Dons Trust Elections Survey |
Introduction
At present, an election process is launched every autumn for roughly half of the places on the Dons Trust board. Members are invited to stand for election and, provided there are more candidates than vacancies on the board, an election is then launched. The successful candidates take up office at the Annual General Meeting (usually in December) for a two year term. This means that an election process takes place every year, with some continuity of board members from year to year.
There are some difficulties with the current state of affairs:
- The low turnout in the most recent election suggests that, despite the efforts to engage members via social media, the process attracts limited attention or interest from our members;
- The election process involves a significant level of commitment for candidates, secretary, election steering group;
- The election process to some extent disrupts the collective activities of the board between October and January;
- It has been argued that a two year term is insufficient for new candidates to become effective in their role before they face re-election
- Whilst we do not measure diversity of the board or the membership, it is likely that the composition of the board (in terms of sex, race, age and social background) does not fully reflect our membership or the wider fanbase. (Currently, there is one woman on the board, no ethnic minorities and no elected member under the age of forty.)
The Dons Trust Board is therefore interested in members’ views on potential changes to the election process. This survey is a first step in engaging the views of members. There are some quite big issues here, and there will be fuller discussion with the membership and (as relevant) a formal voting process before any decisions are made.
There are some difficulties with the current state of affairs:
- The low turnout in the most recent election suggests that, despite the efforts to engage members via social media, the process attracts limited attention or interest from our members;
- The election process involves a significant level of commitment for candidates, secretary, election steering group;
- The election process to some extent disrupts the collective activities of the board between October and January;
- It has been argued that a two year term is insufficient for new candidates to become effective in their role before they face re-election
- Whilst we do not measure diversity of the board or the membership, it is likely that the composition of the board (in terms of sex, race, age and social background) does not fully reflect our membership or the wider fanbase. (Currently, there is one woman on the board, no ethnic minorities and no elected member under the age of forty.)
The Dons Trust Board is therefore interested in members’ views on potential changes to the election process. This survey is a first step in engaging the views of members. There are some quite big issues here, and there will be fuller discussion with the membership and (as relevant) a formal voting process before any decisions are made.