evaluation of the australian men’s shed association · part 2. amsa governance evaluation...

Evaluation of the Australian Men’s Shed Association

PART 2 EVALUATION OF ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS, STAFFING PROFILE AND SKILLS, AND TRAINING ARRANGEMENTS Final Report

31 AUGUST, 2016

Contents

Evaluation Question 2: Are AMSA’s organisational structure, governance arrangements, staffing profile and skills, and training arrangements appropriate to deliver support to men’s sheds? .............. 4

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 4

Main Messages ......................................................................................................................................... 4

Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 5

RESULTS (CONSULTATIONS)...................................................................................................................... 6

1. AMSA Board Members .......................................................................................................................... 6

2. AMSA staff........................................................................................................................................... 10

3. Organisational structure and Governance – document review.......................................................... 11

Evaluator observations ........................................................................................................................... 11

4. Staffing Profile, Skills, Training Arrangements .................................................................................... 15

Evaluator observations ........................................................................................................................... 16

5. Internal Governance Arrangements ................................................................................................... 17

Evaluator observation ............................................................................................................................. 18

4 SIGGINS MILLER FINAL REPORT PART 3 AMSA ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE ETC AUGUST 2016

PART 2. AMSA GOVERNANCE

Evaluation Question 2: Are AMSA’s organisational structure, governance arrangements, staffing profile and skills, and training arrangements appropriate to deliver support to men’s sheds?

Executive Summary

This research coincided with a major review of the Constitution and By-Laws of AMSA. This timing was identified as a risk in the Evaluation Framework and the approach to this part of the evaluation has been: to cover AMSA‘s past (organisational structure and governance) arrangements and consider the potential of the future arrangements in addressing any issues identified.1 The implications for AMSA’s internal organisation and staffing are also considered in the same light.

The new Constitution and By-Laws (which were prepared by the legal firm Gadens2 in consultation with the current Board) have been circulated to the State Associations and member sheds for consideration and response. The key areas of change are:

Board membership and procedures

The role of State Associations

AMSA brand and reputation management

The reasons for changing the constitution were to ‘preserve and maintain AMSA's mandate as a single national peak body which represents all AMSA Member Men's Sheds in Australia in the most appropriate governance and membership structure;’3 move from a representation-based Directorship to a predominantly skills-based Directorship; protect the brand and reputation of AMSA; and better ensure that AMSA acts as a unified national body and presents to potential funding bodies as such.

There are risks and potential benefits to the constitutional changes, with the key risk being a decline in membership numbers and the key benefits being the infusion of new external expertise into the senior management of AMSA and the reduction of factional/territorial issues that have distracted the Board from strategic planning and sustainability matters.

In terms of both Board members and staff, training has been a relatively low priority, or has been provided in one-off or targeted ways to address immediate needs. None of these issues are uncommon in the NGO sector. AMSA has usually functioned with a core of four full-time staff, although this has recently increased. The internal organisation of AMSA presents as a relatively flat structure, but people tend to work in a siloed way, with considerable informal exchange of information. Key functions tend to be performed by a single staff member who is responsible for that portfolio.

Main Messages

Major constitutional changes are likely to impact positively on the skills and effectiveness of the Board

Major constitutional changes may impact negatively on AMSA membership numbers

1 Evaluation Framework page 12.

2 www.gadens.com. Gadens provided their services to AMSA pro bono. The Gadens team reportedly consisted of two senior

solicitors and a QC. 3 Explanatory Memorandum

http://www.gadens.com/


In the medium term, the constitutional changes have the potential to enhance AMSA’s profile with potential funding and sponsorship bodies

The internal organisational structure and ways of working will need to change to improve capacity and sustainability

The internal governance policies around succession planning do not adequately cover all key aspects of AMSA service delivery

Learning and sharing information within the team will be the key priority to implement change and improve succession planning

The commonly identified gap in accounting and business management has recently been addressed, but the gap in marketing and communications skills remains an issue.

Recommendations

1. Ensure that implementation plans are developed to manage the concurrent changes occurring in AMSA in 2016.

2. Ensure adequate resources are allocated to this implementation.

3. Put into action the existing draft Emergency Succession Plan, but apply it to all key roles in AMSA.

4. Use this period of change as an opportunity to review all roles with a view to improving deputation, internal training and mentoring.

5. Consider directing any savings from cessation of accounting outsourcing and from revised Board meeting processes towards building internal marketing and communication capacity.

6. Prioritise the review of all internal plans (business, marketing, communications, etc.) to reflect and capitalise on the changes occurring in AMSA.


