Governance & Management

This Guide is designed to help you ensure your organisation establishes effective practices and policies to develop and maintain good governance.

NOTE: The new Community Resource Kit covers similar topics for new or small organisations. See especially 02 planning and 04 governance.

This How-to Guide will be revised to remove duplication, when time allows.

Contents include a board orientation checklist, links to sample policies, and alternative structures and models.

While governance can be defined simply as: setting and monitoring the direction of an organisation;  ensuring it remains financially sound; and ensuring legal compliance, in practice it is never that simple.  Good governance depends on developing good working relationships with those who do the day-to-day work of the organisation. 

Resources collected in this toolkit are designed to help you access quality and up-to-date information to assist in building and maintaining these relationships.

Please email relevant news, links or other information to information@community.net.nz

Currently, we are looking for a new editor for this How To Guide, with the Departments' Digital Strategy Team looking after it in the meantime. If you have an interest in Governance and Management and would like to take on this role, please email us as above.

News   (Go to full list of 10 items)

• People First's e-news focuses on Policies and Procedures

  Hands up if you like Policies and Procedures? Very few do. Yet, not-for-profits need workable policies and procedures across all areas of their operations.
  Date added: 31 March 2010

• Not-for-profit employees: they are worth it!

  “Love Factor” is a nice, cuddly term for the difference between the pay that employees in the not-for-profit sector are willing to accept and what they might receive in the broader employment market.
  Date added: 17 February 2010

• New not-for-profit survey released

  Date added: 9 July 2008

Full List

Publications / Resources   (Go to full list of 21 items)

• Board development workbooks

  The Muttart Foundation of Canada has published workbooks to help charitable agencies examine their methods of operation and different ways of doing business.
  Date updated: 1 April 2010

• Managing Well resource catalogue

  The Managing Well resource catalogue (online in the Community Centre section of this web site) includes references or links to manuals, websites, information sheets, books, and other documents, and a list of organisations that can help you in this area.
  Date updated: 7 December 2009

• PilchConnect

  PILCH is a leading not-for-profit organisation in Victoria, Australia that acts as a facilitator or go-between for pro bono legal assistance between the community and the private legal profession.
  Date updated: 5 July 2010

Full List

Templates   (Go to full list of 6 items)

• Sample board policies

  This sample set of board policies provides a good starting point for any organisation wanting to develop board policies.
  Date updated: 12 January 2006

• Board recruitment checklists

  Here are some templates to help you find the right people for your board.
  Date updated: 12 January 2006

• Governance Checkup

  This is a checklist that can be used with a board/committee to enable them to consider the range of issues they are responsible for. It is intended to raise issues for ongoing discussion about the role of the board/committee
  Date updated: 11 January 2006

Full List

Case Studies

• Māori organisational governance studies

  These two joint Te Puni Kōkiri / Federation of Māori Authorities studies each contain 10 case studies from a range of for-profit and not-for-profit Māori organisations.
  Date updated: 15 May 2009

• Te Whaiti School Tipu Ake leadership model

  Te Whaiti School in Te Urewera have developed a leadership model for innovative organisations called Tipu Ake ki te Ora. The model is easily applied, action focused and exploits Kiwi style teamwork.
  Date updated: 15 September 2006

• Teams at work

  A extensive series of case studies and articles looking at teams and team management.
  Date updated: 23 November 2004

Email Lists

• Charity Channel Forum

  BOARDS (from CharityChannel) US based discussion lists covering a wide range of topics. The Boards forum focusses on all aspects of nonprofit/NGO governance, board issues such as board creation and function, board member responsibility in fund raising, board member liability and other legal issues involving board members, policies, etc. 3-5 messages a day.
  Date updated: 11 November 2004

• Board Cafe

  This monthly electronic newsletter is designed for members of non-profit boards of directors. It provides a range of ideas, information, opinion, news, and resources to help board members.
  Date updated: 21 February 2005

Websites   (Go to full list of 16 items)

• Free Complete Toolkit for Boards (USA)

  A range of articles about setting up running and evaluating boards. This website also has a wide range of other resources for community groups and their boards.
  Date added: 7 November 2002

• Management Alternatives (Australia)

  This Australian website has a wide range of articles, links, and resources covering topics including evaluation, policy development, income generation, sample questionnaires, community development ...
  Date added: 6 November 2002

• Association Resource Centre

  NZ membership organisation providing support for community organisations
  Date added: 6 November 2002

Full List