Board Effectiveness and Governance Training

Board Effectiveness and Governance Training builds practical capability for the people responsible for guiding organisations and overseeing their performance. Developed and hosted by Sara-Jane Elika and delivered with Elika Consulting Group, it draws on governance experience across education, business, community and government sectors.

The programme strengthens the relationship between boards and management by clarifying roles, responsibilities and decision making boundaries. Professional development workshops, tailored organisational sessions and governance mentoring combine practical tools with values, lived experience and cultural understanding, helping participants address the governance realities of their own institutions.

Delivery Formats

Professional development workshops, bespoke organisational workshops, and governance mentoring programmes.

Delivered with Elika Consulting Group, a strategic advisory and engagement consultancy working across New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.

Who This Is For

Boards, executives and management teams across government, intergovernmental organisations, education, and regional economic development bodies.

Programme Strengths

Strength 01: 30 Years Combined Governance Leadership

The executive team has served on and chaired multiple boards across business, education, arts, sport, media, and creative industries, including work on strategic reviews, succession planning, legal compliance, and health and safety. This gives participants a full view of sector challenges and opportunities.

Strength 02: Board to Operations Alignment

The relationship between governance and operations is strengthened by clarifying roles, responsibilities, and decision-making boundaries. The approach embeds accountability frameworks and operational clarity, enabling boards and management teams to work in harmony toward shared goals.

Strength 03: High Impact, Tailored Governance Training

Governance workshops and mentoring programmes are designed to be engaging, context specific, and high impact, built around the realities of the organisation in the room.

Programme Curriculum

Track 01: Training and Workshops

Professional development sessions covering the foundations of effective governance.

• Governance versus Operations
• Board Reporting for Management and Directors
• Legal and Compliance Responsibilities
• Stakeholder Mapping and Engagement
• Board Evaluation and Appraisal
• Independent Strategic Reviews

Track 02: Bespoke Workshops

Workshops designed for your organisation, covering the following areas.

• Strategy and Risk
• Directors Duties and Responsibilities
• Role of the Chair
• Finance
• AI Integration
• Climate Change
• GEDSI: Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion

Sectors Served

• Government and Public Sector: board and executive governance capability
• Intergovernmental Organisations: regional and multilateral governance practice
• Education and Workforce Capability: institutional leadership and board development
• Regional Economic Development: strategy, engagement, and evaluation for development bodies

Professional Standards

The delivery team has completed internationally recognised safeguarding and fraud prevention training through the Humanitarian Leadership Academy on the Kaya platform.

• Safeguarding Essentials Certification
• Fraud Prevention Certification
• Safeguarding and Protection Compliance Training
• Ethical Conduct and Risk Awareness Training
• Humanitarian Safeguarding Foundations
• Organisational Fraud Awareness and Prevention

Why This Programme Works

• Proven Experience: delivery across government, corporate, and international partners.
• Integrated Approach: strategy, engagement, and evaluation brought together in a single practice.
• Practical Outcomes: a track record of delivering sustainable results for boards and management teams.
• Cultural Capability: deep capability across Pacific and diverse communities.

Culturally attuned, outstanding communication and excellent engagement.

Fonoia Professor Sipaea Jemaima Tiatia-Siau, Vice-Chancellor Pacific, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland

PLLFI Pillar Alignment

• Leadership Education: Governance training, board development, and professional development
• Pacific Leadership Expertise: Culturally grounded governance practice across the region
• Leadership Ecosystems: Aligning boards, management, and operations across institutions