USACA Governance Review
The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), as part of its continuous endeavor to promote the growth and development of cricket in America, has completed its Governance Review exercise. TSE Consulting has released the Governance Review Report today.
Following a global Request for Proposal in November 2012, the USACA Governance Review Committee received responses from a wide range of highly qualified potential partners who had worked on governance reviews for entities such as Cricket Ireland, Cricket Australia, Cricket Canada, and various other leading national sports organisations. After extensive review, TSE Consulting was appointed by USACA in April 2013. TSE Consulting has wide-ranging experience advising international and national sports bodies in this area, including and among others, Athletics (IAAF), Basketball (FIBA), Swimming (FINA), and Archery (World Archery), and in the US in particular, the United States Olympic Committee, US Rowing, USA Luge, and USA Taekwondo.
TSE Consulting delivered a comprehensive report to the Governance Review Committee of USACA, the governing body for cricket in the United States and an Associate Member Nation of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The Governance Review Report was delivered following a comprehensive process that spanned a period of twenty weeks.
Major recommendations from the report include: restructuring the composition and selection procedures of the USACA Board of Directors, through the inclusion of Independent Directors and player representatives; increased attention to development pathways for skill progression from grassroots to elite; enhanced administrative support for regional clubs; and, increased emphasis on member service and programme delivery. While some recommendations would enable USACA to operate similarly to leading cricket federations worldwide, others would help to establish USACA as a global leader in governance reform through unique and progressive action. The USACA Board will consider the recommendations in preparation for its Annual General Meeting, to be held on November 16, 2013 in Florida.
TSE conducted numerous surveys and interviews with USACA constituents and external stakeholders, including member leagues, regional executives, USACA Board Members and ICC officials, as well as players and coaches. TSE also undertook a thorough review of the current governance model of USACA, and benchmarked it against best-managed cricket federations in the world, best practices of high-performing organisations in the United States, best-administered Olympic and non-Olympic sports organisations in the United States, and high-performance programmes of the most successful sports federations in the world. The benchmark analysis, combined with survey results and interviews, helped to frame the recommendations provided in the report.
Brian Walters, Chairman of the USACA Governance Review Committee, stated: “We needed an external eye to review our governance and TSE has provided an insightful report that digs deep into our organisation. Our Governance Review Committee has taken this task extremely seriously, and TSE has been an excellent partner in ensuring that the right questions were asked to challenge our status quo. This report contains some ‘tough medicine’, but we believe that we will ultimately be a better organisation after having implemented the recommended changes. It is now up to us to make those changes to our organisation, as we are committed to moving our sport forward and establishing cricket as a sport for all Americans.”
Dale Neuburger, Director, TSE Consulting North America, stated: “It is never easy to let external consultants come in and make recommendations that may lead to significant change. USACA, and everyone we spoke with during the preparation of this Report, was committed to promoting transparency and objectivity in all phases of the review. USACA worked hard to be inclusive and to solicit input from all segments of the cricketing community. Thus, we have been able to deliver a report that can have a positive impact on the future success of cricket in the United States. This is the first step in a longer process of change for the USACA, and we are glad to have been a part of it.”
The USACA Board of Directors, recognising the need to establish a groundswell for governance change throughout all segments of the organisation, will review the Governance Review Report, including the recommendations made by TSE Consulting, in the coming days and establish a methodology for personal communication with stakeholders and constituents.
For a copy of the Executive Summary of the Report, visit www.usaca.org.
