Introduction
What is Governance, who provides it and why is it important?
The Governance Hub defines governance as:
"the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision and accountability of an organisation" - Cornforth via ChangeUp (2004)
The following is taken directly from their website:
"In voluntary and community sector organisations, governance is provided by the board of trustees. This group oversees the organisation, making sure it fulfils its mission, lives up to its values and remains viable for the future.
To do this, the board sets up a variety of systems to control and monitor the organisation’s activity. It makes decisions along the way, altering the systems as needed. In doing this, the board carries out governance.
Good governance is key to the health and success of an organisation and is therefore high on the agenda in all sectors, public, private and voluntary. As voluntary and community organisations working for public benefit, we are increasingly held accountable for our outcomes and expected to demonstrate how well we are governed. Efficient and transparent systems of governance really are of paramount importance today.
Governance is a big subject, encompassing many aspects of organisational business. It can be difficult for boards to know what they need to do to govern responsibly. Fortunately, there is guidance available…"
Feedback from charity trustees/ committee members has indicated the need for help in accessing the wide range of information available. The aim of this Roadmap therefore is to provide an accessible, understandable signposting guide for finding vital information and/ or help, in particular the difficulty of keeping up to date with changes in legislation.
Note: As a general point it is important to prioritise basic legal requirements and then subsequently look at improving effectiveness. Although there is a lot of excellent readable introductory material out there, it does not always represent a full statement of the law.
In general, the Charity Commission’s guides are vital as they capture the legal/ compliance element. It is also important to be aware that Scottish, Northern Irish and other international sites, whilst having excellent material on general issues, will refer to local charity laws which may differ from those applying in England and Wales. Where links to such sites are given a reminder to this effect has been added.
