HIFIS 4 Advisory Committee

A common practice in communities is to form a larger HIFIS 4 Advisory Group, that includes not only the HIFIS Project Team, but also representatives from the Partner Agencies that will be included in consultations.

Sample Governance Diagram 

To form a HIFIS 4 Advisory Group, identify a list of your stakeholders that, as part of your Stakeholder Engagement Plan, should be consulted on a regular basis. 

Next, you'll need to define their responsibilities. It's a good idea to be clear on what's expected. You could run into a problem if some of the HIFIS 4 Advisory Group members think they have authority to make decisions, if their role is simply to advise. Likewise, you could run into difficulties if you are trying to obtain feedback from them but they think they're simply being informed of what's going on. This can be accomplished through defining the group's Terms of Reference or Governance Charter.

Finally, what are your expectations regarding meetings and attendance? It's a good idea to let your HIFIS 4 Advisory Group members know how much of their time you will be demanding. For example, many communities have a regular meeting once per month, while others may simply schedule meetings as needed. Or the group may convene for a one or two day workshop, and then communicate via email after that.

From HIFIS 4 Implementation Guide Appendix A:

Sample Terms of Reference

Purpose

The HIFIS Working Group will direct the HIFIS project to conclusion through governance related deliberation and decision-making.

Responsibilities

Through collaboration, the committee will:

• Serve as the decision-making authority on project issues, risk mitigation and scope;
• Act as the approving body for project deliverables;
• Advise and provide strategic project and program oversight and direction;
• Provide effective, timely, and consistent communications to the project team and stakeholders;
• Ensure alignment with government, community and funding organizations and initiatives;
• Serve as the primary advocate for the project.

Chair

• The HIFIS Working Group meetings will be chaired by the HIFIS Lead.

Membership of the HIFIS Governance

• HIFIS Lead or Project Manager
• Coordinated Access Lead
• Director, Service Provider A
• Director, Service Provider B
• Community/Governmental Representatives
• End User Representatives (Shelter/Outreach Managers)
• Funding Representatives
• HIFIS Business Analyst

Reporting Structure

Escalations and communications to executives will leverage the existing reporting structure:

• Community Entity Representative
• Vice President, Homeless Services
• Executive Director, Service Provider A
• Executive Director, Service Provider B

Reporting out of the working group to the project will be conducted through the subworking groups for each of the project work streams.

Reporting to the stakeholder community will follow the protocols set forth in the Communications Plan.

Decision-Making Process

Decisions will be made by consensus and recorded in the HIFIS Working Group minutes that each member has acknowledged agreement to that decision.

In order to reach consensus, a quorum is required. For the purposes of the working group, a quorum requires a minimum of four members where service provider, funders and community members are represented.

If the working group cannot reach consensus on a decision, it will be escalated to the executives identified in the ‘Reporting Structure’ section above.

Should a decision be required prior to the next scheduled meeting, an out-of-band meeting will be set up. If a meeting cannot be coordinated, an email requesting decision support will be sent out to the committee members.

HIFIS Working Group members shall not provide votes by proxy.

Approval of Deliverables

Project deliverables will be sent via email to committee members when they are ready to enter the review and approval process. As a guide, committee members will have five business days to review and provide feedback or approval on project deliverables.

Confidentiality

All confidential information that comes into the possession of the committee members is for the sole purpose of enabling the committee to seek solutions to issues requiring strategic counsel. Committee members will not share any confidential information; use confidential information only as required to enable the member to perform his or her duties on the committee and not use the confidential information for any other purpose.

Frequency of Meetings

The HIFIS Working Group will meet on the first Tuesday of each month. As required, additional meetings may be held at the call of the Chair. A teleconference will be set up for members that cannot attend in person.

Meeting minutes will be distributed to the members within two weeks after a meeting.

The agenda and presentation will be distributed a minimum of 3 business days prior to a scheduled meeting.

Evaluation

The terms of reference will be reviewed annually.