RESULTS (CONSULTATIONS)

1. AMSA Board Members

In May/June 2016, six of seven AMSA Board members provided answers to Evaluation Question 1 via an interview process (telephone or written submissions). The timing of the research meant that that proposed changes to the AMSA constitution were being finalised while interviews were occurring. Although Board members had been involved in discussions at Board level about the proposed changes, the final draft changes (prepared by Gadens) had not been considered, discussed and finally approved by the Board. This approval process took place at a Board meeting on 3 June 2016. Consequently, in some cases, the Board members’ interview responses about governance referred to drafts. Subsequently, after public release of the Board-approved constitutional changes, Board members were invited by email to add to their feedback about governance, via return email to the researchers. At the time of writing, three Board members provided additional feedback, which is presented separately below.

How appropriate is AMSA’s organisational structure, governance arrangements, staffing profile and skills, and training arrangements in order to deliver support to Men’s Sheds? Please provide your views on the effectiveness of the organisational structure (what works well and what could be improved)?

Some respondents spoke about the structure of AMSA as a national organisation (these comments have been incorporated under governance, below). Where respondents spoke about the internal organisational structure of AMSA as a service provider (n=3) the key concerns were: the small size of the staff; that staff are over-worked; that there are gaps in the skills required; and that there needs to be back-up of key roles and succession planning to ensure sustainability. The gaps in the skills required were identified as: business management/accounting and communications/marketing. A representative comment is:

‘It is recognised that the organisational structure that was initially seen as satisfactory needs a major overhaul. The current staff is working extremely long hours to support the organisation and as the demand on their time increases additional staff with specific roles …..need to be employed.’

Please provide your views on the effectiveness of the governance arrangements (what works well and what could be improved)?

Current arrangements:

All six respondents reported that the current (May 2016) structure and governance arrangements of AMSA as a national organisation are not effective. Governance was described as ‘complex and convoluted,’ with the two key flaws being that the Board is: (1) not independent and prone to manipulation by state representatives and (2) ill-equipped. Representative comments about (1) were:

‘which ever state holds the presidency, and the past president, has a loading on the board’.

‘The governance is suspect, simply because the board members are being both appointed by the states, and sitting on the board, and voting at the AGM’s. [They] have what can only be described, at the very least, as a perceived conflict of interest.’

‘The only people who can vote at the annual general meetings and special general meetings are the state representatives who are sitting one the board. The state reps vote to put a motion to the AGM, then they move over to the other side of the room, hold the AGM, and vote on that motion. To me it is a very scruffy system.’


‘We have a situation where QLD, NSW & SA are branches of AMSA and don’t have an independent board, in fact they have de-incorporated in order to become branches.4 VIC, TAS & WA have independent associations within the state, so we have 2 levels of state representation. We have one state that is not in,5 and a board that doesn’t seem to be able to resolve that.’

‘The whole point of the board change is to improve our governance quite considerably. I think having an independent board is going to make a big difference to governance; I think it is absolutely critical for an organisation of our type, that we have an independent board, but right now we don’t have one.’

‘And we know we have got a problem with it, because when we took it to Gadens lawyers, they said that structure just doesn’t work, and it has to be changed in a major way.’

Representative comments about (2) the Board being ill equipped, are covered in more detail in the next question.

One Board member raised the issue of governance within the Sheds. Although this is out of scope in terms of AMSA’s remit and authority, it does provide the context of the environment in which AMSA is delivering services.

‘With over 900 registered sheds, all being autonomous, governance is an issue that AMSA has major issues with. Many sheds are coordinated by retired men with little or no knowledge of managing people and organisations for what has become an important community asset. There needs to be a system where sheds are held accountable for the manner in which they operate. I believe this can only happen with the requirement for stricter operating standards that are policed. Sheds with knowledgeable men in positions of responsibility are working well but like all clubs many members are not interested in being involved with the organisation but are simply there to enjoy the facilities on offer. How to raise the awareness of mainly retired men to take on responsibilities in a shed is a difficult matter.’

