Whether as a part of a university or personal professional development plan it is appropriate to consider developing or refreshing your individual skills or knowledge in a particular area. This kind of training focuses on particular skills like understanding financial reports or makreting, or knowledge of corporate director's duties. These are in some respects the components of the governor's toolkit - and every governor should have one.

An important principle here is the collective authority and responsibility for decisions of the governing body. As every individual on the governing bodies is personally accountable for the collective actions of that body, each individual has a personal responsibility to understand the actions being endorse. It is not sufficient to believe that governor X has sufficient financial skills or governor Y has sufficient legal knowledge - every member of the governing body needs sufficient skills to reassure themselves that X or Y's assessment and recommendation are sound and deserving of the support given.

Consequently courses addressing specific skills are profligate in the market, and the UGPD Program has not sought to duplicate these. Nor, it should be understood, does the Program have the resources to audit these courses and make recommendations on quality. We are seeking to develop a comprehensive list of providers and courses, preferable with links through to their own websites, and we welcome any referals or provider approaches. In due course this list will be organised by the topics prioritised using the information we have received by the chancellors and universities.

Three leading providers in governance professional development are

• Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA)
• Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD)
• Enterprise Care Not For Profit Services

*Note: prices were derived from provider at time of writing and are indicative only. Some prices vary with location, etc.