How to use a board skills and diversity matrix
- Author: Creative Australia
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What is a board skills and diversity matrix?
A board skills and diversity matrix is a tool that records the skills, knowledge, experience and perspectives of board members. It will help your board see what it already has and what it may need.
Why use a matrix?
It’s a helpful tool that can inform discussions and decisions about:
- board recruitment, renewal and development
- succession planning
- diversity and inclusion.
The matrix works best when it’s adapted to reflect your organisation’s purpose, communities and future. Below, is our step-by-step guide to doing this.
Step 1. Assign an owner and use a template
Decide who will manage the matrix. If your organisation has never created a skills and diversity matrix before, use our template as your starting point. Use the following steps to adapt it to suit your organisation’s needs.
Board skills and diversity matrix template
Use this template to record the skills, experience and perspectives on your board.
How to induct board members
Learn how to effectively induct new board members so they can contribute to your organisation.
Step 2. Identify the core skills your board needs
Use your organisation’s strategic plan to identify the skills, experience and perspectives the board needs. These are the ‘categories’ you’ll include in your matrix.
Core categories could include:
- financial knowledge
- legal knowledge
- governance experience
- risk management
- strategic planning
- fundraising
- marketing and communications
- research and evaluation
- people and culture.
Step 3. Add industry relevant skills
Your matrix should also reflect the skills and perspectives relevant to your cultural and creative industry. These should reflect your organisation’s art forms, practices and operating context. These could include:
- artistic practice
- curatorial knowledge
- arts education
- audience development
- digital practice
- creative entrepreneurship
- sector advocacy.
Step 4. Consider community needs
Your matrix should also reflect the perspectives needed to meet your community’s needs. This will include communities you work with and those that you serve.
For example, if you’re an organisation that works closely with First Nations communities, board members may need to have First Nations knowledge, lived experience or deep experience engaging with First Nations communities and cultures.
If you’re an organisation working with d/Deaf artists or artists with disability, your board members may need to have lived experience of this, have accessibility expertise and disability rights knowledge.
Step 5. Consider recording extra information
Decide whether your matrix will record extra information. This could include collecting information about a board member’s identity, lived experience, disability, cultural background or community connection.
Get advice before collecting sensitive information
Check privacy, anti-discrimination and other legal requirements before you collect, use or store this information. Get professional advice if you’re unsure.
Step 6. Act on the findings
Use the findings to plan practical changes for your organisation. The matrix may identify gaps and barriers to joining the board and participating.
Improve accessibility and diversity
You can try different ways to make board participation more accessible and inclusive:
- Review how meetings are scheduled, chaired and documented.
- Provide accessible formats for board papers and meetings.
- Offer induction, mentoring or governance training for new board members.
- Consider remuneration or other support where cost is a barrier to participation.
Step 7. Review the matrix regularly
A skills and diversity matrix should not be a one-off survey. You should review it regularly with your board, CEO and artistic director. Use it to guide board development, recruitment and succession planning. It can also support conversations about what the organisation may need in the future.