Future arrangements (new Constitution)

All Board members interviewed were in favour of the proposed constitutional changes (approved by the Board, 3 June 2016). The key benefits were regarded as: (1) an independent Board with an independent Chairman; (2) the balance changed towards skill-based Board members and away from state representatives at a ratio of 2:1; (3) creating a National Membership Committee as the vehicle for shedders to bring issues to the Board; (4) changing the role of State Association Board representation to a more advisory one, which advises on issues affecting the national membership, via the National Membership Committee. A key challenge to implementing the new structure was the different history and financial status of Associations in different States. Some States have little or no support from state governments (NSW/ACT, Qld, Tas, SA, NT) and some have considerable financial support at the state level or from local industry (Vic and WA). Respondents suggested that this means the better resourced states are reluctant to become a ‘branch’ of the national organisation.6 Nevertheless, respondents felt that the changes were appropriate and necessary and will result in more efficient use of the Board’s time and resources. Some representative comments were:

4 State branches were a structure enabled by the 2013 Constitution.

5 The last Tasmania Board representative resigned in 2014

6 The concept of a ‘state branch’ has been removed from the new constitution.


‘The board should be looking after the basic stuff of financial and future planning. We have really got bogged down at times with a lot more day to day stuff that should be created further down the line.’

‘The current review of the AMSA structure is making huge steps to resolve many of the organisational structure issues.’

‘Let them [the lawyers] set up the structure and things, and if we agree with it all, as we have done now, then we have got a structure and if anybody disagrees with it, well then they can disagree with the lawyers.’

‘Ideally the States should adopt revised Constitutions that ‘mirror’ the AMSA Constitution and include clauses that:

1. Require that they must have broad representation from across the whole State, 2. Are required to act in the best interests of AMSA as a ‘peak body’ representing all member

men’s sheds, 3. Accept the terms of the AMSA Constitution. 4. Are willing and able to abide by all AMSA By-Laws, and 5. Are willing to abide by and accept and promote all AMSA management guidelines.’

In your role (as a Board member) do you feel you would benefit from acquiring additional skills? If so, what skills? Has AMSA provided training for your role? Is there particular training that you feel you need?

Most respondents said they had attended training of various sorts from different providers. Some of this training had been provided through AMSA, but not all current Board members had been involved.7 These courses were in the area of general training for Board members of NGOs (n=1); short courses in financial management (n=1); directorship (n=2); conflict resolution (n=1); managing a volunteer Board and a Volunteer organisation (n=1). All respondents felt that Board members would benefit from more training; and two respondents said that a good Board induction program was necessary. One Board member said he would benefit from training in reading and understanding Financial Reports. A representative comment was:

‘I agree with the move to introduce board members who are experts in particular fields such as law, finance and WHS8 so that more informed decisions can be made rather than by individual state representatives who generally have no specific expertise except in the experiences of running sheds.’

Noting that AMSA is a small organisation, from your experience are there additional skill sets that AMSA needs in order to function optimally?

Respondents identified the following skill needs in AMSA: legal, financial, marketing and promotion/sponsorship. One suggested these skills would be provided at Board level. Others that additional staff should be engaged with these skills (n=5). One respondent also suggested more expertise in Male Health Policy and related matters. One respondent separated ‘Marketing, Promotion and Fundraising / Sponsorship’ skills from ‘Communication and raising public awareness’. One respondent said that the CEO’s job is too big and he needs to be able to delegate more things, like

7 Note: the history of AMSA indicates that Board members from some States had relatively high rates of turnover,

8 Workplace Health and Safety


sponsorship, and to also have an acknowledged back-up (Deputy). One respondent said that copyright expertise was important for AMSA. Some representative comments about the required additional skills were:

‘Good legal skills, good financial skills, good marketing and promotion skills. We don’t have any of them. That is why I am very pleased that we are getting an independent board because I can see those [are the] sort of skills that an independent chairman will go hunting for.’

‘New staff need to be employed to assist with financial matters. While this role is currently being carried by current staff they already have significant roles and are unable to provide time to support the financial requirements into the future.’

‘We now have the accounts done by an accountant outside, a specialist in this. Which is very good, because nobody can criticise, as they really do a very good job, but they are expensive. So we really want to get them in house, partly for that reason, partly because we will get quicker feedback on where we are.’

‘With numerous industrial organisations seeing the benefits of linking with AMSA there is need for a staff member to promote AMSA and to work alongside industry for the benefit of sheds.’

Updated feedback on new governance arrangements (from Board members)

Three Board members have provided updated feedback to the evaluators (at the time of writing, 22 July 2016). In summary, one respondent said that, while most states have accepted the new By-Laws, ‘the one or two that have indicated problems with them are …those states [that] perceive themselves as being the 'Peak Body' for Men's sheds able to control the agenda in their state. Effectively they are trying to control the sheds in the states.’ These states, he said, are misinterpreting the By-Laws as preventing

independent sheds from raising funds and securing support at the local level, whereas the By-Laws require state associations to consult with AMSA before applying for financial or other support in order to ensure that there is no conflict with other initiatives being pursued by AMSA. In his view, effective governance would be assisted by having in place a harmonised set of constitutions and By-Laws at each level of the organisation.

