BoardWise®
On-demand governance training and knowledge for your entire for-purpose or not-for-profit board.
Take your governance and leadership knowledge to the next level with BoardWise, the online director professional development platform by Better Boards.
Now includes powerful Board Evaluation Toolkit
Click here to find out more.
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All content is specifically tailored for not-for-profit or for-purpose organisations.
- Monthly live webinar access.
BoardWise members get free and extended access to monthly webinars curated by Better Boards (normally $85 per webinar, per person).- Over 150 hours of on-demand governance training.
New resources added each month! Strategy, risk, organisational development, board dynamics... Discover where to focus your efforts with the built-in Board Evaluation tool!- 50+ experts on governance & leadership for not-for-profits.
BoardWise features a growing group of practitioners, consultants and experts with specialist knowledge in not-for-profit governance and leadership.- Save $ on Better Boards events.
- BoardWise members receive member rates on governance events like the Better Boards Conference.
- Suitable for experts & beginners.
Wherever you are on your governance journey BoardWise can help you to grow your skills, knowledge and understanding.- CPD recording tools.
Log your CPD quickly and easily with the click of a button. No more typing out CPD entries. Click and done!- Board Evaluation
Evaluate your board and governance practices. Customise our templates or build your own. Cost-effective, easy-to-use and powerful. DIY or leverage our partner network.
See how BoardWise works in this 1 minute video.
Build a Better Board
Effective Board Evaluation
BoardWise offers you a new way to undertake Board Evaluation.
In the past, robust Board Evaluation required expensive systems, only used standardised benchmark evaluations that were not customisable to your board's needs, requirements or industry, or was nothing more than an online 'survey monkey' style form.
BoardWise's Board Evaluation Toolkit changes all this.
BoardWise now gives you a complete toolkit to create powerful board evaluations and assessments so your board can govern with confidence.
- Cost-effective
Save thousands with the BoardWise Board Evaluation toolkit. Many other board evaluation or board assessment providers charge upwards of $10,000 per evaluation!
We INCLUDE the board evaluation toolkit as part of your BoardWise subscription - that's excellent value for your board to capitalise on!- Templates + flexibility
Build a completely custom evaluation to meet your board's unique needs. Other providers charge extra for the option to include your own questions. The BoardWise Board Evaluation Toolkit allows you to start from scratch or use our growing library of templates to create fully customised evaluations that are tailored to your board's needs, requirements and industry. Leverage templates structured against well-known governance principles:- The Australian Governance System (TAGS)
- AICD
- ACNC
- ASX
- NZX
- and many more
- DIY Board Evaluation
The BoardWise Board Evaluation Toolkit aims to empower you to have the means to do board evaluations yourself without the requirement to utilise a third party.
However, as we aim to provide flexibility, you can also choose to add-on* services from our extensive partner network so that you can get an independent perspective if or when needed.- Resources & guidance
In line with the do-it-yourself philosophy of our board evaluation toolkit, we provide you with resources to help you ensure that your board evaluations run smoothly and easily.
We aim to make sure that when you lead an internal governance review it's easy and effective. From the 'why' and the evaluation process, to how to navigate objections and handle sensitive topics and challenges that may arise when you undertake a board evaluation.- Powerful reports & recommendations
Leverage our Three 'B's framework which immediately provides you with powerful reports for the whole board or just individual board members if required.
Each evaluation can be customised to generate a group report or individual reports. Decide which information should be shown and whether to receive suggestions (based on your results) for useful resources from over 150 hours of governance professional development in the BoardWise library, to help your board make targeted improvements in their skills and knowledge.- Qualitative & quantitative
In any board evaluation you need to gather data that is both qualitative and quantitative.
The BoardWise board assessment allows you to do both with ease so that you can drill right down to the challenges or any knowledge gaps your board faces today.- Sector specific templates
We offer a growing library of board governance assessment templates that cover a wide range of industries. As of writing we have templates that cover:- Not-for-profits
- Associations
- Charities
- Aged Care
- Schools
- Health Care
- Disability
- Human Services
We also offer specialist assessment templates for highly regulated entities that fall under areas including ACQS Standard 8 and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.- Action & evidence oriented
The failing of other board evaluations using the self-assessment style is that beyond a numerical score they don't give you context or evidence.
