Future Board Leaders

As we outlined above, it is very important to us to not rule anyone out, but these are the some reasons people have not been chosen in the past:

They want the programme for the training.

FBL is not a training programme; it is a supported programme that has training.
Some people who apply are on a board but want the training, this is not what the programme is for. If you fit all the criteria but you are already self-nominated onto a board, please do not apply.

If you simply want to avail of training, Boardmatch provides standard Trustee training, available here. If you feel you need this training as part of your onboarding to a new role, you should approach you Chair for funding. Alternatively, Carmichael also have a Governance e-learning module for new Board members you can access here.

They had or were currently sitting on a board they applied to independently.

To be clear, if you have been nominated onto a board as part of your role or community, we will still accept your application. For example, if you have been elected to a Students Union, a local Residential group, a youth group, etc. then you can still apply.

If you have been invited to, or self-nominated yourself and been elected to a board independently, the course is not for you. You have clearly demonstrated you have the resources to apply for a board and you do not need the programme.

They had been asked to join a board or are in the process of joining a board.

This was mentioned by several candidates in previous years. This indicates to us that you have the network and access to resources to apply for a board role yourself, so the programme isn’t necessary for you.

They have held senior management positions.

While some people applied based on their diversity such as age or disability, if you have a history of senior management roles, we will expect that you have the resources to apply for a board role yourself and do not need the support of the programme. We are of course open to hearing more but you must outline clearly in your application what the barrier is.

They wanted a job.

You do not have to be in employment to apply for the programme, however the programme is not a job placing programme. All roles are on a volunteer basis.

If you are in these situations, you are very welcome to apply directly for a Board using the FREE Boardmatch service, which you can see here. There are always Boards looking for new candidates so please register an account and get involved.

If you tick one of the above boxes but there is additional information or nuance to your situation, please apply. We take every application seriously, but the information needs to be there for us to consider it.

We understand that there are instances that may sound like they could fit in the above categories of exclusion but there could be nuance to them. For example, you were a senior manager but have only worked for one small organisation and therefore never interviewed externally for the role. Or you have sat on a board before, and it had been a negative experience and now are concerned about joining a new board. Please use your own judgment and if you do have additional information, please state it clearly.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible our advice is always to contact us directly for a chat or apply and provide all relevant information to let us assess your application.

Don’t disqualify yourself unnecessarily

To apply, everyone must fill out an application form. A lot of the information is basic demographic information, such as location and roles, but there are some sections that focus on you and your diverse voice. It is imperative that you use that space to explain to us who you are.

We will mark based only on your answers, we cannot consider any additional information such as where you work or who you know. We mark the applications using a weighted desk assessment. The details we are looking for are:

• If the candidate has clearly indicated which under-represented voice they have lived experience of. The emphasis is on lived experience not representative experience such as a paid role. However it may be adjacent lived experience such as advocacy for a child or sibling.
• If the candidate has indicated why they believe the programme will help them, what barrier it will help them overcome
• If the candidate has outlined intersectionality i.e. – when someone identifies with more than one group. This could be a person with a disability and practice a minority religion. It could be someone new to Ireland and LGBTQ. There is no requirement to have more than one lived experience but the more clearly explained how you align with FBL’s mission, the better your score will be.
• If the candidate has indicated if they will use their learning beyond their board position? Bring it into their community etc. FBL is not about individuals, it is about diversifying the sector, we value candidates who intend to share their learning beyond their own professional development.

We are open, transparent and we actively invite feedback or correction at every stage of the process.

Rather than fear saying the wrong thing and doing nothing, we accept that we are liable to make mistakes, and we ask our candidates to correct us when we do so we can try again. We are a community learning of practice, we are learning too.

We accept that candidates are the experts in what they need. We take time to figure out what these needs are, and we work with the candidate to meet them where they are.

We make sure that the Boards they are matched with can meet any needs they may have. We will intervene if required we do not leave candidates dealing with any issues that may arise.

We make sure that candidates have completed their 2 days of CPD accredited Governance Training before they meet with any Boards for an interview. You will have the opportunity to ask all the questions you have about being on a Board, and to practice role-play interviews with the other candidates.

As part of your participation on the programme, we expect you to:
Engage with us in a timely and professional manner, read the emails we send fully and respond in a timely manner, attend schedule interviews and send apologies if you are unable to attend scheduled meetings.