The second respondent indicated that his state has decided to endorse the constitution and By-Laws, even though its preferred option (of becoming a sub-branch of AMSA) did not eventuate in the final draft of the constitution. The main sticking point for his state (which receives no state government funding) is the inability for state associations to have non-AMSA sheds as members, which is a potential loss of income for the state association. However, the respondent has suggested some regulatory changes that might be satisfactory to both AMSA and the state association. In spite of this concern, the respondent said: ‘I think the new governance arrangement will bring a greater consistency to the delivery of services to men's sheds around Australia and reduce the effect of “little kingdom makers” in isolated pockets around Australia. This alignment has been much needed and we are going in the right direction.’

The third respondent said that the constitutional changes were unanimously accepted by his state. One newly joined ‘cluster’ of Sheds had concerns about the clause preventing membership of two Men’s Sheds Organisations at the same time.9 The leadership of this group are currently discussing their

9 This clause has existed at least since 2013 and was not a part of the By-Laws changes.


options. There were a few ‘rumblings’ from other sheds, and some sought clarification of some clauses, but this was mainly due to the legal language in the document and these were sorted out.

2. AMSA staff

The four full time AMSA staff were interviewed in May 2016.

How appropriate is AMSA’s organisational structure, governance arrangements, staffing profile and skills, and training arrangements in order to deliver support to Men’s Sheds? Please provide your views on the effectiveness of the organisational structure (what works well and what could be improved)?

Most respondents spoke about the structure of AMSA as a national organisation (these comments have been incorporated under governance, below). Where respondents spoke about the internal organisational structure of AMSA as a service provider, they spoke of the two operational sides (grants and other AMSA support to sheds), managed by the two respective Managers (n=2). Respondents felt that this structure works well.

Please provide your views on the effectiveness of the governance arrangements (what works well and what could be improved)?

Current arrangements

Respondents talked about how AMSA’s national structure has evolved (n=2) in order to meet the needs of the sheds. There were differing views about whether this evolution had gone smoothly, particularly in regard to the role of the states. One respondent mentioned the difficulties and ‘disruption’ that had been caused by some individual Board members and the ‘learning curve’ of the Board.

For the most part there had been good intent from the Board members, as evidenced by good attendance rates at Board meetings (n=2), although historically some members had acted as advocates for their states rather than for the national membership (n=2). One respondent questioned the effectiveness of the Board due to the background and skill sets of the members, although another spoke of the Board’s limitations due to the ‘controlling’ role of the Department, through the funding arrangements. Two spoke of the open, robust and frequent consultation with current Board members and an appreciation of their pro bono contribution; as well as an appreciation of the Board’s willingness to self-examine its effectiveness. One mentioned the challenges of setting up a new national organisation and in hindsight realising that they had acted prematurely (e.g. inadequate codes of conduct, position descriptions for Board members, Board guidelines etc.), which had been subsequently addressed in 2013 and were all being addressed again in the recent review by Gadens.

Future arrangements (new Constitution)

Two respondents mentioned an anticipated backlash from some states or sheds about the new governance structure, but all were positive about the changes because they would: bring in new skills that were needed (legal, accounting) and external people who will bring new approaches (n=3); possibly shorter, more focused Board meetings and consequent lower operational costs of the governance process (n=1); more use of delegations and faster sign off of urgent matters (n=1); and, eventually, a reduction in shed politics, as expressed by one staff member:

‘One organisation needs to make the big decisions – AMSA is that. Our aim is to support the sheds, and the blokes in the sheds, why are we fighting amongst each other?’

The recently finalised three-year contract with the Department was seen as crucial in enabling strategic planning for AMSA (n=1).


In your role (as an employee) do you feel you would benefit from acquiring additional skills? If so, what skills? Has AMSA provided training for your role? Is there particular training that you feel you need?

Most respondents felt that, rather than additional training for themselves, additional staff with new skill sets were required (business management, communications). One staff member who is transitioning to retirement felt the replacement employee would need experience in attending and conducting sessions at conferences and expos. Another staff member would welcome training in a number of areas (unspecified), but said the job allowed no time to do it.

Noting that AMSA is a small organisation, from your experience are there additional skill sets that AMSA needs in order to function optimally?

