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From June 2001 NASW NEWS The Delegate Assembly would be reduced from 300 members to 49. By John V. O'Neill, MSW, NEWS Staff A consulting firm authorized by NASW's Board of Directors to review organizational governance has recommended shifts in the roles and responsibilities of governance elements in order to achieve more accountability and to enable the organization to act strategically. "The board believed it was necessary for NASW to engage objective professionals outside of social work to help us identify the key elements shared by today's successful, complex membership organizations and make recommendations for us to consider," said NASW President Ruth Mayden. The report's analysis and proposed changes to NASW governance were posted for member comment on the association's World Wide Web site in April. The consultant's report, comments from NASW leaders and members and feedback from chapters were under review by the Governance Audit Steering Committee at press time. Potential governance changes were scheduled to be considered by the board at its June meeting. If major governance recommendations are made, the board could enact some, while others would require approval of the Delegate Assembly at its triennial meeting in 2002. Among major changes recommended by the consultants, Berkshire Associates, are a reduction in the number of board members from 24 or 25 (depending on whether there is a president-elect) to 14 or 15, and a limit of eight standing committees, although the board could keep or create other committees at its discretion. The authority to set dues schedules, create chapters, change classes of membership and change bylaws would shift from the Delegate Assembly to the board. The Delegate Assembly would change from its structure of 300 members who meet every three years to an elected body of 49 members who would meet annually to adopt public and professional policy statements that are used to guide the association's advocacy efforts. The recommendations follow a process that began in 1996 when a formal audit and review of national office operations by an outside consultant also recommended that there be a similar audit and review of the association's governance. At the Delegate Assembly in 1999, there was also much talk of the need for restructure, and the Delegate Assembly created a task force to review itself. The board also felt there was a need for a broader, objective governance review by an outside company experienced at studying associations and nonprofit governance. In September 2000 the board hired Berkshire Associates. "The primary concern is for a more timely and more accountable decision-making that preserves NASW's tradition of broad member participation," said Toby Weismiller, NASW interim executive director. The consultants also felt that responsibility and accountability should reside in the same entity, said Weismiller. Now, the Delegate Assembly has authority to make changes, but the fiscal and operational responsibility rests with the Board of Directors. The outside review followed a variety of information-gathering activities, including interviewing a cross-section of 35 NASW leaders and surveying chapter executive directors and presidents and national staff. Preliminary governance recommendations by Berkshire Associates were shared with, and feedback was received from, the board's steering committee, the Delegate Assembly task force and the Board of Directors. The consulting company modified its recommendations as a result of feedback, although it said that its recommendations "represent the best thinking of the consultants, not a compilation of perspectives from benchmark organizations and survey respondents." The consultants said recommended governance changes would "develop a structure that preserves key features of the current structure that are highly valued by the association's leadership while addressing other features of NASW's current approach to governance that hamper the association's ability to function effectively." The consultants' report said it found five major issues facing NASW:
The consultants outlined roles, responsibilities and relationships in making governance recommendations. The Board of Directors would be responsible for the ultimate direction of the management of the association's affairs, including approving public policy and program direction proposals for the Delegate Assembly to consider, approving bylaws changes and establishing dues rates and allocations. Other governance elements, such as chapters, sections and the Delegate Assembly, would provide input to the board. "The most dramatic change is trying to maintain representative governance, but making it smaller," said Weismiller. "It is not just that the association can't afford such a big governance operation, but there is a need to use those dollars to serve members rather than support a big governance apparatus." The next decision in the governance-review process is up to NASW's board. "The Board of Directors decision would be the basis for working with and engaging the Delegate Assembly task force and other key elements of the association on what might be possible to propose to the 2002 Delegate Assembly," said Weismiller. "Trying to find the best way to govern our organization while considering the needs and points of view of so many constituents has always been a challenge for NASW," said Mayden. "The diversity within our profession and among our chapters both enrich and challenge our ability to make appropriate decisions quickly," she said. "I hope we will be able to debate the merits of the recommendations with open minds and a future-oriented perspective." Consultants' report: www.socialworkers.org/about/govreport/preface.htm Back to NASW NEWS Contents
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