Board membership
As set out in the Local Growth White Paper it is vital that local enterprise partnerships genuinely bring business and civic leaders together. Getting the right membership for each partnership’s board will be key to securing effective business engagement and ensuring a strong focus on the needs of the local economy. Below is some further information for local enterprise partnerships as they set up their boards.
- The White Paper sets out that we would normally expect to see business representatives form half the board, with a prominent business leader in the chair. Since then, the Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities has also written to all partnerships encouraging them to give due consideration to issues of diversity in any board nomination process
- We are looking to see proposed business board members with first hand knowledge and experience of the local businesses environment, through a strong track record of local business leadership at a senior level.
- We would also want to see board members drawn from a breadth of experience from small enterprises through to large businesses, and representing the key sectors in your area.
- As you bring together your boards, you may wish to consider offering board seats to other key economic stakeholders such as universities or social enterprises.
- Should you propose board places for universities, FE colleges, trade unions, faith groups, voluntary sector groups, or public sector bodies, this does not change the expectation that 50% of the board will normally be business people.
- Social enterprises are businesses and as such could form part of the business half of the board.
- We have said that the chair of the board should normally be from the private sector. Should you wish to propose an alternative chair, for instance, an elected Mayor, the key test will be whether that chair has the support of the whole board.
- Partnerships will be formally recognised when they have such a board in place and we have asked you to confirm to CLG and BIS that you have completed this step.
