The Community Boradcasting Foundation has announced the successful tenderer for a review of its operations. The Nous Group has been appointed to undertake the foundation’s Structural and Governance Review.
The consultancy will begin in early May, with a final report provided to the Foundation in late August.
The objectives of the Structural and Governance Review of the CBF are to provide an independent assessment of how the Foundation can best structure its governance and funding programs to serve the needs of the community broadcasting sector in the medium term.
The Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF) was established in 1984, to seek, secure, administer and distribute funding to support the development, creativity and sustainability of community broadcasting in Australia. In 2013/14 the CBF will disburse over $17 million in funding support for community broadcasting sourced from the Australian Government via the Department of Communications’ (DOC) Community Broadcasting Program. The review will look at how the money is spent and make recommendations about any possible changes.
Massive growth and change in the composition of the community broadcasting sector may have rendered the current funding model less effective at meeting sector needs, and rapid technological change has fundamentally altered the broader media environment forcing the community broadcasting sector to adapt or lose relevance.
The review will consider the current funding sources and also respond to strong sector input that the CBF should seek to increase and diversify support from philanthropic, corporate and other funding sources.
The review will ensure that the CBF retains independence from both funding sources and beneficiaries that is an essential pre-requisite for a fair and transparent process. It will also:
- Consider good governance principles for not-for-profit organisations;
- Provide flexibility for the Board to adapt its membership in response to changing needs;
- Include specialist oversight and input for specialist content production and development areas;
- Include mechanisms that incorporate peer review processes in funding decisions; and
- Include appropriate consultation processes with our stakeholders.
The successful tendered will consult with sector representative organisations and the government, as well as with stations.
The Board of Directors (pictured above) has a membership of nine people, representing all parts of the community broadcasting sector. The CBF spent its funds last year as outlined in the chart below.
Full details of the tender specifications are at this link. The successful tendered is expected to be in contact with many community stations during the review period to guage views of stations about the way the CBF continues its operations in future.
Nous Group is an Australian owned management consulting and leadership development firm, with offices and experienced consultants throughout the country. The company partners with clients “in demanding and complex sectors to create innovative, enduring solutions.” See more about Nous Group here.