Steering Committee

NESAWG Steering Committee Guidelines
Adopted August 2011

Rationale

In 2011, NESAWG began to redesign its structure to reflect its evolving role in support of sustainable food systems and network participants in the Northeast.

This evolution includes expanding the duties and responsibilities of the Steering Committee and other ad hoc committees, and relieving some of the work of the Coordinator and other paid staff.

This greater clarity about shared responsibility will help NESAWG function more effectively, and be transparent with network participants as well as funders and interested others.

General

NESAWG is an unincorporated association overseen by a Steering Committee. NESAWG’s Articles of Association spell out the Steering Committee’s duties, authority, and functions as well as other aspects of organizational structure. The following guidelines describe expectations for participation and the process to bring on Steering Committee (SC) members in more detail.

Steering Committee Attendance and Participation

SC member terms run for two years and generally commence at the annual meeting.

Each SC member is expected to participate in all SC meetings (routinely by phone and annually in person) to conduct NESAWG business and move work plan tasks forward. It is recognized that members may miss an occasional meeting which is acceptable as long as members are pulling their weight in other ways. The emphasis is on active participation and contribution in some form.

The SC will have a chair who will be responsible for regular communication with the coordinator, and for organizing SC meeting agendas and other SC tasks and activities.

The annual SC in-person meeting coincides with the annual NESAWG conference.

The SC meets monthly by teleconference. Currently the calls take place on the first Monday of the month, 4:00-5:00 pm. They are facilitated by the chair or on a rotating basis by SC members. SC members can expect tight, well-organized agendas prepared by the chair.

SC members should be prepared to contribute to discussions and decision-making. The average expected time investment for routine meetings is 1.5 to 3 hours per month.

Each SC member is expected take some responsibility toward accomplishing NESAWG’s annual work plan. Examples include serving on a committee, agreeing to individual assignments, helping plan an event, contributing to grant writing or other fundraising activities, doing outreach to connect with new or underrepresented groups, contributing to policy work, or helping with internal capacity building.

Serving on the SC means agreeing to invest time beyond SC meetings — likely an additional 2-5 hours per month depending on the project. During some periods, no additional work is required.

The SC is responsible for organizing the annual meeting.

Steering Committee Composition

Our general guidelines for composition of the SC include:

• Diversity of ethnicity and race, age, gender, urban/rural, geographic area, and sector
• Individuals who are capable of and willing to understand NESAWG, and can be good spokespersons
• Are passionate about the work
• Embrace the structure/culture of NESAWG
• Have familiarity with collaborative process
• Have familiarity/experience with sustainable agriculture/food systems
• The SC may also seek members who are able to contribute particular knowledge and skills, such as fundraising, financial analysis/management, and policy.

Steering Committee Member Recruitment

The SC is responsible for choosing its members. It may designate a subcommittee to manage the process to recruit and select new members as detailed below. As the SC grows, it may create a more permanent subcommittee to manage recruitment and nominations.

At least once per year the SC will review its composition and identify the kinds of skills that will be needed going forward, the organization's strategic direction, and vacancies created by persons leaving the SC. Ideally this process begins 6 months before the annual meeting.

Our selection process will be as follows:

• When the SC is ready to recruit, it will post an invitation of interest in various venues to reach the broadest range of participants.
• The SC will identify and review potential candidates. Potential candidates may have responded to the posting or may be identified by current SC members.
• The SC will explore several candidates as to their interest and fit.
• Candidates will receive an overview of NESAWG, an explanation of SC expectations and duties, an invitation to participate in a SC meeting, and the names of SC members to contact with questions. The current SC members will also scan for potential conflicts of interest to be addressed.
• If the SC approves the candidate, an official invitation will be extended.
• The process should conclude prior to the annual meeting.
• New SC members are welcomed at the annual meeting and their terms begin then.
• Approved, incoming SC members are welcome to attend SC meetings before their terms officially begin, although they will not have an official vote in SC decision-making.

Those interested in joining the SC are encouraged to let a NESAWG staff person or a current SC member know at any point during the year.  Contact information for staff and SC can be found at Nefood.org.

Download PDF file of Guidelines: NESAWG-SteerCom-Aug2011.pdf