series of questionnaires, however, each questionnaire you complete will provide valuable information.
Confidentiality
All comments and responses are anonymous and will be treated confidentially. The names of individual persons are not required in any of the responses. A user-generated identification code will be collected with each questionnaire to allow us to track responses over multiple questionnaires without collecting any identifying information. Data will be stored in password protected files to which only the research team have access.
Consent to Participate
The submission of the completed questionnaire will be accepted as an indication of your consent to participate in this project.
Expected benefits
It is expected that this project will benefit you as well as the board and the organisation which it governs, by providing feedback on the board’s performance and assisting the board to become more reflexive. The results will be reported back to each board via the chairperson, and development materials will be provided on the Developing Your Board website.
Risks
There will be minimal risk of experiencing discomfort as a result of your participation in this project. Some questions may be sensitive in nature, particularly those assessing personality, motivations, and attitudes. Any discomfort is expected to be minimal and not beyond any distress experienced in normal day to day life. If you are concerned about potential distress and would like to speak to someone, Dr Cameron Newton is a fully registered psychologist and can be contacted as per the details above.
Additionally, QUT provides for limited free counselling for research participants of QUT projects, who may experience some distress as a result of their participation in the research. Should you wish to access this service please contact the Clinic Receptionist of the QUT Psychology Clinic on 07 3138 4578. Please indicate to the receptionist that you are a research participant.
Questions / further information about the project
Please contact the research team members named above to have any questions answered or if you require further information about the project.
Concerns / complaints regarding the conduct of the project
QUT is committed to researcher integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects.However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Officer on 07 3138 2340 or . The Research Ethics Officer is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.