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Community Trusts Self-Assessment Tool
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Name of TrustMetro Wind Community Trust
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Date of Submission
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Respondents
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Respondent(s) Name: Respondent(s) Title: Section/s Completed: Contact:
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Introduction
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The Community Trusts Self-Assessment Tool is designed to assist trusts in evaluating their organizational capacity, governance structures, and overall effectiveness in fulfilling their mandate. This self-assessment tool provides a structured framework for trusts, especially those established under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), to reflect critically on their internal operations, identify their strengths, and recognize opportunities for improvement.

The toolkit is focused on assessing essential areas such as governance, vision and strategy, impactful delivery and capacity ensuring that trusts are positioned to meet both community needs and regulatory requirements. By understanding these components, trusts will be better equipped to enhance their ability to deliver sustainable and impactful outcomes.

This self-assessment is based on INSPIRE’s Trust Maturity Framework, which analyses trust operations across four key pillars: Governance, Vision & Strategy, Impactful Delivery, and Capacity. Each pillar focuses on a critical area of trust functions, with tool designed to help trusts assess their current performance and development needs within these domains.

Objectives of the Self-Assessment:
- To provide a clear and structured approach for evaluating trust governance, capacity, and performance.
- To promote continuous improvement by identifying areas that require further development.
- To ensure that the trust’s operations align with community expectations, regulatory frameworks (e.g., REIPPPP), and sustainable development goals.
- To support the trust in fulfilling its mandate to benefit communities and contribute to socioeconomic development.

Who Should Complete the Self-Assessment?
The self-assessment should be completed by individuals with a deep understanding of the trust’s operations, we hope you can complete it collaboratively, including:
- Trustees (incl indeotendent & community trustees).
- Trust employees.
- Trust administrators.
- Key team members of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) who can provide insights into governance and strategic alignment with REIPPPP.
If necessary, external consultants or facilitators can be engaged to ensure impartiality and objectivity in completing the assessment.

Confidentiality:
INSPIRE agrees to:
• Maintain the confidentiality of the Confidential Information shared by Trusts and not disclose it to any third party without the prior written consent of the Trusts.
• Use the Confidential Information solely for the purpose of evaluating the maturity of Trusts in REIPPPP and identifying key weaknesses that need strengthening.
• Take all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of the Confidential Information, which shall be no less than the steps it takes to protect its own confidential information.


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Instructions
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The self-assessment is divided into several sections to guide you through evaluating your trust's governance, capacity, and performance. Below are the steps for completing each part of the self-assessment tool:

Step 1: Understand the Sections and Sheets
The self-assessment is structured into seven sheets in total:
- Intro Sheet: This section provides instructions for completing the tool and space to record details about who is completing the assessment.
- Trust Profile: This sheet contains basic and open-ended questions about your trust, such as its name, mission, history, and operational details.
- Pillar 1: Governance: This section assesses your trust’s governance structures, including founding documents, mandate, and operational processes.
- Pillar 2: Vision & Strategy: This section evaluates the trust’s strategic planning, long-term goals, and alignment with its mandate and community needs.
- Pillar 3: Impactful Delivery: This part looks at how the trust translates its strategy into effective community impact through programs and operations.
- Pillar 4: Capacity: This section assesses the trust’s resources, systems, and internal capacity to manage operations effectively.
- Summary Sheet: This final sheet compiles all responses and provides an overview of your trust's scores, averages per pillar, and overall results.

Step 2: Read Each Question and Category Carefully
In each pillar section (Governance, Vision & Strategy, Impactful Delivery, Capacity), you will see a table with a series of subcategories (e.g., "Founding Documents" or "Strategic Goals"). Each subcategory contains level descriptions from Level 1 to Level 4, with statements that describe how a trust performs in that area. You will rate your trust’s performance by selecting the level that best reflects your current practices.

Step 3: Answer Honestly and Objectively
Answer each question with a focus on how your trust currently operates. Be honest and transparent in your evaluation, and involve other key stakeholders (such as trustees, staff, and community representatives) where necessary to ensure your answers are well-rounded. For each subcategory, select the level that most closely aligns with your trust’s current state. If you are unsure, consider gathering input from those with specific knowledge of the area being assessed.

Step 4: Record Your Scores
- For each subcategory, choose the level (1–4) that best describes your trust's performance and enter this score in the designated column. There are descriptions of each level, please do your best to ascertain which level resonates best with your trust. Additionally, use the following columns in each pillar sheet:
- NA (Not Applicable): If a question or subcategory does not apply to your trust, select "NA" and explain why in the comments section.
- Target for Next Year: After evaluating your current level, set a target for the next year. What would you like to achieve? Use this space to indicate the level or specific goals you plan to work towards in the coming year.
- Comments: Use this section to add any supporting details, explanations, or context for the score you’ve chosen. This could include challenges, improvements, or successes in each area.

Step 5: Complete All Sections
Once you’ve reviewed each pillar and provided your responses, make sure all questions are answered, and every subcategory has a score or explanation. The Trust Profile sheet must be filled out before moving to the pillar sheets, as it provides essential background information about your trust that will help in the assessment process.

Step 6: Submit to INSPIRE
Please save your file as: "SELFASSESSMENT_TRUST_NAME_YEAR" and submit to INSPIRE as an attachment by emailing holle@inspire-excellence.net

Step 7: Review and Reflect
After completing the self-assessment, review your responses and reflect on your findings. Discuss the results with key members of your trust’s leadership team and relevant stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and celebrate strengths. The Summary Sheet will give you an overview of your trust's performance across all pillars, helping you see where the most significant gaps lie.
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Notes:- Do NOT change anything in the SUMMARY sheet
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- Please do not delete/ add cells to the sheet. Feel free to use the comments section for any additional info
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* This assessment is adopted from the Organisational Development Assessment Guide developed by Bridgespan Group under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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