NTS Report 4 Aug 2010 - National Trust for Scotland

3
Foreword
For the Benefit of the Nation
Content
Introduction
Overview 5
Summary of Recommendations 6
Timeline 7
The Fulcrum of Change
Over-governance 8
Governance Recommendations 10
A Code of Good Governance 13
Engagement and Transparency 14
How it can be Done 17
A Fit for Purpose NTS
The Need for Vision 16
Finance 18
The State of the Estate 22
Property Portfolio Review 24
The Issue of Inalienability 26
Alternative Management 27
Local Partnerships 28
National Partnerships 30
A Team Scotland Approach 31
A Stable Transition 32
Staff and Volunteers 34
It’s Scotland’s Heritage
For the Benefit of the Nation 36
Putting it Together
A Capability Review 38
Members’ Survey 40
A Process of Engagement 43
Futures Study 44
Documentation 46
The National Trust for Scotland is one of our
country’s great treasures.
For almost 80 years it has conserved our natural and
cultural heritage. It has interpreted it and made it
accessible to all. It has afforded enjoyment and
enlightenment to millions of people.
The Trust makes a significant contribution to both our
national wellbeing and economy. It is the only
organisation able to take a holistic approach, both
natural and cultural, to conservation. It tells Scotland’s
story from Neolithic to contemporary times and on
into the future. In so doing, it helps shape our sense of
place and identity.
In recent years, however, there have been warnings within the Trust that it faces serious
issues of financial sustainability.
There was a substantial sense of shock in 2009 when the organisation made staff
redundant, mothballed a number of properties, and sold its splendid headquarters in
Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.
The NTS Council then invited me to lead a “robust” examination of the charity’s health.
The terms of reference were:
• To conduct a strategic review of NTS resources and governance in order to assess
the organisation’s capability to address current and future challenges.
• To do so independently and transparently, taking into account the views of all
stakeholders.
• To make recommendations and provide an outline plan and timetable for
implementation.
Council agreed that the Review would be based on the capability model widely used in
health checks of organisations. This asks, basically, whether they are fit for purpose.
Whether they have the resources to do what they say they are going to do. And how
they can become SMARTer – setting objectives which are Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.
Over eight months the Review has been an iterative process, involving over 9000
members who replied to a questionnaire and almost 2000 more through 32 meetings,
interviews and correspondence. Participants were asked to state the issues as they see
them, to rank them, and then move on to options and conclusions.
These inputs have guided the discussion of the Steering Group, who have substantial
experience of corporate governance, change management and a strong commitment to
conservation.
The Group agrees with the overwhelming evidence submitted to the Review that NTS is
gridlocked by its governance structures.
There are 87 Trustees and, additionally, there are over 100 non-executives engaged in
the work of its panels and committees. The Review has been unable to find any other
charity with such “byzantine” – to quote the 2009 Minister for Culture – supervisory
structures.
We are clear that unless Trust governance changes, nothing else will. We are clear that
NTS needs strategic direction if it is to become sustainable.
The Trust is not sustainable as presently organised. It balances its books by using
legacies as ready income, by selling assets, and by delaying project work. It has no
complete record, in a single data base or document, of what it owns. There is no
strategic plan. The current budget was prepared on a needs-must basis only.
We make a number of recommendations on how a smaller group of Trustees should
address these issues. And how management should concentrate on outcomes, not
outputs.