BirdLife Cyprus’ experience of developing Council Terms of Reference

Synopsis

BirdLife Cyprus, like most conservation organisations, started from a purely voluntary basis and gradually grew into an organisation that employs about 10 staff, making it a medium sized organisation in Cyprus. On the one hand it is lucky to have a long serving Council whose members provide stability, on the other hand the Council has had to adapt to the evolving nature of the organisation. Through a workshop organised with support from BirdLife International, we developed in a participatory way, Terms of Reference for the Council, clarifying roles between staff and Council and defining a clear induction programme for new Council members.

About BirdLife Cyprus

BirdLife Cyprus is a registered NGO, working to conserve birds, their habitats and wider biodiversity in Cyprus. BirdLife Cyprus’ mission is to protect the wild birds of Cyprus, their habitats, and wider biodiversity, through monitoring, conservation and education actions, and by developing people’s appreciation of nature.

Défis

BirdLife Cyprus was founded in 2003 through the merger of two pre-existing purely voluntary organisations that had existed since the 1970s, one that had been founded by Greek Cypriots and one mostly run by British expats. In 2003 these were merged to create BirdLife Cyprus. The organisation at the time had only one staff member and Council was very involved in day-to-day running of the organisation. However in 2015 the organisation had grown to employ 10 staff and a professional Executive Director. The Council of BirdLife Cyprus has provided much needed stability over these years, enabling the growth of the organisation. However, as the organisation changed and evolved, and as some new members were elected to Council it became clear that the role of the Council had also evolved through time. This new role was not clear to all in the organisation, leading to confusion for Council members, staff, and especially the Executive Director. When a staff relations issue arose in 2014 and Council was called to intervene, this lack of clarity of who was responsible for what was a cause for conflict. The organisation’s Constitution was not sufficiently clear about the roles of Council and the director in such a situation, and an old document on Council and staff roles was no longer fit for purpose.

What we did

Using a funding opportunity that we had, we asked for support from BirdLife International to tackle the issues that had arisen. We organised a workshop to look at the Induction of Council members, which required developing the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for Council as a first step. The workshop lasted two days in December 2015 and involved all available Council members and the Executive Director. During the workshop there was an introduction by one of the Facilitators beautifully explaining the stages of development of an NGO (Start Up / Growing / Maturing). Already it was clear that participants were realising that BirdLife Cyprus had ‘grown up’ and matured as an NGO. We then continued over two days tackling questions such: What are the obligations for Council according to the Constitution and the law of the country? What are the possible Terms of Reference for the Council? Is the Constitution and the existing document on roles of Council and staff sufficient for clarifying those roles today? Who should be responsible for what?

Through the participatory process that followed Council members and Executive Director contributed, with help, support and guidance from the facilitators and developed a document that everyone was happy with. Although the document was practically developed at the workshop, some details were clarified later. Finally, the Council had the opportunity to review the document in the next two Council meetings and adopted it. At the same time a programme of induction was developed and will be used for all future new members of Council, the ToRs being a major part of it.

Résultats                                                                          

The main result has been the development of clear Terms of Reference for the Council appropriate for the state of development of the organisation, and an induction programme for future Council members. This has provided much needed clarification of working relationships between Council and staff. As conservation organisations we tend to focus more on the conservation work and advocacy and give less attention to governance issues. But they are equally important if an organisation is to be strong, stable and working efficiently. We are grateful to BirdLife International that had the expertise and facilitators to step in at the right moment and provide support when we most needed it. BirdLife Cyprus is set to continue maturing now that roles are well defined and everyone is happier in their role and is in a much better situation to weather any storm.

Lessons learnt

• Don’t underestimate the importance of Governance issues in the smooth running of an organisation, this is especially important when an organisation is developing, changing and growing.
• Be mindful that organisations inevitably change and develop, and this can bring anxiety. So be prepared and try to tackle it proactively.
• Ask for external help for clarifying Council and staff roles. It’s much easier for everyone if this is done through external facilitation, so that everyone can feel free to contribute.
• Make sure you use facilitators that have NGO experience.
• Unfortunately it’s often easier to motivate people to go through this process once problems have arisen, rather than proactively before they do.
• Having clear Terms of Reference and a clear induction programme for Council members can help clarify roles and procedures early on and is extremely useful to have if problems arise.

Citation

“The process of developing Terms of Reference for the Council in a participatory way has helped enhance working relationships and clarify roles. This is essential for the smooth functioning of an organisation.” Executive Director, BirdLife Cyprus.

Want to find out more?

Useful resources

BirdLife International & RSPB (2015) Governing a conservation NGO: A guide to good practice.

https://capacityforconservation.org/tools/governing-a-conservation-ngo-a-guide-to-good-practice/

BirdLife Cyprus Strategy 2013-2020 PDF Available here www.birdlifecyprus.org under About Us

Contact

Clairie Papazoglou, Executive Director, BirdLife Cyprus, [email protected]

Billy Fairburn, Programme Officer – Partnership, Capacity and Communities, BirdLife International, [email protected]