Over the past 30 years, board committee structures have been streamlined. Many boards are looking for more flexible ways of managing their workload while adjusting to the board’s evolving needs. According to XXX, the average number of standing board committees is 4.1 with most boards having four or fewer committees. In 1994, boards had an average of 6.6 committees.

Delegate or not to delegate various tasks to specific committees is a debatable question. Most boards consider committees an essential part of their structure. Traditionally, the bylaws define the standing committees and their roles. According to XXX, the most common standing board committees in non-profits are finance, executive, fundraising/development or governance and nominating.

To allow for flexibility, the bylaws could authorize the board to form committees as necessary and allow for policies to define the details. In addition, boards can form ad hoc committees or task forces that are created to carry out a specific task.

Small and particularly cohesive boards may find that they need no committees at all. Board members manage the workload together as a committee of the whole or delegate tasks to individual board members. This requires effective leadership and commitment from every member.

If you are being hired by a small but promising computer vision startup with the task to create a perfect board in front of first significant round of investments, what would you suggest in terms of size, structure and diversity of the board? Be as detailed as possible