introduction
who is this section for?
When a community group has just started up with, say, 2 to 3 people working on a voluntary basis, the same people are usually involved in both the operational (or management) and the leadership (governance) aspects of the group. That's perfectly alright.
However, this section is aimed at those groups that perhaps have started (or are about to start) employing people or who have obtained some kind of public funding. In this situation, the separation between the management and governance roles becomes important because you become accountable to certain people (e.g. funders) for certain things (e.g. how funds have been spent and how you work with your employees).
words used
Throughout this section we use the term "governing body" which is meant to include:
- a "board" either in the commonly used general sense of the word meaning a formal structure (as opposed to a "management committee" for example) or more specifically with reference to a board of directors (in the case of a company)
- a "(management) committee" either in the general sense of the word meaning an informal structure (compared to a "board") or more specifically with reference to committee members of a society
- "trustees" (in the case of a charitable trust).
Sometimes the word "member" is also used to refer to the individuals that make up a governing body.
what's in this section?
The way in which non-governmental organisation (NGOs) and community-based organisations are governed varies from group to group as there are many governance models that exist. Although a governing body (board or committee) of an organisation should design an approach to governance that suits their organisation, there are some core roles and functions of governance that they should be aware of.
Throughout the rest of this section we look at these core roles and functions of a governing body. We also look at:
- the difference between governance and management responsibilities
- the roles of office holders — treasurer, secretary, chairperson
- the extra dimensions to Māori governance
- governing body recruitment, retention, orientation, succession planning and evaluation.
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