The Role of BCIA's Board
The BCIA Board is responsible for BCIA's strategic direction within the guidelines of the Professional Governance Act and the BCIA Bylaws. The annual election process fills positions on the BCIA Board. Board positions are volunteer, and members do not receive remuneration.
The BCIA Board is responsible for the transparent stewardship of the BC Institute of Agrologists and the protection of the public interest as outlined in the Professional Governance Act (SBC 2018). It is expected that the BCIA Board will provide oversight, make strategic decisions, ensure financial and operational viability, and set policy.
There are five ways in which the BCIA Board meets its leadership responsibilities:
- Defining the strategic direction of the organization;
- Setting the macro policies of the organization;
- Providing financial and legal stewardship;
- Monitoring and evaluating organizational effectiveness;
- Hiring and evaluating the Chief Executive Officer/Registrar.
To carry out its role, the BCIA Board must be adequately staffed with sufficient human resources (HR), including clear and ethical HR policies, a positive work environment, and engaged Board members.
The BCIA Board is expected to govern, whereas the staff is expected to manage the organization's day-to-day affairs, as determined by the BCIA Board. Such
direction is provided through the mission, vision, values, strategic plan, and budget and through policy, oversight, and counsel.
Key characteristics of an effective BCIA Board are:
- The BCIA Board concerns itself with critical issues central to organizational success;
- The BCIA Board is driven to achieve results linked to defined goals and timelines;
- The BCIA Board has clear assessments to measure results;
- The BCIA Board requires the engagement of the organization's internal and external stakeholders.
BCIA BOARD COMPOSITION >
The BCIA Board comprises of seven BCIA registrant board members, the immediate Past-Chair, and four lay board members.
The BCIA Board must consist of the following:
- The Chair, who must be a registrant board member, and whose term may commence after serving a term as Vice Chair;
- The Vice Chair, who must be a registrant board member, elected per the Bylaws;
- The immediate Past-Chair who may serve as a non-voting member of the BCIA Board for up to two calendar years, commencing from the end of BCIA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the year the incumbent's term as Chair ends;
- Up to four lay BCIA board members appointed under Section 27 of the PGA, at least one of which must be present at any meeting, proceedings, or hearing of the BCIA Board;
- A maximum of 7 registrant board members elected from and allocated between the Regional Electoral Districts as outlined in the current written BCIA policies.