Lesson 3

GOOD GOVERNANCE
 In this session
Keep accountability and transparency in mind
Governance manuals
Working practically on governance
Governance and structures

Accountability Responsibility

Transparency Information

Governance Structure
Shared decision making and individual
accountability
Individual
accountability

Individual Individual
accountability accountability

Shared
decision
Individual making Individual
accountability accountability

Individual Individual
accountability accountability

The two take place together

Individual accountability for the group making the best decisions
Not a contradiction
Discuss: Who makes
the decisions?

Who makes the decisions in your

organization?
How are they made?
How can others participate in this?
Do they participate?
Some more basic features of good governance

A basic form of accountability

Decisions are discussed and made collectively
There are restrictions on one person becoming
more powerful than the others
This doesnt happen accidentally, by chance or
because of good will it has to be formalized
through rules and procedures
Lets be practical
Organizations with good governance will
have:
A governing body (normally called a board)
Clear roles within this governing body
A system where the people on the governing body
can and do change
A system where the roles within the governing
body are chosen fairly and appropriately
In a good governance Community Based Organization
There is a membership
There are regular elections for the board and nominations for all
positions on a board
The board is voluntary and unpaid
There are clear and specific roles (president/chairperson, treasurer,
secretary)
There are regular, minuted meetings
The meetings are organized in a standard format with regular
reports on key issues
There are written procedures for how elections and meetings and
for how conflict is resolved
Also
If there is a coordinator, executive officer or secretariat
responsible for the organizations daily business, they are
accountable to the board
There is a distinction between governance (board, broad
direction) and management (staff, everyday activity)
sometimes this isnt possible because the size or newness
of the CBO means it doesnt have staff
But in this case its even more important that there be
checks and balances on individual power a separation of
powers
Secretariats and boards
Role of the board: to set broad direction and oversee the
general business (governance)
Role of the secretariat: to implement the boards decisions
and attend to the details in making things happen (management)
The relationship is mutual and reciprocal a two way, supportive
relationship
The secretariat supports the boards development and decision
making processes
The board supports the secretariats work in day to day
management
Brainstorm: Why is good governance
important?
Stability and reliability
Guards against corruption
Clear rules and procedures (transparency)
Accountability to communities/members
Sustainability and development
Diversity of views
Participation of more people
Guard against autocratic rule
Having structure to keep organization focused on stated
mission
And many more
Discuss: Governance in
your organization

Is there a governance structure in place?

If so, what is it? Does it work (in terms of what weve
been discussing)? How does it work? How can it be
improved?
If not, what do you think might be needed?
Governance manuals (by-laws)

Normally there are documents that set out the rules of an

organizations governance structure by-laws
The by-laws along with legal documentation (incorporation)
and the mission statement as well as other documents
communicate what the organization is doing, how its doing it
and where its going
A basic governance manual
Membership rules
Board election processes
Responsibilities of the board
Board positions, criteria and duty statements
Terms of office for board members
Decision making and minuting procedures
Frequency and number of meetings per year
Meeting quorum
How meeting dates are set and agendas developed (and by
who)
Developing a
governance manual

Takes time
Must be consultative
Engage the organisations members and/or constituents
Must be formally endorsed by the membership
however, we can make a start today!
TASK: Look for sample organization
then take a look at their.
Membership rules
Board election processes
Responsibilities of the board
Board positions, criteria and duty statements
Terms of office for board members
Decision making and minuting procedures
Frequency and number of meetings per year
Meeting quorum
How meeting dates are set and agendas developed (and
by who)
Bringing today together

ACCOUNTABILITY TRANSPARENCY

GOOD GOVERNANCE
Some good references
A Handbook of NGO Governance, Marilyn Wyatt, 2005 (on
www.ngoboards.org check under Resources)
Peacecorps Effective NGO Governance
http://www.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/library/M00
70_mod5.pdf
Pacific Islands Governance Portal www.governance.usp.ac.fj
Thanks.