Three respondents identified the additional skill sets as:

Accountant/Business manager (n=3)

Field service delivery (with skills in training, e.g. safety, health; and with conflict resolution skills) (n=3)

Marketing person (with social media skills to set up and maintain a social media presence for AMSA) (n=2)

Merchandise manager (to develop products that will produce income) (n=1)

Full time administrative support (currently 0.6FTE) (n=1)

One respondent, who is not based in Newcastle, mentioned the occasional difficulty of working remotely and suggested that any future staff should be based in the same location to enhance communication.

3. Organisational structure and Governance – document review

The proposed new Constitution and By-Laws were circulated to the AMSA membership in early June 2016, with an explanatory memorandum that pointed out the major changes to the constitution (by Section and Clause). The Evaluators closely examined this memorandum, the previous Constitution and By-Laws (July 2013) and the proposed new Constitution and By-Laws (June 2016), with particular focus on the membership By-Laws. We have examined the documents for key changes, issues that these changes may raise or issues the changes may be seeking to address. In the evaluator observations below we draw together the consultation data, documentary evidence and observations to summarise the key changes and identify any potential risks, benefits or resource implications for the sustainability of AMSA or its ability to meet the requirements of its funding agreement. We note comments from consultations with Departmental staff that constitutional matters are outside the scope of their involvement with AMSA. Also we have not attempted to critique or analyse the constitutional changes themselves – which is also outside the scope of this study.

Evaluator observations

Note: Evaluator observations consider the information from all sources, including the business process and document reviews and stakeholder interviews. The observations look for: confirmation of data from other sources; anomalies between data from different sources; and any other issues or additional questions that arose from the consultation process.


The new Constitution and By-Laws have been circulated to the State Associations and member sheds for consideration and response. At the time of writing, feedback from Board members and staff is that most States have or are likely to accept the new arrangements.

The reasons for changing the constitution (as advised by the Board members and staff; and as stated in the revised documents) were to: ‘preserve and maintain AMSA's mandate as a single national peak body which represents all AMSA Member Men's Sheds in Australia in the most appropriate governance and membership structure;’10 move from a representation-based Directorship to a predominantly skills-based Directorship; update the regulatory content to reflect new reporting requirements for charitable organisations;11 address gaps in regulations and procedures; improve the clarity of language; more effectively use the time and resources of the Board; protect the brand and reputation of AMSA; and better ensure that AMSA acts as a unified national body and presents to potential funding bodies as such.

The key underlying conditions that have prompted change and were observed in the documentation and from the consultations were: the historical development of Men’s Sheds, where some state organisations pre-dated the national organisation; variable resources available in different States (e.g. some state governments directly funding Men’s Sheds and others not; differing capacity to attract industry sponsorships); variable resources between some State organisations and the national organisation – resulting in some State Associations being ‘wealthier’ than the national body; and the Men’s Shed ‘space’ being attractive as a quasi-commercial opportunity for some competitor organisations. We noted in Part 1 of the Report (about member survey responses) that some (5-10%) of the free text responses to survey questions reflected very strong (negative) views about AMSA and these were usually related to governance issues. These responses predominantly came from two states.

The key changes to the Constitution and By-Laws are in three broad categories:





The composition of the Board will change from a representative model to a skills-based model, whereby 2/3 of the Directors will be appointments of the Board due to their skill and expertise, and 1/3 of the Directors will be appointments from amongst the membership (to represent the collective interests of all members and not their particular State).

Procedural changes include: increased use of delegations; reduction of face to face meetings (from 4 to 2 per year); increased use of online or teleconferenced meetings; planned new Board induction materials and guidelines.


‘The State Association membership is intended to provide infrastructure support and administrative relief in the consolidation of all Men's Sheds across Australia in a single, national operation that will represent the interests of all Men's Sheds in a unified manner in the dealings with Government and all other stakeholders.’12

10

Explanatory Memorandum 11

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the independent national regulator of charities, is not mentioned in the previous By-Laws 12

Explanatory Memorandum


It is proposed that a new Committee (the AMSA National Men's Shed Committee) will be the conduit for expressing the collective interests of the sheds to the Board (clause 15). Each State Association Member will be required to nominate one person as their State Representative on the AMSA National Men's Shed Committee. An eligible candidate will be a person who is both a Shedder and either the President or the Secretary of the State Association. From all State Representatives on the new Committee, the Board will then select three of these persons to be appointed on the Board of AMSA (clause 9.3.a).

New requirements for State Associations are to: 13

only accept Men’s Sheds as members if they are AMSA Men's Shed Members; [one low-resourced state has expressed concerns that this will limit their membership income]

demonstrate that all regions of the respective State are represented on the governing body of the State Association Member; [a new form of reporting]

not provide AMSA resources to Men's Sheds or other organisations which are not members of AMSA;

provide a copy of the State Association's annual report incorporating audited financial statements to AMSA each year; [a new form of reporting]

not conduct in [sic] competitive behaviour with alternate group providers or sponsors to those engaged or provided by AMSA

not conduct conferences, expos or events that conflict or are competitive with AMSA scheduled events.

