Governance
Trustee succession plan
Formal definition
Trustee succession plan is a plan in governance focused on structuring board and committee oversight so decisions are lawful, documented, and accountable.
What this actually means for you
Trustees and governance leads should treat Trustee succession plan as an operating standard: make decision rights explicit, record rationale, and keep evidence linked to actions and owners, then review it before board and committee decisions.
Example: In a live quarterly cycle, Trustee succession plan is applied like this: board papers include risk, options, and recommendation fields so minutes capture a clear audit trail. The team then records the decision trail in roadmaps, timelines, and accountable action plans.
Related guides and whitepapers
Read deeper guidance and implementation detail connected to this term.
A grounded guide to working well with lived experience advisors in UK charities: paid, supported, respected, given real authority. Practical practice and policy.
A practical succession planning guide for UK charity chief executives, chairs, trustees and specialists. Proportionate, written down, refreshed annually.
How to write a UK charity EDI policy that staff and trustees actually use: structure, length, operational hooks, and the governance that keeps it alive.
A grounded sustainability guide for small UK charities: where to start, what is proportionate, what counts as greenwashing, and the governance that makes it real.