The Charity Commission has recently published a series of questions for charity trustees to help them make the most of technological advances.
The Commission refers to 'digital' throughout the document meaning 'new ways of working, using digital to deliver your charity's vision, mission and strategy.' The Commission acknowledges that 'digital' is still a recent development which charities may not yet have grasped. In summary, the questions and areas for consideration are:
- Governance – consider the board's capability to make decisions quickly, and how the charity defines its 'digital policy'. The Commission is keen to point out, however, that quick decision making shouldn't excuse improper consideration of issues.
- Induction of new trustees – are there opportunities for the charity to use digital technology to help to promote the charity and the role of its trustees.
- People – how well staffed is the charity to handle digital capabilities ie would training be helpful to bring trustees/staff up to speed on digital matters?
- Strategy – assess how digital could help the charity to achieve its objectives, and how a particular charity may be able to learn lessons from looking at how a similar charity uses digital technology.
There are lots of other questions suggested by the Commission - if you would like to read them in full, please click here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