The new or amended responsibilities of State Associations are to: 14

cooperate with and assist AMSA in: [italics added, previously the following were solely State Association responsibilities]

building and maintaining relationships with State Governments and local government bodies;

building and maintaining relationships with state based affiliates and organisations with interests which are aligned with and supportive of Men’s Shed objectives and the Men's Shed Movement

arranging and meeting funding and sponsorship arrangements for state based activities [this is a new responsibility].


The new arrangements assert greater AMSA involvement in, and a requirement of prior consultation with AMSA about: funding arrangements, sponsorship; and greater control of the AMSA brand and reputation. For example, previous By-Laws provided guidelines for the use of the AMSA logo and branding (but with no formal oversight or enforcement); in the new arrangements, AMSA’s consent is required for each use of same.15 Also, the arrangements require that AMSA is aware of, involved in and coordinating external relationships and funding efforts:

’As a condition of membership with AMSA, State Association Members agree that they will only seek or enter into government grants, sponsorship or partnership arrangements and any other funding agreements following consultation with AMSA, to ensure that any such agreement is aligned with AMSA's current arrangements and objectives and will not replicate or compromise AMSA’s existing services.’ (clause 7.2)

13

New Membership By-Laws, Clause 4.1. 14

New Membership By-Laws, Clause 5.3. 15

New Membership By-Laws, Clause 9.


Next steps

The options for response from the State Associations appear to be (1) accept the changes and apply for membership under the new arrangements or (2) reject the changes and cease AMSA membership. This approach has been adopted by the Board to: address unintended consequences of earlier constitutional arrangements; put an end to what it sees as the disruptive and competitive behaviour of some parts of the membership; protect the brand and reputation of AMSA.

The options for response from AMSA Member Sheds appear to be (1) to maintain their membership with AMSA through continued membership of a complying State Association and payment of the relevant fees or (2) to maintain membership with a non-compliant State Association, thereby becoming ineligible for AMSA membership.

Risks

The Board appears to have made a conscious decision to risk the loss of one or two State Associations for the sake of resolving long standing issues that have (in their words) caused disruption and bogged down the Board and the organisation. They have done so on legal advice that they have a strong case for change and enforcement of its requirements. The evaluators make no comment about this Board approach, but are noting this in terms of any likely implications for AMSA.

Loss of a State Association would have impacts upon the ‘national’ status of AMSA and on its income from membership fees from Member Sheds because there appears to be no ‘third way’ in the current draft new By-Laws16 for a Men’s Shed in, say, WA to continue to be eligible for membership (e.g. as an independent member) if their State Association refuses to become a member of AMSA. From the members’ survey, it appears that this anti-AMSA sentiment is held by only 5-10% of the membership and is concentrated in two states.

A further complication, if not a risk, is that the NSDP grants are open to all legitimate Men’s Sheds (regardless of AMSA membership). The scenario where a State Association would disassociate from AMSA, but still be eligible for grants administered by AMSA, could arguably mean resource intensive activities like NSDP administration continue for AMSA without any benefit from membership fees or from the collaborative marketing and fundraising that is foreshadowed in the new By-Laws.

Other risks for AMSA arise from the proposed additional benefits for State Associations that are evident in the new arrangements. These include: access to the AMSA membership database and access to the AMSA website for State Association web pages. These benefits will be sought at the same time that major updating and improved interoperability of all the AMSA software is planned. As the IT Review stated, this will carry its own risks and demands on staff time and resources. Offering access to something that is undergoing a major transformation is risky and will require additional planning, data security and data quality measures, resources and staff time. We raise this issue because of repeated evidence that AMSA staff are already fully stretched.

Along the same lines, a further risk is that the new requirements for AMSA consultation about fundraising and sponsorship or for AMSA consent about the use of branding etc. will in turn call on more AMSA resources. If enforcement of these new requirements is not well resourced and well planned, AMSA risks losing some credibility with the membership and losing the influence over branding and reputation that it seeks to assert.

16

AMSA is referring this to Gadens for re-drafting.


These matters may be in hand internally, 17 and there may be a sound implementation plan under development, but governance change appears to be moving quickly and this poses a risk.

A final risk is a decrease in income to the ‘poorer’ State Associations who have included non-AMSA Sheds in their membership in the past. This may result in some States having a greater reliance on AMSA subsidisation.

