Matching is where BoardCompanions earns its keep. A good match creates value on both sides for years. A poor one wastes a board seat, wastes a Companion's goodwill, and costs us credibility with the next funder who hears about it. We are deliberate about how we run this.
The process looks different depending on whether you're applying as a Companion, approaching us as an organisation, or watching from the sidelines trying to understand what happens. This page walks through the shared spine of the process, then shows the two main paths: matching events (our preferred method once a country has enough pipeline) and direct matching.
The spine of every match
Every placement — whether it came out of a matching event or a direct introduction — goes through the same core steps.
- Organisation intake. An SPO submits the intake profile and speaks with the country team. The team either qualifies the opportunity or, honestly, declines it if the fit is wrong.
- Companion intake. Alumni (and other qualified candidates) apply, interview with the country team, sign the Charter, and join the active pool.
- Briefing. The country team turns each qualified organisation into a briefing — a structured document that tells Companions what the organisation does, what it needs, and what a good match looks like. Briefings are how Companions decide which opportunities to respond to.
- Introduction. Companions and organisations meet — either in a matching event or in a one-to-one introduction.
- Decision. Both sides decide, in their own time, whether to proceed. The country team helps by checking in, answering questions, and managing expectations about timelines.
- Placement. When both sides agree, we formalise the match, record the placement, and the Companion starts their onboarding directly with the organisation. Mutual publicity is discussed at this point.
- Follow-up. The country team checks in at roughly one month, three months, and six-to-twelve months to see how the placement is going.
Matching events
Our preferred path once we have enough pipeline. A matching event pulls together several organisations and a larger set of Companions into a single focused event.
When it runs
A country team opens a round when it has:
- Three or more organisations ready with briefings.
- Roughly ten or more available Companions in the pool who fit at least one of the briefings.
- A realistic event date — either in-person at a venue the country team has hosted or can host, or online (Zoom with breakout rooms) when participants are geographically spread out.
Countries like Germany, where the Companion and SPO base sits across several cities, run many rounds online. Belgium and the Netherlands more often go in-person.
What happens before the event
Briefings go out to the Companion pool — on the site (behind login) and as PDF by email, so Companions can read them on the train. Companions respond by indicating which organisations they'd like to meet. The country team uses those responses to pre-match: which Companions should definitely meet which organisations, which are "backup" matches, and which conversations to skip.
The event itself
Rough shape of a typical matching event:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome and orientation |
| 0:15 | Each organisation presents its opportunity (two to three minutes) |
| 0:45 | Rotating conversations: Companions move between organisation tables (or breakout rooms) for eight-to-twelve-minute conversations |
| 1:30 | Open networking |
| 2:00 | Wrap-up and next steps |
Rotations are tight by design. The goal is not to decide, but to generate a high-signal shortlist of "I want to talk to this person again" on both sides.
After the event
Both sides rank their top interests. The country team facilitates follow-up conversations for the matches with mutual interest — usually within two to four weeks — and steps back as soon as the two sides are comfortable talking directly.
Direct matching
Direct matching is how we start, and how we handle specific cases.
It works like this: the country team identifies three to five Companions who seem right for a given organisation, sends them the briefing, and gauges interest. Those who want to learn more meet the organisation in one-to-one introductions (video call, phone, or in-person, depending on geography). From there, the process is the same as a matching event: mutual decision, confirmed match, follow-up.
We use direct matching when:
- The country is still small and a matching event would be thin.
- A specific organisation has an urgent or narrowly-defined need where broad exposure wouldn't add value.
- A matching-event introduction didn't close at the event but both sides want to continue the conversation.
- Logistics don't allow a scheduled round — the organisation needs someone this quarter, not next.
Direct matching is slower per placement than a matching event but works reliably from the first mandate onward. Every new country starts here.
Timelines (realistic)
We get asked this a lot. Honest answer:
| From... | To... | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Application as Companion | Joining the pool | 1–3 weeks |
| Organisation intake | Briefing ready | 2–4 weeks |
| Briefing out | First introductions | Depends on the next round — days to a few months |
| First introduction | Decision to proceed | 2–4 weeks (matching event), 2–6 weeks (direct) |
| Decision to proceed | Active board involvement | 1–3 months, depending on the organisation's board schedule |
The slowest steps are the ones we do not control — the organisation's own governance calendar, the Companion's other obligations, and the work of actually joining a board. The parts we do control, we try to run briskly.
What we don't automate
A deliberate design choice: matching itself is manual. Every pre-match is a judgement call by the country team based on the briefing, the Companion's profile, and the responses that came back. We think this is where the human in the loop matters most. When a match falls apart at month four, it is almost always because somebody missed a subtle signal at the briefing stage. The software can distribute briefings, capture responses, and track placements. It cannot replace the country team's read of the two people they are putting in a room.
What happens after placement
Once a Companion joins a board, BoardCompanions steps into the background. We still:
- Provide reference material and templates the Companion can pull from.
- Run Companion peer exchanges where Companions swap notes on what is and isn't working on their boards.
- Keep the country team reachable for questions on either side.
- Ask both sides for feedback at roughly one, three, and six-to-twelve months — not because we want to manage the relationship, but because we want to learn from it.
When a Companion's mandate ends — whether after the standard term, because the mission shifted, or because something changed on either side — we're happy to have the conversation about whether a new match makes sense. Most active Companions serve on more than one board over time.
Ready to start?
Two paths in:
- Apply as a Companion → for-companions
- Work with us as an organisation → for-organizations
Questions that don't fit either path go to the country team via your country page.