Board meetings can move faster and more productive by adding the appropriate items to a consent agenda. A consent agenda is one in which several appropriate items are ‘lumped ‘into one agenda item.
All of the items are then treated as one item, one motion, one second, and one vote!
Items commonly found on consent agendas include
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- Confirmation of a decision that has previously discussed
- Chief Staff Officer/Executive Directors report
- Committee reports
- Informational materials
- Updated organizational documents
Items that require full board discussion and/or decision making do not go into these consent agenda items. All Board members have the opportunity in the Board meeting to remove any items from the consent agenda items should they require further explanation.
A quick tip in order to test whether an item should or should not be included in the consent agenda is to ask the questions:
- Is this item self-explanatory and uncontroversial?
- Does the item warrant board discussion?
- Is this item for ‘information only’?
- Is it an item where further discussion is required?
