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New partnership brings affordable survey tool for small organisations
Insync is thrilled to announce that our specialist governance division, Board Surveys, has launched a new affordable Entry Level Board Survey in partnership with the Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA). This Entry Level Survey, which includes a world-class benchmarked report, is available for just $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 Insync and 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 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 Survey is designed to suit all these governing bodies.
Why is the Entry Level Survey so affordable?
Backed by our 20 years of experience in survey development, Board Surveys has made the Entry Level Survey more accessible by significantly lowering costs. This affordability is possible thanks to a streamlined, self-managed process, advanced technology, and large volume, all of which reduce expenses without compromising quality.
Developed in response to research by ICDA and Board Surveys, which found cost to be a key barrier for smaller organisations, the Entry Level Survey is now available for just $499. Previously, the most affordable option—the Lite Survey—cost $1,425. By condensing the report from 16 to 10 pages, the Entry Level Survey provides similar insights while keeping costs low by omitting parts of the full benchmarked report.
A major opportunity for growth in smaller organisations
Research from Board Surveys 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 appropriate ongoing renewal versus 49% for larger boards.
These findings suggest a tremendous opportunity for improvement among smaller boards. With the Entry Level 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 Survey provides small organisations with the tools they need to make meaningful progress toward better governance. Get started with Board Surveys’ affordable, accessible Entry Level Survey for just $499 and see the difference effective governance can make. Click here to learn more.
