How ROI Uses Community Accountability Boards

We currently have two Community Accountability Boards; one oversees all of ROI’s training and knowledge building work, helping to inform our organization as a whole. The members of this board come from diverse backgrounds and have special connections to those most impacted by trauma in our community. Like us, this group’s mission is to end generational cycles of trauma and poverty by supporting healing.

Our other Community Accountability Board works specifically with our Resilient Leaders Initiative program. The function of this group is mostly the same as our training and knowledge board, however this board provides feedback specifically about our Resilient Leaders Initiative training and how we can improve the curriculum.

In your own organization, you may choose to have an overarching Community Accountability Board, or form one specifically for a large initiative. Both can provide amazing insights and will act as a catalyst between you and the community, helping to improve your company.

The Value of Community Accountability Boards

Community Accountability Boards offer many advantages by helping put your organization in touch with the groups you are trying to serve. We’ve seen great value from these boards in many different ways.

Increased Decision Making Power to Community Members

All too often, organizations make decisions for the community or on their behalf, and not with the actual members of the community. If your team does not include members from diverse backgrounds who have seen firsthand the experiences of the average citizen in your network, you could be overlooking key insights that could guide you to better decisions.

One of our core values is to put those with experience in helping our community front and center; their experience and insights tell us what’s working and not working in our curriculum. Through our Community Accountability Boards, we are able to give community members decision making power so they may share what their groups need to achieve growth.

Improved Accountability

Our Community Accountability Board holds our organization accountable to delivering positive change to residents in our community. We meet monthly to allow the board members to give their input about where to put resources and funding; their advice ensures we’re allocating enough to areas of need and supporting community members who might be overlooked otherwise.

Increased Input From Diverse Perspectives

In any organization, collaboration with teams from many different backgrounds is key to understanding the needs of your audience. Our Community Accountability board increases our ability to understand people from all walks of life by providing structured meetings with diverse groups. We always know we’re getting every side of the situation when we include our board members in a decision.

Heightened Connection to Resident Perspectives

Community leaders often wear many different hats; they may serve on several different boards at one time in addition to their demanding job. For this reason, we require that members of our Community Accountability Board do not currently serve on any other formal boards. This helps elevate new voices from our community, encouraging more people to become leaders. By heading from residents in this way, we also include community members who have not had the chance to speak up in the past.

Our Community Accountability Boards speak to our values of encouraging community leadership. By staying in touch with people who have firsthand knowledge of our community’s needs, we can tailor our trainings and curriculum to address those needs directly and help new leaders speak out about issues we may not be aware of. If you’d like more information about starting your own Community Accountability Board, contact our co-founder, Seth Saeugling at seth@ruralopportunity.org