Benefits

If the transition to the new structure and governance arrangements proceeds with low attrition and successful implementation it is likely to:

Enable more efficient use of AMSA Board resources

Improve the effectiveness of the Board in delivering targeted activity aimed at strategic goals.

Improve the transparency and equity of member-input into Board decisions

Enhance the brand, reputation and external presence of AMSA and therefore increase its competitiveness for funds and partnerships

Develop more collaborative arrangements for local fundraising and sponsorship in which AMSA would have a better defined role

Potentially increase AMSA’s income and the range of sources from which it is derived

Improve the sustainability of AMSA as the national body.

Therefore, the new arrangements have the potential to equip AMSA to continually improve its services and continue to meet the needs of its collective national membership.

4. Staffing Profile, Skills, Training Arrangements

AMSA staff consists of 4.6 FTE with the following roles and areas of responsibilities:18

Executive Officer

Strategic, business planning, implementation and management of service delivery work plan components, corporate sponsorship, advocacy, promotion, reporting and evaluation.

Manager, Grants & Shed Development

Administers the National Shed Development Programme on behalf of the Australian Government - a competitive grants programme open to all Men’s Sheds, information and support, develops and disseminates shed specific resources such as manuals, policies, procedures, guidelines, information and advice on sources of funding, shed development, community linkages, project management, submission writing and Departmental reporting.

Manager, Membership & Insurance

Advice, support, insurance information, general enquiries, requests through 1300 number and/or email from members, non-members, government, community entities, the general public, all membership matters including registrations, maintenance of membership database, Shed Locator, office management, communication with stakeholders, news bulletins and newsletters.

Community Engagement Coordinator*

17

The timing of the research meant that these issues had not emerged because the constitutional changes were still being developed when interviews occurred. 18

Summaries of role responsibilities are from AMSA Organisational Capacity & Financial Sustainability Plan, Additional Information, August 2015.


Oversees health partnerships and initiatives, manages, supports and promotes Men’s Health activities, develops and distributes health promotion resources, collaborates with researchers, supports linkages between Men’s Sheds, health promotion or health screening activities targeting men, links Men’s Sheds with peak health organisations, provides linkages with community organisations with an interest in men’s health, and State Health organisations.

Receptionist/administrative support 0.6FTE (newly created)

* With the exception of one staff member who is based in Tasmania, all of these employees are based at the AMSA Office in Newcastle. It is the intention to eventually base all AMSA staff in Newcastle.

Employee contracts are expressed in the form of By-Laws (Employee Policies and Guidelines), adopted by the Board in October 2013.

Staff members are from a range of backgrounds and reported long experience in working with or for Men’s Sheds. Their prior training and professional backgrounds included NGO administration, small business, teaching and nursing. Two staff have been trained in website updating and maintenance; one has become qualified as an insurance broker to meet regulatory requirements for providing insurance advice. Most respondents indicated that additional training was not a personal priority. This was for a range of reasons (e.g. doubts about the quality and relevance (and value for money) of some training courses for NGOs; lack of time to attend training because of work demands; and career stage - one respondent is transitioning to retirement).

Instead, most staff suggested that, rather than them obtaining more skills to fill service delivery needs, additional people with different skills were required. These types of skills were consistently reported as accounting/financial management and marketing/ communications.

Some skills are outsourced by AMSA – website administration, server and IT infrastructure support, legal, accounting, human resources, auditing.

Evaluator observations

The way of working at AMSA tends to be ‘siloed’. That is, while the staff has long experience and are frequently interacting and exchanging information informally about AMSA membership issues and processes, the performance of the different key functions is largely done by a single person. Expertise in the more complex aspects of a key function (e.g. insurance coverage issues, internal ranking procedures for grant applications) also sits with one person in a ‘portfolio’ arrangement.

This is not uncommon in small organisations, but it carries risks for the delivery of services and for the sustainability of the quality of AMSA’s services. There are several events converging that pose either opportunities or threats to AMSA’s human capability to function effectively. These include: proposed changes to the IT systems that underpin AMSA’s operations (membership database etc.); the proposed transition to online applications for the NSDP program; and the proposed organisational structure and constitutional changes. As mentioned throughout these reports, all these changes are likely to mean intensification of work in the short term, before any efficiencies are achieved in the medium-long term. However, there are likely to eventually be efficiencies that will free up the time of staff to address other identified needs from the membership (e.g. more local on-site presence from AMSA, more communication); and free up the time of staff to train others and each other in order to better equip the whole team to provide services and back up.