The BoardWise board assessment enables you to build evaluations that ask your board members for evidence so you can see beyond just numbers and scores. We allow you to easily link results to actionable learning inside BoardWise.- Go beyond standard Board Evaluation
With the BoardWise Board Evaluation toolkit you aren't limited to only evaluating your board...
You can utilise the BoardWise Board Evaluation toolkit to build evaluations or assessments for your subcommittees, taskforce and even senior executives. You can also conduct peer reviews and director skills capabilities assessments.
Plan for future board composition by utilising whole-board evaluation reports generated from the assessment results to determine which skills you need for the future, helping you to build your best board when recruiting potential directors.
Boost your board's governance knowledge & performance.
Start using BoardWise today.
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Created for whole boards
- Most board training programs are created with individual directors in mind and make it hard to sign everyone up. We recognise that all members of your board need to access to educational materials. From day one we crafted BoardWise with use by a whole board in mind - making it easy for you to manage your board's professional development.
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Cost-effective
- Our team has worked with not-for-profit and for-purpose organisations for over 15 years, we understand that you need quality education to make your organisation world class, but that it needs to be at a price that is accessible for your organisation. BoardWise is one of the most cost-effective director professional development programs available today.
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Access anywhere
- Often board training is expensive, takes up valuable time and isn't in a convenient location. BoardWise is completely online so all you need is an internet connection and a device with a modern browser to access it, anytime, anywhere.
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Easy to use
- Board members are busy. BoardWise is simple and intuitive so you don't waste time trying to navigate it, instead you can just get on with upgrading your governance knowledge.
What is the investment required?
BoardWise has been built to be accessible to for-purpose and not-for-profit organisations of all sizes
We know that not every board is the same, so BoardWise is priced to allow for flexibility depending on your board's needs.
Per year: $1374
Total Monthly:$114.5
Thirty-day, money back guarantee.
We strongly believe that BoardWise can help take your governance and leadership knowledge to the next level. That's why we back it with a 30-day, money back guarantee. We want you to dive in and experience the full wealth of this resource without reservation. If you're not satisfied, just contact us within 30 days of purchase, and we'll refund 100% of your subscription fee.
Each month 450+ directors stay up-to-date by using BoardWise.
Frequently asked questions
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Directors of non-profit organisations need to stay up-to-date and undertake regular professional development and training. So why don't they do it? Often training is expensive, takes up valuable time and isn't in a convenient location.
Better Boards developed BoardWise to solve these issues and more. We came up with BoardWise when we noticed these issues while running professional development events for not-for-profit directors.
Our aim for BoardWise is to make ongoing professional development for not-for-profit and for-purpose directors:
• Cost-Effective,
• Accessible,
• Convenient,
• Focused on the entire board (not just single directors)
• and finally...Enjoyable. -
BoardWise is a membership-based online learning platform designed with the specific aim of creating the best possible environment for whole boards, not just single not-for-profit directors, to undertake the professional development and education they need to ensure their non-profit organisations are world class.
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Yes, we welcome all people with an interest developing their governance and leadership knowledge and skills, however, you must sign up at the Corporate/Consultant rate.
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We do not offer free trials, instead we offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
We strongly believe that BoardWise can help take your governance and leadership knowledge to the next level. That's why we back it with a 30-day, money back guarantee. We want you to dive in and experience the full wealth of this resource without inhibition. If you're not satisfied, just contact us within 30 days of purchase, and we'll refund 100% of your subscription fee.
