Historic Buildings & Places has been featured in a new case study by Historic England. The study shows how heritage organisations can improve governance through inclusive and strategic board development.
Written by Dr Ambreen Shah for Getting on Board, the case study explores how we introduced trustee term limits, broadened board skills, and opened up recruitment. These changes support our charitable mission and reflect our long-standing values.
When our Director, Liz Power, joined the charity in 2021, the board had offered many years of dedicated service. However, long tenures and a narrow skills base posed risks to our future resilience. To respond, we updated our constitution. Trustees now serve two three-year terms, with the option of an extra year to support succession planning.
We introduced these changes gradually. This helped the board remain stable during the transition. At the same time, we launched an open and inclusive trustee recruitment process. We aimed to attract candidates from a range of backgrounds and with diverse professional experience.
The results from our first round of recruitment were encouraging. All new trustees appointed at that stage were under 40. Three were from the global majority, and each brought valuable skills in leadership, sustainability, and strategic planning. By July 2024, this resulted in an equal mix of long-standing and new members on our board.
This journey has been thoughtful and collaborative. It took trust, time, and a shared belief in our future. We hope our story helps other heritage charities thinking about governance reform, board succession, or trustee recruitment.
Read the full case study on Historic England’s website.
Learn more about our board of trustees and team by visiting the Our People page on our website.
