Board Orientation Manual 2024

5. New Business

a) Software Development Staff reported that testing of the software began this past fall with the focus on membership registration for the BC Seniors Games Society, the first module that will go live. Regular meetings with the developer have taken place as well as with the BC Seniors Games Society since early December with a focus on what is needed for their membership registration launch. In addition, there have been meetings with staff to look at options for functionality for our Games as development begins to shift to participant registration. Some misunderstandings/miscommunication in the requirements document, which is the guide for development, has resulted in additional meetings, some course changes, and decisions to implement temporary processes while details are sorted out. This is not concerning nor uncommon in development when translating technical requirements back and forth from programing to layperson terminology. The changes have resulted or will result in additional costs but this is very small and a healthy contingency was built into budget. The participant registration module for the BC Seniors Games Society will launch in March so the next month will be busy getting all those elements developed and tested. The participant registration module for the BC Winter and BC Summer Games will go live in the fall of 2025 so development of these processes is also underway. b) Policy Review Staff reported that there were over 70 documents that were previously called policies. While some of these were changed from policies to position papers several years ago, there were still 30 documents that were named “policy”. Adding to the confusion is that not all of these were actually policies, many were Games-time or in-house processes and/or information. In order to streamline and provide clarity, staff have proposed a change to the society’s documentation structure. The goal is to clearly articulate the flow of documentation (policies, procedures, etc.) from the foundational documents (such as the Constitution and Bylaws), outline how documents are developed/maintained, and establish where authority lies for approval. As policies require Board approval, the goal of the restructuring is to ensure that documents that aren’t policies are nimble and accessible to staff to edit/update to meet the needs as planning is underway. The most critical time for information to be clear is for the Games. Often as the Games get closer, sport sector or environmental changes require adjustments. If Games-time processes are written as policies there could be a challenge to update these as needed, given that the Board only meets three times per year. The new structure supports the position that all documents stem from (and must align with) the Constitution and Bylaws and the Vision, Mission, and Values. A new layer was added called “Guiding Principles”. Guiding Principles provide direction, set organizational standards, and are approved by the Board. The Culture of the Games will be the overarching Guiding Principle, which then feeds into 5 “streams” of Guiding Principles. All other documents are then classified within one of the “streams”. Staff recommended an implementation timeline and process which will begin with the structure and Guiding Principles presented to the Board for approval in May, updates to policies presented for Board approval in October, and ongoing reports to the Board on updates to procedures and other key documents. Guiding Principles and policies would be reviewed and re-approved every two years to ensure they stay up to date.

BC Games Society Board Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2025

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