The appointment of a business manager was recently approved and the recruitment process is in train. This will mean that most accounting and financial reporting functions will move in-house. This, together with the new IT functionality, will also provide the opportunity to review all the roles within AMSA to


identify how (across all roles) more formal information sharing, deputation, backing up and training can occur internally. These principles are all identified in the draft Succession Plan,19 but do not appear to have been enacted (see also Part 4 a. - the Business Process review).

5. Internal Governance Arrangements

The following Table lists the internal Policy Documents of AMSA that have been examined. Brief comments about their content are provided. The application of these policies is further discussed in Part 4 a. the Business Process review. The reader will note from the Table that some documents are currently under review due to the recently approved Constitutional changes.

Table 2.5.1 AMSA Internal Governance Documents

Policy Document Date/status Comment

AMSA Funding Submission 2016 Proposed Core Activities Staffing Model

2015-16 undated

Attachment to submission showing proposed structure

AMSA Information Technology Policy: AMSA Board use of the AMSA Server Facilities

August 2015 Will need updating to reflect 2016 changes

AMSA Internal Policies & Procedures undated Needs to be aligned with the By-Laws: Employee Policies and Guideline 2013 which are more current.

Australian Men’s Shed Association Risk Management Policy, Management Guidelines and Procedures Risk Management Policy

undated

Australian Men’s Shed Association Sustainability Plan

February 2014

Australian Mens Shed Association Complaints Policy

2014

By Laws: Financial Management, Budgetary Control and Financial Reporting

23 July 2013 Will be superseded by new document to reflect 2016 changes; and changed reporting requirements of the Health Dept

By-Laws: Code of Conduct 23 July 2013 Specific to Directors and Executive Officer. Will need to be updated

By-Laws: Board Charter and Governance 23 July 2013

Will be superseded. New Charter currently under development to reflect 2016 changes

By-Laws: Conditions of Membership to the Australian Men’s Shed Association

June 2016 Approved by Board

Currently seeking response from States

By-Laws: Employee Policies and Guidelines

27th October 2013 May not require updating, as the policies reflect the National Employment Standards

By-Laws: Membership 23 July 2013 Has been superseded by 2016 documents

19

AMSA 2014 Succession Planning Policy Statement (draft)


Constitution_ 23 July 2013 Has been superseded by 2016 documents

Governance & Management Policies Version 3

July 2011 Will need to be updated

Health System Capacity Development Fund. AMSA Support for Men’s Sheds. Organisational Capacity & Financial Sustainability Plan. Additional Information

August 2015

Management Guidelines, Position Description Directors, Board Processes and Guidelines

27th October 2013 Will be superseded by new document to reflect 2016 changes

Succession Planning Policy Statement AMSA

January 2014 draft

Status uncertain

The Australian Men’s Shed Association Communication and Collaboration Strategy Document

July 2011 Needs updating

The Australian Men’s Shed Association Marketing Strategy

April 2011 Needs updating

The Australian Men’s Shed Association: Business Plan

April 2011, July 2011 Needs updating

Evaluator observation

The curse of small organisations is that, in order to demonstrate good governance, they need to have the same number and range of policies as medium to large organisations. The amount of policy effort for four or forty staff; or for six or sixty IT users can be the same. For not-for-profits (NFPs), the extent of this and other demands has been the focus of inquiry at government level.20 One outcome has been the availability of free templates for use by NFPs so that they can meet regulatory and funder requirements, without the need to invest large staff and material resources into their development. It is evident that some of the internal policies developed by AMSA have been created in this way (and this is often clearly stated in the preambles to some policy documents). Parts of the succession planning policy, however, seem to consist of ‘a plan to have a plan’ and it is reliant on outsourcing for its development. With the foreshadowed addition of a business manager, this could become an in-house function, and given priority.

Small organisations and larger ones also share the same problems of (1) implementing the policies consistently and (2) ensuring that they are up to date and responsive to regulatory or environmental change.

From our observations, the internal policies on financial management and reporting, IT and employment are implemented as per the By-Laws or policy that govern them. (Although we note that the Department has recently articulated changes to financial reporting that will require policy change). However, the policy on succession planning was limited to the executive officer and the Board members, and it was not evident that it had been implemented. This policy also needs to be expanded to include

20

Productivity Commission (2010). Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector. http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/not-for-profit/report


the key roles responsible for direct service delivery, and updated to reflect all the changes that are currently taking place. Similarly, it is clear that many other policies need to be updated, especially the sustainability plans in light of structural changes occurring. Other business-related plans, communication, collaboration and marketing plans will also need review.