Developing Subcommittee Charters

Sample Charter

Purpose in Developing Subcommittees

The purpose of establishing subcommittees of a larger policy team is to enable the larger committee to undertake a more diverse and significant set of work tasks than would otherwise be possible. Subcommittees, therefore, are tasked with taking on specific work on behalf of the larger team or steering committee. As such, subcommittees:

• Represent the full team in the conduct of their work; and
   
• Are responsible to the larger team in terms of defining the work to be conducted, informing the whole team regarding progress and unanticipated challenges, and reporting back subcommittee findings in a helpful and timely fashion.

In addition to accomplishing the tasks defined for each subcommittee, subcommittee work will have the broader goal of enhancing the knowledge base of team members around the critical issue areas on which they are working.

Subcommittee Composition

Subcommittees are typically composed primarily of members of the larger team. Subcommittee membership should be purposefully composed to assure that each ‘team’ includes diverse membership in terms of discipline and area of expertise. Some subcommittees may determine that it is necessary to invite additional persons to assist with their work. These individuals should be considered ad hoc members of the subcommittee.

Given that all members of the larger Committee have significant contributions to make, and that each person is as busy as the next, it is assumed that each member of the full team will participate in at least one subcommittee.

Subcommittee Structure

To facilitate an effective work process, subcommittees should identify individuals to assume the following roles and responsibilities:

• Chair: The chair is responsible for managing the subcommittee and ensuring that the team is successful in its efforts to accomplish its task. To that end, the chair will take responsibility for defining a meeting schedule that will enable the group to accomplish the work in the allotted time, will ensure that members are clear about the work to be accomplished and the methods for doing so, and will engage the participation of all team members in the work process. The chair is not responsible for doing all of the work; the chair is merely responsible for making sure that the work gets done.
   
• Recorder: The recorder is responsible for documenting the work of the subcommittee. To this end, the recorder will take responsibility for developing: thoughtful and comprehensive meeting minutes; work plans that reflect the tasks, timelines and individuals responsible for specific tasks; materials to be presented to the larger team; and a thorough collection of the documents collected and developed during the course of the subcommittee’s work that will later serve as the subcommittees ‘institutional memory.’ The recorder, like the chair, is not necessarily responsible for doing all of the recording, but rather, is responsible for assuring that the recording requirement is met.
   
• Facilitator: The facilitator is responsible for managing the subcommittee’s meetings. To this end, the facilitator will plan and prepare in advance of each meeting an agenda that is focused on a clear set of goals to be accomplished, and is structured in such a way as to assure that the group’s time together is purposeful and productive. Additionally, the facilitator will assume responsibility for managing the subcommittee meetings (following the agenda, managing the clock, assuring that each member equally participates in the discussion, synthesizing discussions, and reaffirming agreements and commitments made during the course of the meeting). The facilitator should work with the chair (at least, and optimally with the full group) to develop agendas for each meeting.
   
• Reporter: The reporter is responsible for making sure that the work of the subcommittee is reported to others at those points when there is a ‘need to know.’ To this end, the reporter should be: alert to the need to make contact with an individual in a particular agency (or multiple persons in multiple agencies) to appraise them of the work underway; prepared to report on the progress of the subcommittee to the larger team on a periodic basis; and relaying with regularity the work being undertaken with the reporters for each of the other groups, to eliminate the likelihood of duplication of effort, promote cross–team collaboration, and seek additional information, input, and feedback that may be helpful to the subcommittee’s work. As with the other roles, it is not necessarily the responsibility of the reporter to take on all of these tasks alone, although it is the reporter’s responsibility to assure that they are carried out (however, in the case of reporting out within the subcommittee itself, it is expected that the reporter will carry out this function).

