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Uncovering the Hidden Power of Boards & Commissions

By Chai Lee, Program Director, Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute

Boards, committees, commissions, task forces, and advisory groups guide every institution of power. They operate at all levels of government, from the neighborhood, city, regional, and county levels to the state, national, and international spheres. And in today’s volatile atmosphere of political uncertainty, it has never been more important to have a seat at the table.

What Are Boards & Commissions?

At the most basic level of community work, there may be neighborhood boards in your city that help with resident engagement, advise on development activities or city projects, and liaison with local government to alert the community about upcoming policy changes and initiatives.

  • e.g.: Minneapolis neighborhood associations and St. Paul district councils

Local government boards oversee specific municipal or county departments, such as finance, planning and zoning, education, health, or economic and workforce development. These boards are typically composed of appointed or elected officials (sometimes both) who make important decisions and policies that affect their departments.

Local government committees—like budget advisory committees, environmental committees, and human rights committees—advise governments in the decision-making process through research and policy debate. Committee members are usually picked for their lived experience, expertise on a subject matter, or their vocation.

  • e.g.: A historical preservation committee may have seats dedicated to a lawyer and a local historian.

Commissions are the most powerful forms of boards, as they have the authority to oversee and regulate specific areas (such as giving permits for land use) and even have quasi-judicial powers, resolving disputes and regulating issues under their jurisdiction. Some examples:

  • The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is empowered by both state and federal statute to enforce laws around land use, environmental policies, and air and water pollution.
  • The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) enforces US labor law around collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. The NLRB is governed by a five-person board and a general counsel, all of whom are appointed by the president with the consent of the senate.
  • The International Joint Commission is made up of members appointed by US and Canada governments to advise on watershed activities along the lakes and rivers that straddle the border.

Understanding the Power of Boards, Committees & Commissions

All public boards are a place where the common person can help advise government and exercise their own power and agency. Whether you represent your neighbors, peers, colleagues, or other constituent group, when you sit at the table of a board or commission, you give power to the many others behind you who may not have a voice.

  • If you sit on a planning commission, you can affect what decision the city may make with an empty parcel of land in your neighborhood. Will it become a pawn shop, a grocery store, a school, a liquor store, or a gas station?
  • If you sit on a state public health board, you can decide which public health issues and diseases may be funded for research.
  • If you sit on a county board, you can impact how direct social services are maintained, funded, and executed.
  • If you sit on an international board, you can help decide how foreign aid may be deployed in the next conflict zone or humanitarian crisis.

The Strength in Other Public Boards

In addition to traditional public bodies empowered by local government or enshrined in state and federal law, we must think of boards that are adjacent to the public sector–even if they are political. Boards are boards, even as elected bodies:

  • A school board is just a board–their members are elected and have taxing authority, which is one of the highest forms of legal power in a government.
  • A supreme court body is just a group of judges sitting as a board.
  • The legislature is simply a board of elected officials.
  • The United Nations and the European Union are formal boards, where all diplomats are appointed members who represent their legal sovereign.
  • A confederacy or federation are just fancy political-science terms for a board of different member sovereign states at a regional or international level.

Further Reading

Learn more in our next post, A Path to Power: Nexus’ Leadership Work with Boards & Commissions