• Attend both in-person days training (more details below)
• Attend the informational webinars for successful applicants (dates tbc)
• Engage with the programme as Alumni going forward
• Engaging in feedback requests or supporting testimonials to support the ongoing expansion and development of the programme

Time wise we estimate:

• Attendance at the two full days training
• Attending preparation webinars online before the in-person training for about an hour
• Attending two interviews and prep around 2 hours
• To engage with your board as a full member. Boards meet 6-12 times a year usually for 1-2 hours, but you should discuss this as part of your interview process.

There are four main things we will be marking on

A clear demonstration of who you are and how you feel your voice is missing. We want details of your own understanding of how your lived experience will bring a new voice to the Irish charity boards. We do not need any sensitive information such as medical information but please tell us as much as you can in your own words

We want to know why you need the programme. There are easier ways to apply to sit on a board than FBL, what about this programme is the addressing your own reasons for not applying for a board, i.e. network, systemic issues, confidence etc.

How will you pay it forward. The programme is a long-term community of practice. We particularly value when candidates are hoping to bring their learning back to their community. Whether it’s promoting the programme to future candidates or using your learning to start your own social enterprise. Tell us what you hope to do.

Why you want to sit on a charity board

We will use a desk assessment to mark candidates. Higher marked candidates will then be considered as a group. It is important that the group is diverse and one group isn’t overrepresented.

No.

Candidates are chosen by a small team in the Leadership Academy and high-level details are communicated to the team at Boardmatch. That is the last time the details are discussed.

The other candidates never find out what the makes their classmates diverse unless individuals choose to share or if its visible. Ironically even if something is visible, it may not be the reason the person applied, as diversity is often invisible.

Requests from Boards for a particular demographic of person is only considered if they can demonstrate the request is in line with the organisations function or values. For instance, a Travellers representative group or LGBT group may request someone from within their community, if possible. However, we do not share the details of the candidate without their approval. If the Board is not specific in what type of diversity they are seeking, we do not inform them of the candidate’s background.

Absolutely not. Marginalised voices are labelled enough. We want your voice. Full stop. We don’t expect you to be the voice of your lived experience, unless of course you want to be.

The boards that engage are in such a wide arena of spaces there’s something for everyone! We are very happy for you to try something new

Unfortunately, no.

Unfortunately, from time-to-time matches don’t work, and like dating, you can’t force it. People have not been matched for a wide variety of reasons, they met boards and realised it wasn’t what they thought, their life circumstances changed or circumstances changed for the board.

However, we will guarantee you a minimum of one meeting so you can get the full experience of interviewing and feedback if you need it.

Our promise is to get you Board ready.

When you finish the FBL programme, you will be trained, have a new network of peers, interview experience and feedback if necessary. We keep in touch with the Alumni and many of them have secured Board positions after the programme. You don’t have to be on a board to remain on the programme

Training dates are held on Saturdays. We completely get this doesn’t suit everyone, but it suits the maximum amount of people, allowing for work and childcare arrangements. We also try to have additional events at other accessible hours like lunchtimes and in the evening.

There are two in-person Saturday trainings required.

Unfortunately, no.

The in-person days are important. Firstly, to meet everyone and establish your new network and secondly to meet the requirements of the Governance certification. The class is small as we provide a lot of hands on support. We need to be sure whoever applies can attend the in-person days.

We ask that you do not apply if you are not 100% available and committed to attending the in-person days. We do keep a shortlist of other applicants in case someone needs to drop out of the programme; however, the training days are on Saturday, and it therefore takes time for people to plan their attendance, so this is not an ideal situation.

Yes.

We get that it can be cosy in the zoom rooms, but a part of our responsibility is to get to know you so we can match you well, and a part of your responsibility is to network and engage with your new network of peers. While we do sometimes have reluctance from people in advance, afterwards everyone agrees that
in person is better.

Any other events we have are online.

Yes, we appreciate travel can be very costly so we can support costs of public transport to the event on both days. We start late and finish early to allow for morning travel, so you won’t need to stay overnight.

We provide food and snacks throughout the day to make sure there is no additional costs for you.

If there are any other reasonable costs that you might have, we are very happy to discuss. Raise it with the team as early as possible.

That’s expected, we are very lucky to be supported by Chartered Accountants Ireland who have a fully accessible building, including access to the building, the boardroom, the eating area and toilets on every floor.

If you have a personal assistant with you, we are happy to support them for the day as well with travel and food.

If there is anything else, just let us know.

To be honest most candidates have.

Whether it is diet, presentation of material, movement breaks, fidgets, advanced details, detailed details, chats in advance to lower anxiety, no impromptu questions… We are happy to discuss them all!