Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Board Evaluation

Board evaluation holds a mirror up to progress. In 2010, as we begin the second decade of the 21st century, what do we see?

When NACD convened a Blue Ribbon Commission in 2000 to explore the practice of board self-evaluation, this practice was still relatively new. Only a minority of boards were conducting regular, formal self-evaluations. Most of these focused on the board as a whole—not on committees, much less individuals. Today, board and director evaluations have become commonplace in the boardroom, with a number of organizations, including NACD, advising this activity.

The release of the original 2001 edition of the Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Board Evaluation helped to popularize the practice on a voluntary basis, thanks to the clear benefits of this activity. But it was not until mid-decade, following a November 2003 New York Stock Exchange requirement, that evaluations really began to flourish. The “Big Board” required that nominating and governance committees oversee the evaluation of the board, key committees, and management. In 2005, recognizing this activity, we produced a second edition of this report.