What is Policy Governance?

Policy Governance® is an organizational system for nonprofits which guides action with broad statements of intention rather than reactive micro-management. It is a transparent system that establishes clear lines of authority and encourages communication. Designed to empower all areas of the church, Policy Governance entrusts people with the freedom to do their jobs creatively and effectively. Many UU churches around the country have successfully adopted this model.

Why “Policy Based Governance”?

True policy governance as developed by John Carver is the most coherent and complete system of best practices for non-profit governance that we have been able to find. Like other UU churches and the Unitarian Universalist Association though, we have found that it must be modified somewhat in recognition that our polity requires that certain decisions will not be delegated by the congregation to the Board of Trustees. Common examples include development of a church-wide covenant, calling or dismissing a settled minister, amending bylaws and certain financial decisions. Because of this, we use the term “policy based” to recognize our polity and that our system of governance requires a shared ministry.

Why do we need a new governance system?

We need a new governance system because our church has grown too large for a small-church mindset of the board effectively and efficiently micro-managing staff and volunteers. The full board meets 3 hours per month.  Our executives work 40 hours plus per week.  To reach our full potential as a church and make full use of our highly skilled and professional staff, we need the best organizational system possible. A board that is a productive and positive entity of the church will attract strong leadership and inspire openness and trust.

The board and leaders throughout the First UU of Austin congregation have been examining various models of Policy-Based Governance (PBG) for many years.  All of these models promise an engaged congregation, a forward-focused board, a highly efficient staff, and a healthy church community as a whole.  The board has concluded that a model of PBG tailored to fit the needs of First UU of Austin which accommodates new structures and ways of doing things will provide the governance that best supports our growing congregation, enabling the board to focus on our church’s mission and the differences we intend to make in people’s lives.

What will Policy-Based Governance look like?

The congregation will continue as the source of our mission, priorities, and inspiration.

The elected, representative board of trustees will be charged with the following:

  • Working with the congregation to articulate the outcomes that the church wants to achieve
  • setting broad policies that limit the staff to practices that are legal, prudent, and ethical
  • monitoring adherence to those policies

The board will be more focused on the future of the church, looking for creative ways to further the goals and ideals of First UU of Austin and the wider community.

The staff will be entrusted to interpret the policies, perform their roles with professionalism, and put plans and activities in motion to achieve the desired outcomes. Volunteers, such as church members who chair and serve on committees within First UU of Austin, will be considered volunteer staff and are granted the same trust and share the same responsibility as the staff.

The congregation and others will continue to take part in programs as participants and lay leaders.

How will the Board’s role change?

The Board will govern through writing, deliberating, and approving policies, not micro-managing or rubber-stamping. The board has discerned core values, a mission statement and ends statements based on input from a variety of sources including the excellent work done by many congregational members in the “Bridge to Our Future” sessions this spring.  The ends statements will become “outcome” policies.       The board will also set “means” policies, limitations on how outcomes may be implemented. The means policies set legal and prudent boundaries, encourage communication, and require monitoring. The result is to free up the boundless creativity and efficiency of the highly professional and able staff and volunteers.

The board will not manage the specifics of how the staff or committees go about achieving the desired outcomes. Disentangling the board from day-to-day management issues will allow the board freedom to do more “big picture” thinking and to act as leaders of the church as opposed to managers—a benefit not just to the board but to the staff and the congregation as a whole.

Who will actually run the church under PBG?

The congregation will define the policies of the church through the elected board of trustees. The church will continue to be run on a day-to-day basis by the executive team, which currently includes our minister and executive director, who will in turn delegate some items to the rest of the staff. The staff as well as committees and volunteers will implement the outcome policies under the direction and leadership of the executive team. Staff will use the appropriate church resources to accomplish their work, which may include organizing lay volunteers or performing tasks directly. The authority will clearly rest with the assigned person or team, but the methods will generally be collaborative. Volunteers are essential in carrying out our mission. This is where the work of the church takes place. PBG will clarify this role and help paid staff to do their work most effectively, alongside our many volunteers.

Can you give me a specific example of PBG in action?

One of the end statements that the board will convert to an outcome policy states that First UU Austin is a radically hospitable community where all people feel welcomed and are treated with respect and dignity.  As an example of PBG, our minister will have oversight of the various committees such as caring, membership, hospitality and perhaps other committees whose efforts would be directed toward achieving this outcome.  The executive director and appropriate committees will have a role in ensuring that our church facilities are maintained in a manner that is welcoming to all people and that costs for facility management and improvements are considered in the church budgeting process and then efficiently managed.

