Dame Mary Marsh, director of the Clore Social Leadership Programme, has said trustee boards should have a person dedicated to identifying skill gaps on boards that should be filled.

Marsh (pictured) was speaking at a series of seminars on trusteeship organised by New Philanthropy Capital over this summer as part of its research into the trustee role.

Responding to a question on the challenge of achieving a diverse board with a mix of skills, Marsh recommended that boards appoint a nominated adviser to undertake audits to identify any gaps in skills, professional or personal, that should be filled.

The seminars, held with 80 trustees, also covered knowing your charity and role, building good relationships, impact reporting and reviewing board performance.

Tesse Akpeki, an independent governance consultant, emphasised that trustee induction should not be a one-off process and that boards should be committed to continuous learning and a ‘re-induction’ process which can be helpful if significant changes had taken place within a charity.

Other key points that came out of the seminars was the pivotal role of the chair in determining how well his or her board worked and the need for regular reviews of result from impact measurements, with the suggestion of sub-committees which are focused on results.

To view the full NPC report on the seminars click here.