CFLA Governance Review: Update

October 8, 2024

The Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) recently shared an update with its stakeholders on work underway to implement changes to its governance structures and processes following a series of consulations earlier in 2024. Recommendations from its Governance Review Committee include changes to board composition, roles and mandates of committees, member engagement, communication and organizational capacity.

CFLA Governance Recommendations: Update to Stakeholders

A Message From Board Chair, Andrea Cecchetto

I’m reaching out to you, our valued stakeholders, to follow up on the Member Engagement sessions held this past spring.

As a national association representing members from various regions and sectors, CFLA-FCAB plays a crucial role in supporting a thriving Library Sector and ensuring that policy and funding stakeholders understand the impact of Canadian Libraries. We are committed to our work on behalf of our member associations and the Canadian Library sector.

The CFLA Board began 2024 with a mandate to implement transformative changes to enhance our relevance, maximize value for our members, and create a sustainable, thriving organization. The Stakeholder Engagement Sessions were a valuable first step in this process. Based on your feedback, our committee developed a set of recommendations that will provide immediate, practical benefits for our members. These initial steps aim to improve communication, clarity, accountability, and effectiveness.

I’m pleased to share these recommendations, which were approved by the CFLA Board in September. We are currently developing the implementation plan for this work and will continue to provide updates to our members. We are excited to take these next steps and look forward to more conversations with all of you as we continue to work on CFLA’s transformation. Thank you to everyone who contributed their time and opinions during these sessions.

Summary of Process

CFLA formed a committee to review the feedback from the stakeholder engagement sessions and develop recommendations to address what we heard. The committee met over June to August, and based on your input, completed an analysis of CFLA’s opportunities for improvement and growth.

The committee returned to the board a set of recommendations that address issues related to the board composition, roles and mandates of the committees, member engagement, communication and organizational capacity. These recommendations were unanimously approved by the board.

Gratitude

Thank you to the members of the Governance Review committee:

Lita Barrie, CFLA Climate Committee
Caroline Goulding, OLA
Rina Hadziev, BCLA
Emily Jaegar-McEnroe, ABQLA
Kelly Lauzon, CFLA IFC
Monika Machecek, CULC
Lorisia McLeod, CFLA Indigenous Ancestry Rep
Mikayla Redden, OCULA
Mary-Jo Romaniuk, CARL
Laura Winton, CFLA Vice-Chair

Recommendations

Streamline Committee Appointments

1. Establish a consistent timeline and process for recruitment, nomination and appointment of CFLA Committee members and Chairs with appropriate Board oversight.
2. Establish process to confirm individual membership in a CFLA member association for Committee applicants.
3. Establish when and why we appoint individuals who are not members of a CFLA association member to Committees.
4. Clarify the criteria and process for selecting Committee members.

Enhance Accountability

1. Establish clear accountability processes between Committees and the Board, including when Committee work and communications require Board approval.
2. Create Committee workplan templates that establish yearly Committee projects and priorities, and link Committee work to the CFLA’s strategic plan.
3. Establish a reporting cycle for Committees to provide formal updates to the Board and membership about their work.
4. Develop templates for Committee reporting.
5. Develop a process map for review and revision of content produced by Committees (including terms of reference, policies, procedures, position statements, toolkits, etc) that includes how and when items come back to the Board for review and approval.

Increased Capacity

1. In partnership with Committee Chairs, develop onboarding and training for new committee members.
2. Provide Committees and Board members with training to build capacity in governance and association work.
3. Review organizational resourcing.

Clarify Mandates for Committees

1. Establish consistency by creating a Committee Terms of Reference template that includes standard provisions required by the Board.
2. Work with Committees to revise their current Terms of Reference to align with the template.

Clarify Position Statements

1. Review/update CFLA’s position statements and values on important files to guide Committee work.
2. Focus on high impact issues only and develop consistent approach to these position statements
3. Clarify other content/communications CFLA produces so that we can more fully utilize other opportunities to get messages out.
4. Develop engagement process to get input from stakeholders early in the development of these statements

Improve Board Recruitment

1. Develop a menu of options/wise practices for members to nominate reps to the board
2. Clarify roles and responsibilities of board members to be sure they understand what’s expected (including fiduciary responsibility to CFLA)
3. Develop a Board Member qualification matrix to identify criteria and requirements for candidates
4. Develop recruitment strategy to promote opportunities to join Board/Committees
5. Improve onboarding of Board Members
6. Work with member associations to identify candidates and encourage representation

Member Recruitment Materials

1. Identify new member benefits
2. Develop promotional collateral to attract new members that outlines the benefit of membership
3. Include personal messaging for members at renewal and initial member registration to improve member experience

Executive Officers

1. Extend terms for Executive Officers to two years
2. Consider Past President role
3. Implement elections for executive which would be open to all member associations to vote
4. Require executive candidates to present platforms/qualifications etc (candidates must be members of a member association).
5. Create the executive positions as separate from the board (i.e. so association representatives are not required to do both jobs)

(Via Canadian Federation of Library Associations)