The board, in its monitoring capacity, would assess how well all of these efforts are in compliance with the policy goal. If the board found the church to be, over time, significantly out of compliance with the outcome, it would refocus the attention of the executive team on the priority of the outcome and encourage corrections.

How will the budget be managed under PBG?

The board will be apprised regularly as to the church’s financial situation, as part of its regular monitoring function. Further, although the executive team, with the help of lay leadership, will have responsibility for the nuts-and-bolts construction of the budget, the board will continue each year to review the budget, to ensure that it is reflective of the church’s broad policies. The congregation will still approve the budget at the annual December meeting. The policies that limit the activities of the staff will provide important legal safeguards. As part of these limitations, the board will continue to be involved in large or special decisions, those that typically fall outside of the operating budget.

If the board is not involved in daily operation of the church, will it still listen to me?

Policy-Based Governance not only frees the board to spend more time listening, but also actually requires it! The board is effective only as long as it represents the congregation and listens actively to its hopes, dreams, and concerns. The board has developed a variety of communication strategies known as “linkage” in order to continually seek ideas, feedback, and priorities (see the Our Church Governance Page for a link to details). Because PBG separates the role of the board from operating issues, the board will now often act as a gateway to connect you and your needs with the right staff or committee. It is important to note that the role of the board under PBG is to help discern and serve the values, mission and ends the congregation hopes for — the differences in peoples lives our church aspires to make. The Executive Team, working with other staff and volunteer staff, implements the methods used to accomplish our dreams.

Likewise, the Executive Team (our minister and executive director), will have linkage with the congregation to help ensure effective day-to-day communication and to seek valuable input for their decision making processes.

What if I want to get something done?

We are all at First UU of Austin because we care about our church, its past, present and its future.  We practice shared ministry which means that staff and lay leaders work collaboratively to advance the congregation’s goals.

If you have an idea about something you want to see happen at our church, under PBG we will ask that you contact either the minister or the executive director who will guide you to the appropriate person. If your idea falls within the ministry of our church, our mission, vision and our outcome policies, the staff will do whatever it can to help you implement your idea.

If you are unhappy about something that is or isn’t happening at First UU of Austin, we will ask that you bring your concern to the attention of any staff person, who will work with you to address your concerns.

Where are we in the process of transitioning to PBG?  What has been done so far?

Since identifying a need for a new governance system within the past several years, the board and lay leadership have reviewed various models of church governance, read books and publications, and reviewed survey responses from congregations throughout the United States and Canada that have transitioned to a PBG model.  The board is using the services of Joe Sullivan, a consultant with Unity Consulting, who facilitated a workshop in February on policy governance for the board and lay leadership.  The board and lay leadership also participated in and facilitated workshops this spring entitled “Bridge to Our Future.”  Input from participants in these sessions as well as other sources were used by the board to adopt an initial set of core values, a mission (or global ends) statement and ends (or outcome) statements at a retreat in June.  These were shared with the congregation at a worship service on July 18th.

What’s happened most recently?

  • July 2010 — The board developed and has since implemented a linkage plan for the year.
  • August– The board reached the decision that once the new settled minister is called, the minister will serve as the single executive (i.e. the Chief of all paid and volunteer staff).
  • September– The church held a church-wide meeting, followed by an All-Council meeting with Joe Sullivan, our consultant, to provide education on PBG. The Board delegated All Council to the Executive Team.
  • November—The board met on a Friday evening and during the day on a Saturday to write draft of monitoring, executive limitations (what means the executives may not use to accomplish our goals), board process and board relationship with the Executive policies.
  • December and January — The executive team has scheduled the first of their linkage events.
  • Beginning this fall–Work to review the current bylaws and recommend necessary revisions.

What’s next?

The board has developed a Governance Transition Plan that includes these key activities for over the next few months: Finalize draft board level policies, recommend any bylaws changes that may help us to function more effectively, the board will continue to hold linkage events to hear from the congregation and provide updates, as will the executive team for operational input. During this transition, we will act as if we are under PBG, but the board will specifically delegate and follow-up on areas that will automatically fall under the executive team (later the executive) once PBG is in full force. Sometime after the settled minister had begun, we will begin to move into full PBG.

Think of this as a time for us all to learn and allow ourselves to risk mistakes on our way to living out our mission, values and ends more fully. With patience, faith and trust in one another, we will put into place a system that will help us make even greater differences for our members and in our world. It will be important during this transition time for church members to communicate any questions and concerns directly with the executive team or with the board president if it is a board level issue or question. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

We are excited! At each step of the way in the planning process we have become more convinced that this is the form of governance for First UU of Austin which will best position our congregation to carry out our mission:

At First UU Church of Austin, We gather in community to

    • nourish souls,
    • transform lives,
    • and do justice.