Preparation, Process, and Timeline
The information below outlines the assessment preparation, process, and timeline providing you with a better understanding of what to expect.
An effective assessment process is timed in accordance with organizational and board member readiness, is designed with your organization’s information needs in mind, is hassle-free and done online, is housed within a reliable and secure collection platform, preserves a respondents’ anonymity, and sets the stage for a meaningful data discussion and action planning.
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Before You Buy An Assessment Product
BEFORE YOU BUY
Note: We recommend purchasing your assessment tool approximately 6-8 weeks before any scheduled event where the results will be shared. This buffer time allows for any extensions that may be required to achieve the desired participation rate and ensures sufficient time to review the results.
It is critical that the appropriate groundwork has been laid with your board prior to purchasing a board self-assessment or an assessment of the chief executive. Please review our pre-purchase checklists below to ensure you and your board are prepared for a successful assessment process.
Board Self-Assessment Checklist:
Be cognizant of preconceived attitudes toward assessment.
Some board members may think of performance assessment as a threatening exercise. They may be resistant to change or wary of having their performance scrutinized. Work to ensure full board commitment as early as possible. Focus on the benefits of assessment, emphasizing that the process is designed to improve the board’s effectiveness, not punish anyone for poor performance.
Understand the purpose of the assessment.
Allow for an open board discussion to address questions or hesitations about the process. Consider talking with other boards that have recently completed an assessment to learn more about their approach and how it benefited the organization.
Discuss the process in advance.
Provide all participants with any necessary materials or information, including a tentative timeline on when they may be expected to respond. Ensure board members are prepared to complete all necessary steps on and know who to reach out to if they have issues. BoardSource’s tool takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. The goal should be 100 percent participation, but we strongly suggest a participation rate of at least 70 percent. Please prepare your board accordingly.
Decide if you will need additional support to engage with the results.
Some organizations find additional reports or engaging an outside facilitator helpful in analyzing and using the results from their survey. Identifying and budgeting for any add-ons you will need up front will help ensure a smoother process.
- We offer a summary PowerPoint presentation of your results, which you can purchase here.
- For organizations that have taken our BSA before, we offer a comparison add-on report, which you can purchase here.
- BoardSource has built relationships with a broad network of consultants for nonprofits from across the country who may be able to assist in developing an action plan or leading a post-survey retreat. You can review and filter our directory here.
Additional preparation resources:
Assessment of the Chief Executive Checklist
Build support for the process and encourage full participation.
Engage the board in a discussion of the critical importance of the evaluation of the chief executive for the organization. The process can be initiated by either the board or the chief executive; but no matter who starts it, everyone involved should be engaged and informed from the very beginning. The chief executive should also be familiar with the assessment instrument so that they will understand the performance areas on which the assessment will be based. The goal should be 100 percent participation by the board and the chief executive, whose responses will be included in the report as a self-evaluation.
Compile Background Materials.
This survey is the board’s opportunity to assess the chief executive on the specific performance criteria set for them by the board. When starting your project, you will be asked to provide a list of these goals. If the board does not have a set of established performance goals, skip this step and use the assessment process as an opportunity to begin the discussion about goals for the upcoming year.
Additional preparation resources:
From purchase to report: eight key steps
1. Purchase (the assessment or a membership that comes with one):
Purchase a standalone assessment product. If you have a membership and it includes a discount on our tools, this will apply automatically at checkout. If your membership includes one or more complimentary tools, you can redeem them and access your intake form here. Learn more about our membership offerings and related discounts here.
2. Submit an intake form with the details for your survey:
For a standalone purchase, will receive the link via email following your purchase. For redeeming the tool that comes with your membership, you can access your intake form here.
Information you will need to provide to complete the intake form:
- Excel spreadsheet (template here) with all survey participants (including email addresses)
- Order number associated with the purchase of the tool (can be found in the original receipt email)
- Name and email of your designated assessment facilitator. (Roles in the Board Evaluation Process)
- Latest date by which you would like to receive the report from BoardSource
- Assessment of the Chief Executive ONLY: Document outlining your chief executive’s goals from the past year. Limit of 10 goals, and 200 characters per goal
3. Prepare your participants:
Invite all participants to add the following email addresses as contacts or safe senders, to avoid their survey invitations being bounced or caught by a spam filter:
4. Your survey opens
The exact date the survey opens will be shared via email prior to the distribution of the invitation to participate but will typically be within 1-2 weeks from the date you submit the form. Help prepare your participants by sending them an email using this template as a guide.
On your scheduled launch day, each participant will receive an email with a unique participation link. If you need to make changes to your participant list or goals section (if applicable), please contact us at least 2 business days before your scheduled launch date.
5. Responses collected
Your survey remains open for 2-3 weeks. Participants will use their unique link to take the survey and can reach out to our team at any time if they have any technical issues or questions. To promote participation, we will send weekly reminders to those who have not completed the survey and weekly updates on participation to the facilitator.
6. Participation threshold reached or waived
If 100% participation is received prior to your scheduled close date, we can close your survey early and move on to reporting. If your project has not achieved a participation rate of 70% or higher by your scheduled close date, we will automatically extend your project one week to allow time for additional responses.
7. BoardSource closes your survey
The decision to close will be decided by the organization and will be based on factors including the rate of participation and any strict timeline needs. Keep in mind, reports are typically delivered within 5 business days of the official deadline date. Re-opening the survey after report delivery or survey expiration, and add-on reports (such as segregation by role, year-to-year comparison, or PowerPoint Presentation) will incur additional fees.
8. PDF Report delivered via email
Within 5 business days of your survey closing, BoardSource sends the summary report (PDF) to your facilitator. If you’re purchasing multiple reports simultaneously (such as the DECK add-on or a Year-to-Year comparison), please allow an extra day or two. Delivery of the report PDF concludes the BoardSource Assessment process.
Post-report: Using your survey results
You’ve got your results; now what? We recommend reviewing this list of prompting questions (also included at the end of your report) for your board to develop a board action plan.
Additional resources to consider:
- Recommended Board Practices
- Performance Goals for the Chief Executive
- Board Retreat How-To (members only)
If your organization needs deeper support in analyzing the results or help leading a retreat to review the data, we recommend engaging a governance consultant. Before you get started, be sure to review the FAQs on engaging a consultant. You can filter our consultant directory by areas of expertise, including consultants who are BoardSource Board Self-Assessment Certified Facilitators.
Did you recently complete a survey? BoardSource is always looking to learn from boards. Let us know how it went and how you engaged with the results here.