Advisory Board

This is a draft proposal for the establishment of an advisory board. Please feel free to edit this page directly, leave comments on the talk page or email comments to Mike.

Purpose

Wikimedia UK's advisory board consists of individuals that have expert knowledge and are willing to provide pro bono expert advice to the Board, Staff and relevant Committees.

Members' knowledge may include long-term senior involvement with WMUK (for example, past trustees, high-level staff or significant volunteer experience), senior roles in the Wikimedia movement (for example, current and past trustees, volunteers and staff of fellow Wikimedia chapters or the Wikimedia Foundation), and/or professional experience in topics that are relevant to the operation of the charity (for example legal advisers, copyright advisers, partnerships, public relations, financing, technology, administration, international matters, organisational development, policy, outreach and other relevant topics).

The advisory board will supply knowledge to the board and staff that would not otherwise be available to it. It helps ensure the long-term availability of institutional knowledge to the organisation.

The advisory board members will be appointed in a manner that ensures that the experience on the advisory board is well-balanced and will bring a number of important benefits, among them: Contacts, Expertise, Perspective, Prestige, Strategic Input.

The Advisory Board advises the Board of Trustees in its strategic decision-making process and the staff in its day-to-day work. Sometimes questions will be posed to the whole group, sometimes individual members will be consulted.

Format

Appointment and terms:

• Members are appointed by resolution of the Board.
• Member terms are for two years, renewable upon agreement by both the member and the Board.
• Individuals that are interested in becoming members of the advisory board should contact the Chair to express that interest.
• The board will be limited to a maximum of 7 members to ensure that each appointment is made carefully and deliberately.

Involvement:

• Board and Staff will ask for input from Advisory Board members where they have relevant experience. Advisory Board members commit to responding promptly to the questions that are asked of them.
• Members will be invited to attend board meetings where topics relevant to their expertise will be discussed.
• Members will be asked to attend at least one Board or Executive Meeting, the Annual General Meeting and any Extraordinary General Meetings relevant to their expertise or experience each year.
• Members should suggest relevant contacts (both individual and organisational) that they think may be useful in any given situation.

Responsibilities:

• Members have no legal or fiducial responsibilities with regards the organisation's activities.
• Members do, however, have the obligation to provide information and advice that is legally and ethically appropriate to WMUK.
• Members should provide their honest opinions to the board and staff in an unbiased and frank manner at all times.

Confidentiality:

• Members will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement so that all topics can be freely discussed with them.
• Members may be given access to confidential wikis and mailing lists as appropriate. They will automatically be given access to the WMUK internal wiki.
• Members will endeavour to avoid creating conflicts of interest by not seeking to be involved in discussions where a COI may be present; likewise Board and Staff will not seek involvement of Advisory Board members where a COI may be present. Any conflicts of interest that do arise will be managed according to the WMUK Conflict of Interest Policy.
• Staff and trustees must respect the necessary confidentiality of any information that is provided to them by a member of the advisory board. There must be clear approval provided by the relevant member before any information that they have provided can be publicly released. Members should clearly indicate whether the information they provide may be publicly released or kept confidential when they join the advisory board.

Expenses:

• Members will not be reimbursed for their time or expertise
• Members will be reimbursed for their relevant expenses as per our Finance Policy.

Members

Until the Advisory Board is established, it has no members. Once it has been established, then members will be listed here, along with their terms, relevant experiences and connected organisations.

Background information

• (Charity Commission, Companies House and other relevant UK governance and legal advice to be listed here.)
• The Wikimedia Foundation has an advisory board that was established by board resolution in 2006 and whose members are described at wmf:Advisory Board. Also see meta:Advisory Board, wikipedia:Wikimedia_Foundation#Advisory_board and commons:Category:Wikimedia Foundation Advisory Board members. Parts of this page are derived from the WMF's advisory board documentation. No other Wikimedia organizations currently have advisory boards (TBC).
• The Wikipedia description of an advisory board is currently a stub - please improve wikipedia:Advisory board!
• Additional background information can be found at Stengel Solutions, Businessweek, about.com, etc.