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Building good internet governance

The internet age is changing the way organisations run and govern themselves, with both opportunities and challenges for the boards and management committees of nonprofit organisations. Along with the benefits of faster response times, new ways of delivering services and more efficient use of resources, come the risks of catastrophic data loss, the mishandling of personal information, hackers and viruses.

Some of the governance issues relevant to the internet include the following subjects.

Internet activity audit

Carry out a comprehensive audit of systems and practices so that your board has a good understanding of existing infrastructure, ways of working, habits of use and levels of current knowledge in relation to email, the web and other online activity.

Effective internet policies

Make sure that your organisation has up-to-date policies relating to online issues. Like any good policies they should be practical, responsive to current realities and not overly prescriptive. They should include these sorts of policies.

• Email, internet and other electronic communications so that staff know what is expected in terms of acceptable and unacceptable practices. Make it clear to staff if there is to be any monitoring of these. See more on email usage policies.
• Network access Make it clear who is to have access to your network and ensure that only authorised users are able to log on. Set guidelines for handling breaches of security.
• Data use and storage This should cover all types of data (membership, client, volunteer, staff) with guidelines on responding to emergencies and security breaches.

Distributing information electronically

You can use the internet to streamline the process of distributing information to board members prior to meetings, and also to foster communication between members.

Here are some points to note.

• Emailed information still needs to get to board members well in advance of the meeting. Don't use the speed of the internet as an excuse to reduce the amount of time board members have to prepare for meetings or to demand faster than usual response times.
• Try not to send information piecemeal, bombarding board members with confusing fragments. Prepare the material thoroughly and deliver it according to a schedule.
• If some board members can't or won't accept information by email, don't fight it. Accept that you need flexible systems to deliver the information in more than one way.
• Use the internet to keep in touch with board members between meetings, sending them interesting news items and updates on recent developments.

Electronic board meetings

Electronic meetings using internet conference calls for example (see How to make phone calls over the internet) can reduce the number of face-to-face meetings your board holds a year. Bear these points in mind.

• Punctuality and avoiding distractions like phone calls are just as critical if you are holding an electronic meeting.
• Give board members some guidelines or training in the pros and cons of electronic meetings.
• Many electronic meetings are not legally valid meetings, so check your governing document or constitution to see if this is so. Even if the meeting isn't legally binding, lots of useful work can still be done but you will need to save the decisions that require legal force for a properly constituted face-to-face meeting.
• There is nothing like having people in one room to foster a sense of teamwork, so don't go too far: work out a good balance between saving time and money with internet technology and keeping the human connections that come from actually being together. Difficult or controversial issues are often best left to a face-to-face meeting.

Some governance issues for the internet age

• Recruit ICT-literate board members and managers.
• Keep an eye on useful new developments in ICT and how they might contribute to your organisation's mission and goal.

Document ID: 1420, Last Updated: Wednesday, 23 January 2008 9:11am