Virtuous circle of good charity governance: the role of the governance professional

The Chartered Governance UK & Ireland has today published a white paper outlining how governance professionals can help charity boards to develop and embed a virtuous circle of good charity governance to further the charitable aims of the organisation and deliver positive change.

Louise Thomson, author of the white paper and Head of Policy (Not for Profit) at the Institute says:

“Ensuring that a virtuous circle of good governance is in place can really help to drive positive outcomes for a charity and the charity sector as a whole. Charities rely on the support of the public to deliver positive change. Support is only given when the public has confidence that the charities they fund are well run and willing to be held to account. Governance professionals can help charities to implement a virtuous circle of good governance by helping charity boards to map what their charities are doing against five key good governance outcomes. A diagnostic tool has therefore been developed which shows governance professionals how they can best support their board in this endeavour.”

The tool highlights the following good governance outcomes and identifies the Charity Governance Code’s principles each outcome supports:

• Demonstrating sound management
• Improving public trust and confidence
• Welcoming accountability
• Generating sustainable support
• Delivering positive change.

The tool suggests a number of actions a charity could adopt in order to demonstrate and assess the impact of good governance. These actions are categorised as primary, secondary and tertiary depending on the ease with which they can be implemented and the level of impact they are likely to support. The support that a governance professional can bring to the board and the charity is clearly laid out in terms of the competencies, actions and expected behaviours required for each outcome.

“The skill of the governance professional is to know what aspects of good governance practice are most likely to support the aims of the charity, while respecting the needs of different stakeholders, recognising good practice from elsewhere and being willing to adapt it for the benefit of the organisation and changing things when they no longer support the board and the entity,” concludes Louise.

The white paper, which was launched earlier today at the Institute’s annual Charity Governance Summit, can be downloaded for free at www.cgi.org.uk/the-virtuous-circle.

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Notes to Editors:

1. The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland is the qualifying and membership body for governance with over 125 years’ experience of educating and supporting governance professionals. With a Royal Charter purpose of leading ‘effective and efficient governance and administration of commerce, industry and public affairs’, we provide professional development, guidance and thought leadership, and work with regulators and policy makers to champion high standards.
   
   The Institute has divisions in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong/China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Southern Africa, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. The division headquartered in London represents and supports members in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Crown Dependencies and associated territories, which include the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. Website: www.cgi.org.uk 
2. The ‘Virtuous circle of good charity governance: the role of the governance professional’ follows on from ‘The virtuous circle of good charity governance’, which was published by The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland in 2020. That white paper promoted a model for a virtuous circle of good charity governance that could be used by those in the sector to increase understanding of the benefits of good governance and how that, in turn, can deliver public confidence and trust, enhance sustainability and deliver greater impact for society. The model produced combined good governance outcomes with hard and soft governance drivers. ‘The virtuous circle of good charity governance’ can be viewed at www.cgi.org.uk/virtuouscircle