Subcommittee Work Activities

Each subcommittee is tasked with developing a detailed understanding of one or more specific substantive topic areas. To assure continuity in the type of information collected in order to achieve this depth of understanding, each subcommittee is expected to gather the same type of information. Although the work products and outcomes should and will be similar, the methods and timetable for gathering this information will be decided by each individual subcommittee. Subcommittees are expected to:

1. Establish the structure of the subcommittee. Select those who will serve as chair, facilitator, recorder, and reporter. Agree on a regular meeting schedule and location.
   1. Discuss specifically the goal of the subcommittee. It is important for all members to be clear about the purpose of their work. This will make it easier to determine the path for achieving it and reduce the likelihood that the team will be anything less than fully successful. Articulate a goal—one that each member understands with absolute clarity—that describes the importance of a clear understanding of this area in order to assure that the essential components are in place to achieve successful offender reentry.
       
2. Discuss the composition of the subcommittee team. Determine whether additional expertise is needed to accomplish your task and if so, enlist the participation of others who are well positioned to help.
    
3. Develop a strategy to undertake the analysis phase of your work. To develop a comprehensive understanding of your area of responsibility, it will be necessary for the subcommittee to collect the following:
    
• Offender Population Data: Identify the data that would be helpful in understanding your assigned issue area in a more specific way. Spend a full work session asking yourselves, “If we had data to tell us everything we needed to know about this issue, what would that report include?” Make a list of your responses (for example, for a team working on offender reentry issues, “What is the marketable skill level of the incarcerated population?” “Of the offenders in need of housing upon release, how many have no contact provisions and what are the relevant restrictions?”).
   
• System Mapping: Develop a system map that reflects the processes and decision points in the area you are examining. System maps detail the specific steps that are taken in moving an individual through a system of activities. They reflect the professionals involved at key decision points and the time that elapses between each step of the process. Before embarking on the development of a new system map, be sure that one that is relevant to your work has not already been developed.
   
• Resource Inventory: Develop a resource inventory that documents the program and services currently available in your area. Resources include specialized expertise by certain individuals, services available to support staff in the accomplishment of their work, services available to support offenders, etc. Document the services and capacity available, the extent to which these services are utilized, etc. (Some examples of ‘resources’ include: individuals who provide offender services or those who have the capacity to serve as trainers on important issues; the number of supervision officers and particular areas of expertise or specialization some might possess; the vocational training services available to offenders; or the types of treatment services available to support offenders).
   
• Policy and Practice Analysis: Determine as a group the additional information you need to collect in order to understand your area.
  • Consider collecting agency policies that reflect the philosophies and procedures used to make decisions or deliver services.
  • Consider interviewing key staff (either individually or in a focus group) to develop a deeper understanding of the way things really work.
  • Consider observing key practices (depending on the issue at hand, examples might include an offender treatment group, a court hearing, a release planning session, etc.) to enhance your knowledge and understanding further.
     
• Best Practices Analysis: Understanding one’s own system of offender management and service delivery is best assessed against the backdrop of national best practices. In this last stage of information gathering, look outside the state to understand what has already been learned through empirical research, and the best practices and evidence–based approaches that have been adopted in other jurisdictions.
   
• Gaps Analysis: Once the information noted above is collected, subcommittees should organize and synthesize it in such a way that members of the larger team can: (1) understand the current state of practice in this area, and (2) the strengths and weaknesses of the current state of practice. While the subcommittee’s role is not to make decisions regarding actions that might be taken to address the gaps identified in current practice, it will be valuable for the subcommittee to be prepared to share their thinking about this with the full team.

Subcommittee Work Products

Subcommittees should work toward the preparation of a final report—verbal and written—to the larger team that synthesizes the way in which the work was conducted; that provides, in essence, a detailed review of the findings from the information collection and analysis phase; and that provides the subcommittee’s recommendations for advancing this particular area of work. The subcommittees’ written products should include reports detailing the above, with attachments representing meeting records, information collected, etc. In the interim period before subcommittees are prepared to make their final report, progress reports will be expected and will serve as ‘check in’ points to elicit feedback from the full team on the progress and direction of each subcommittee.

Subcommittee Timelines

While each subcommittee will have the ability to develop its own work plan and accompanying time line, subcommittees are expected to complete their work within a timeframe that has been agreed upon by the full team.