What is Governance?

Governance is about leadership and ensuring an organisation is effectively and appropriately run.

Across Northern Ireland, voluntary and community sector organisations are playing a key role, delivering local support services, helping individuals and groups, and providing numerous benefits to the public. In turn, those organisations receive a range of support, from funding to volunteer time, skills and knowledge. That is why it is so vital that organisations can retain the public’s trust and confidence.

Good governance ensures an organisation’s direction, effectiveness, supervision, and accountability. It demonstrates a willingness and ability to act in the organisation’s best interests, ensuring the operation of effective, open, and ethical processes that adhere to the law and withstand scrutiny. This helps reaffirm public trust and confidence in individual organisations and the sector. 

See our governance training courses available here.

The Code of Good Governance

Supporting Communities is a member of the Developing Governance Group, a network of charity-sector support organisations dedicated to helping voluntary and community organisations comply with best practice and statutory obligations. We can support your organisation in developing good governance and complying with the Charity Commission’s regulations.

The Developing Governance Group has produced a Code of Good Governance, which sets out the principles and critical elements of good governance for the boards of voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland. The third edition of the Code was launched in 2021. It provides a valuable and practical resource for charitable organisations, large and small.

The DIY Committee Guide website elaborates on each governance principle and provides further guidance, resources, and articles to help your organisation comply with the Code.

While not mandatory, the Code has been widely accepted as the standard for sector governance. It is intended to help and support organisations by identifying the standards to which they should work as management committees, executive committees, boards of directors, boards of trustees or any other governing body.

Governance Health Check

The Developing Governance Group has also devised a self-assessment tool as a practical resource to assist committees/boards in working towards adhering to the principles of the Code. It should help committees/boards of any size demonstrate their good governance practices to their stakeholders, beneficiaries and funders.  

Download the Health Check here and see where your organisation can improve its governance.