title: Board self-evaluation: the Bayside Health experience.
abstract: Board evaluation is a critical component of good governance in any organisation. This paper describes the board self-evaluation process used by Bayside Health, a public health service in Melbourne. The question of how governing boards can assess their performance has received increasing attention over the past decade. In particular, the increasing demand for accountability to shareholders and regulators experienced by corporate sector Boards has resulted in greater scrutiny of board performance, with the market and the balance sheet providing some basis for assessment. Performance evaluation of governing boards in the public sector has been more challenging. Performance evaluation is complex in a sector that is not simply driven by the bottom line, where the stakeholders involve both government and the broader community, and where access to, and the quality and safety of the services provided, are often the major public criteria by which performance may be judged. While some practices from the corporate sector can be applied successfully in the public sector, this is not always the case, and public sector boards such as the Board of Directors of Bayside Health have been developing ways to evaluate and improve their performance.
authors.affiliation: Office of the Chief Executive, Bayside Health, c/- The Alfred, Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia. a.duncan-marr@alfred.org.au
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duncan-Marr
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Duckett
mesh_terms: D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006075:Governing Board / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D011635:Public Health Administration; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014739:Victoria