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The
Need for Institutional Memory
Submitted 1 Oct 2009 by David Prins,
Triangle Country Dancers,
Chapel Hill, NC USA
I have been volunteer treasurer for my organization for a couple of years now and we have run into the issue of poor institutional memory over and over. I appreciate the suggestions made by the author an others - organization and continuity are the two biggies...and two of the big challenges in volunteer orgs. (Our's is 100% voluteer run). I am very optimistic about the potential of information technology to help...but also think that a couple of details will help us apply the continuity officer concept...primarily that the officer does not need to be a part of most board meetings - they only need to know the agenda to provide perspective, and then the outcome and reasoning of decisions for their records.
Submitted on 11Dec2003by
Diane Leipper, Leipper Management Group NV USA
Examples of the continuity issue I have encountered include an
association that proposed a bylaws change without any awareness of why
the current wording was originally adopted and a board member who
continued serving long past normal tenure who became possessive
of historical information and very resistant to sharing or giving
up their perceived "power".
There are standard and well accepted structures already in place that address most of the issues of continuity. Every book on board management discusses a board manual which lists the documents and records that should be included.
Due Diligence is the obligation of any board member to review the
appropriate association records and become familiar with their
content and purpose. State statutes clearly outline the documents
and procedures required for non-profit entities. These statutes
also define what records need to be kept and for how long. The
crux of the issue is time and commitment. All the great record
keeping in the world won't help if nobody takes the time to go
through it. Use of current technology
makes the management of important information much easier, more accessible,
and hopefully better structured to encourage review by appropriate
people.
People come and go no matter what their title or job description
is. Good documentation, well maintained, and easily accessible
can provide the best and most accurate source of historical information.
Even a "Continuity Officer" is
going to need good documentation in order to effectively serve their organization.
Submitted on 11Dec2003 by
Colleen Watts, Manager, Volunteer Resources, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Here are two more ideas that I have found helpful for orientating
new board members, moving the organization forward while lessening
the 'reinventing of the wheel' syndrome:
-
At the end of the year, have the president, past president or secretary do a summary list of motions made by the organization during that fiscal year. If you put the meeting date at the end of each motion, future board members will be able to quickly access the background discussions from meeting minutes. Consistently doing this each year provides a concise summary of decisions made in the past. It not only prevents rehashing old issues but also quickly gets new board members up to speed.
-
Developing a one page "year at a glance" of the organization's meetings, fundraising, and regular events helps both new and old members understand the timelines and regular activities of the organization in relation to the fiscal year. You can also add behind each event which committee(s) are responsible -- this provides an overview of the committee roles in relation to the yearly activities of the organization. I have found this especially helpful for providing an overview for new volunteers being brought into an organization.
Submitted on 5Dec2003 by Tina Branco, Director Volunteer
Support, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Virginia, USA
Many
of us have been in a position of finally being promoted or appointed or elected
to a position where we feel AT LAST, I can accomplish what needs to be done.
Recognizing the danger of either trampling on or ignoring what has gone before
is a true sign of a professional but one which takes time to
internalize. When I first took my job, I had a list of "goals
for the year". My boss looked at the list and offered only
one piece of advice "Try to make your goal EVOLUTION not REVOLUTION." Now
ten years later, as the organization celebrates its 100th
anniversary, I am just completing that first list of goals, and
leading a strategic review to see what we can learn from our
past to take into the next 100 years. This is a much more comfortable
atmosphere for the whole organization, and honors the hard work
of all who have gone before.
Submitted on 3Dec2003 by Kevin Kelley, Program Development
Director, Camp Fire USA Mt. Hood Council, Portland, Oregon, USA
Yes! The
idea of a Continuity Officer, in some form, is just what is needed! Sometimes
it may be as simple as taking good notes, filing them in a manner
that is easy to find and use, and having an index. Policies,
procedures and decisions should be documented, but we are all
victims of time and heavy workload, so often information and
decisions are filed in our heads. When
this happens, we are often called upon to "sell" the decisions all
over again to new comers, even though we have been through the process,
made the decision, and have been operating quite well for a time.
While we all recognize that it is not a healthy practice to operate
under the precept "we've always done it this way," nor is it a good practice to change
things without reason, or just for the sake of change. We must realize
why we do what we do, why we came to do it a certain way, or what outcomes we
are after. After we understand the why and how, we can move on to tweaking,
making changes, or doing away with things. Respect for the development
of a program or process is vitally important to operating effective agencies.
Submitted on 2December2003 by Hillary Roberts, Pres., Project Linus
NJ, Inc. NJ/USA
How do you assure that you remember the past while
moving forward? How can volunteers help here?
Isn't this where senior volunteers shine! Those of us with positive experiences
utilizing volunteers with 20 years of experience under their belt or seniors
who come to a volunteer opportunity with gaggles of learned experience in the
private sector can attest to the benefit of introducing the past and the present
to each other and being open to the enrichment both sides provide.
Scholars say, "without the past, how do we guide the future." Wise words.
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