Independent Board members can also sometimes be described as Non Executive Directors and it can become easy to get lost in the terminology.

Non-Executive Directors are defined as Board members who do not form part of the executive team for an organisation.  For sports organisations that have executive staff where the Chief Executive sits on the Board, the Chief Executive would be classifed as an Executive Board Director and the members of the Board who are not staff who do not have executive day-to-day responsibilities would be classifed as Non Executive Board Directors.  The terminology is suited best to corporate organisations where the Boards are typically made up of a balance between executive staff (e.g Partners) and Board members who do not hold executive roles.  The distinction for sports organisations is often a mute one because of the lack of professional staff and in most cases the Board of a sports organisation is made up wholly of people who do not perform an executive day-to-day function and so they are all classifed as Non Executive Directors - or in our language, Board members.

The important distinction for sports organisations is that between a Board member and an Independent Board member.  There is a push across the sector and in governance thinking in general that the use of Independent Board directors is a good thing.  Independent can mean different things for different sectors and for sport it may mean someone not elected through the sport but someone appointed from outside the sport because of a particular skill-set that they bring.  It could mean someone who has never played the sport.  The important thing is that an independent Board member brings objectivity and a different perspective to Board members that may have formed their views based on their personal experience from within the sport.

A further point to consider when appointing Board members is whether you intend to pay them beyond their expenses.  Across the sector many organisations have voluntary Boards, but where you feel you want to attract people further to join your Board you may decide to pay them.  If this is the case you need to be aware that payment beyond expenses does have legal implications.  These are outlined in the guidance note in the downloads below.

Essentially the term Non-Executive Director is equaivalent to the term we use in our sector 'Board Member' where that individual sits on the Board but does not perform day-to-day executive tasks.

The term Independent Board Member is reserved for individuals that are appointed from outside the sector because of a skill-set they bring and an objective perspective that is offered with their addition to the Board.

For further information on the role of a Board member please see the appropriate page in this section.

Downloads:

A Sample Non-Executive Director Appointment Letter.pdf

Sample Non Executive Director Appointment Letter.

SRA Guidance on Payment of Non-Executive Directors.doc

A guide on payment of non-executive directors produced by the Sport and Recration Alliance.