Services · Scale-Up

Ethical Decision-Making Guidelines for NS Board Members

EDG

Develops practical ethical decision-making guidance for board members, including independence, conflicts, duty of care, escalation and case-based scenarios.

What changes

Stronger accountability, transparency, risk management, assurance coverage and governance oversight.

What you get

Ethical decision-making guidelines for NS Board members EDG001
Ethical decision checklist and decision tree for Board use EDG002
Board minute documentation standard add-on (options, rationale, dissent, risk mitigations) EDG003
Scenario pack with facilitation notes (3 to 5 NS-relevant cases) EDG004
Dissemination and training plan with acknowledgement and attendance log EDG005

What has to come first

NAHNeeds Assessment Report - National Head Quarters or NABNeeds Assessment Report - Branch/District Recommended

Needs assessment findings ground the guidelines in actual governance gaps and decision practices
COIConflict of Interest policy Recommended

Guidelines reference the conflict-of-interest declaration and recusal machinery established by COI

Who is involved

From the National Society's side. This is what the engagement asks of your people.

Your own staff work alongside the adviser throughout, so this is a commitment of their time as well as the Centre's. Ask in the request and you are given the day estimate per role before anything is signed.

Role	What they do
NS Board members	Primary users of the guidelines
Board Chair / Secretary	Governance owner; enforces use in Board practice
Secretary General / Senior Management	Interface with Board decisions
Governance / Legal / Compliance focal point	Legal review, where available
Risk & Audit Committee / Ethics Committee	Periodic review, where established
Internal audit / Integrity focal point	Advisory role
GFDC delivery team	Drafts the pack, runs the workshop and advises

How it is measured

Indicator	Target	Evidence
Guidelines adopted by Board resolution within target time of kick-off	12 weeks	Board minutes recording adoption
Approved guidelines disseminated to all key stakeholders with acknowledgement	100% within 4 weeks of adoption	EDG005 acknowledgement log
Board members and relevant senior staff trained on the guidelines	At least 90% attendance	EDG005 attendance records
High-impact decisions documented to the minute standard in the year after adoption	100% of flagged agenda items	Board minutes sampled by the Risk & Audit Committee or governance focal point

Tools

6 of 6 ready to download.

EDG001 Ethical decision-making guidelines for NS Board members Template DOCX
EDG002 Ethical decision checklist and decision tree Template DOCX
EDG003 Board minute documentation standard add-on Template DOCX
EDG004 Scenario pack with facilitation notes Template DOCX
EDG005 Dissemination and training plan with acknowledgement and attendance log Template DOCX
COI003 Annual declaration form and conflict-of-interest register Template XLSX

Standards

GFDC Operational Framework (intake, triage, service workflow)
HNS Delegation of Authority (DoA) and governance ToRs
IFRC integrity and fraud and corruption prevention policies
Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
IFRC Code of Conduct for Staff and Volunteers
NGO accountability and governance standards
COSO Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework
HNS statutes, bylaws and Board rules of procedure
HNS Code of Conduct and conflict-of-interest policy
IFRC safeguarding and PSEA policies

Describe the problem, not the service

You do not need to know which of the 124 to ask for.

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