governance

High standards of governance across the voluntary and community sector are critical to ensuring the confidence of key stakeholders. It is the organisation’s responsibility to ensure that governance structures and procedures follow good practice and of course the law. Governance is about leadership and ensuring that an organisation is effectively and properly run.

Governance includes:

• creating a clear, shared vision
• formulating plans and policies to bring about the organisation's objectives
• recruiting and supervising the Chief Executive Officer
• ensuring compliance with policy and the law
• keeping within budget.

NICVA's Governance and Charity Advice Service provides practical training on a variety of issues regarding the governance of organisations, such as understanding your governing document, committee and trustee responsibilities, director’s duties of a charitable company and risk assessment.

Good Governance: A Code for the voluntary and community sector

The Minister for Social Development, Margaret Ritchie MLA, launched the Code of Good Governance for the Voluntary and Community Sector on behalf of the Developing Governance Group at a special seminar in NICVA on the 6 June 2008. The Minister said that

“I warmly welcome the publication of this Code of Good Governance. It can assist voluntary organisations in developing and enhancing their governance systems.”

Judging by the great attendance at the Launch, over 130 participants, there appears to be already a significant interest in the Code throughout the voluntary and community sector. The sector has been waiting on the official launch of this Code since summer of last year when the Developing Governance Group consulted on a draft Code which received a very positive response.

Thanks to funding secured from Lloyds TSB Foundation the Code has now been printed in a pocket sized booklet and committee/board room posters have also been produced. Each of the Developing Governance Group members have made a commitment to distribute the Code and a poster to each of their members. The Group are currently working on redesigning the diycommiteeguide website to map all of its online resources to each of the 7 Principles of the Code.

For practical help and support in adhering to these principles visit www.diycommitteeguide.org

For further information contact the Secretariat which is provided by Denise McCann, NICVA and Denise Hayward, Volunteer Development Agency.

Download a copy of the Code of Good Governance.

Developing Governance Group

The Developing Governance Group is made up of the following sector support organisations: Age Concern NI, Community Evaluation NI, Community Change, Help the Aged, NICVA, Early Years (formerly NIPPA), NI Sports Forum, Sport NI, North West Community Network, Rural Community Network, St John Ambulance, Supporting Communities NI, Volunteer Development Agency and Youthnet.

Trustee and Management Committee National Occupational Standards (NOS)

The NOS were developed to compliment the Governance Code and focus on the role of the individual trustee, those people responsible for governance, and emphasise learning and development.

You can download a free copy from the workforce hub website if you register as a user.

Need Governance Advice?

NICVA’sgovernance and charity advice service has been offering an advice and information service to organisations in the sector for a number of years now. Practical help is available in the form of drafting and amending governing documents, helping organisations get recognised as charities and providing governance training. In addition, NICVA’s dedicated governance and charity advice page offers online advice and houses the most up to date charity and company law reform information. NICVA has recently expanded this service to include Governance Reviews for small to medium sized organisations.