Please note: If within the first 30-day money back guarantee period you purchase BoardWise member-rate tickets for a Better Boards event we will deduct the difference between the member-rate tickets and full price conference tickets from any refund. -
We do not offer month to month subscriptions. Your BoardWise subscription will be billed for an entire year up-front. As above, we do offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
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The bulk of content inside BoardWise was created with Australian boards in mind. All content is presented in English. However, much of the material, particularly as it relates to board dynamics, leadership and good governance practices is applicable to boards from any country. We have a small number of BoardWise members from New Zealand, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
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Each member and their organisation have different preferernces, however, the majority of members get the most from BoardWise in the following way:
Based on the upcoming board meeting agenda, an appropriate resource is chosen from BoardWise (often by the chairperson). Usually the resource choice is one they believe will be relevant to the upcoming discussion and spark the directors' thinking on the subject. Directors are notified to engage with the resource prior to the meeting and note down thoughts or ideas on the topic/subject. At the meeting, time is set aside for discussion on the subject and director's learnings.
Other ways directors and boards use BoardWise are:
1. Based on the upcoming board meeting agenda the person creating the agenda or the chairperson blocks out time in the agenda for professional development, they then choose an appropriate resource from BoardWise that they believe will be relevant to the discussion and spark the directors thinking on the subject. The entire board watches the video at the meeting and then uses it as a starting point for the discussion.
2. Directors are all requested to engage with BoardWise on a regular basis, choosing what interests them from BoardWise and then at each meeting a brief statement is given by each director on the most recent thing they learnt using BoardWise.
3. Directors receive notice of the upcoming live webinars (run by Better Boards and free for BoardWise members) and log into BoardWise to register. Regularly scheduling time to engage with the live webinar series provides motivation to maintain a regular program of director professional development.
4. Run your annual board evaluation with the built-in Board Evaluation Tool included in BoardWise as part of your BoardWise membership. The report can be configured to recommend content from within the BoardWise library to improve targeted areas of skills and knowledge.
These are just some of the more formal and structured ways that directors and their boards utilise BoardWise. There is certainly no one way, so each board should experiment to see what works best for their situation. BoardWise is most effective when all directors engage with the program. -
A huge range of topics are covered in BoardWise, from strategy and risk to organisational development and board dynamics and much more. The core focus is on not-for-profit boards and their governance and leadership requirements. Click here to request an information pack, this pack includes a list of the current topics inside BoardWise.
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Yes. Quite a number of organisations who are BoardWise members have found it beneficial to sign both their chief executive officer and executive teams up to BoardWise as well. This allows the executive to have a much clearer understanding of the board's role and why boards think and operate in particular ways.
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CPD in BoardWise is not linked to a specific professional body or association (this may change in the future). However, you can still claim the CPD time you've logged on BoardWise with many professional bodies and associations.The requirements of each professional body and association for claiming CPD completed with external providers are unique. It is recommended you contact your chosen professional body or association to check their requirements.
Below you will find a brief overview of various professional bodies' positions on whether they accept CPD claims for materials completed through external providers (such as BoardWise). This information was obtained from the respective organisation's public website. Again it is recommended you contact your chosen professional body or association to check their requirements.
This information was last updated on 15 June 2017.
Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD)
AICD allows you to claim CPD (or what they have termed DPD) from external providers. Visit http://www.companydirectors.com.au/Membership/Director-Professional-Development/DPD-units-for-other-provider-activities for further information.
Governance Institute of Australia
The Governance Institute states on its website that the "Governance Institute considers 'valid CPD' as contributing to and/or relevant to your current role and responsibilities (and/or future career progression) as a governance and risk management professional." Our interpretation of this is that since BoardWise materials are aimed at doing this then it should in theory be possible to claim CPD from BoardWise with the Governance Institute. However, it is recommended you contact the Governance Institute to confirm this.
CPA Australia
CPA Australia's website states "Any activity that increases your knowledge, skills and ability to do your job can be included in your CPD records." Our interpretation of CPA Australia's website and public statements is that the activities you would undertake in BoardWise are activity that increases your knowledge, skills and ability to do your job and as such would be logged under "Self-study including self-paced learning packages, professional development online, CDs, video or audio packages" or "Structured reading, video or audio". However, it is recommended you contact CPA Australia to confirm this.
Australian Institute of Management
It is recommended you contact the Australian Institute of Management directly to confirm their stance on claiming CPD from an external provider.
Australasian Mutuals Institute (AM Institute)
It is recommended you contact the AM Institute directly to confirm their stance on claiming CPD from an external provider. -
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