News

Consultation has opened on the Code of Good Governance, to evaluate awareness, usage and influence. Partner nfpSynergy is looking for feedback from anyone involved in the voluntary sector, whether they use the Code or not.

A Beacon of Good Practice is being developed through a range of governance resources specially tailored to meet the needs of trustees of community foundations. These will include training, advice and case studies grounded in the context of community foundation work.

For Love and Money: governance and social enterprise - a new research report from the Governance Hub and SEC, has shown that better support and information for social enterprises is needed. Strengthening links with governance advisers and consultants working at local, regional and sectoral levels, and providing them with appropriate training and support, were identified as important priorities.

Trustee brokerage within Volunteer Centres is being developed by Volunteering England with the support of the Governance Hub. This builds on the successful work of the 'Get on Board' trustee campaign. Volunteering England will run a programme of support and training on trustee recruitment to eight VCs, who will subsequently promote the continuing development of trustee recruitment in their region. Volunteering England will also develop an online downloadable resource to support all VCs to recruit and support trustees.

The ‘Learning to Drive’ website for trustees has been updated, re-designed and given a new name -  TrusteElearning - at www.trusteelearning.org.uk It features a structured course of training that allows trustees to study at a pace and time convenient to them in twelve modules covering topics including: trustee roles and responsibilities, effective meetings, financial management, business planning, and evaluation and quality standards.

Better Boards is a significant new project from REACH, funded by the Governance Hub, that provides support to black and minority ethnic, faith and rural groups throughout England.  The aim of the project is to strengthen the organisations’ committees and boards by delivering tailored trustee recruitment and placement, as well as mentor support. 

Boards Count is a scheme to share governance practice between voluntary and community organisations.Tailored reports will help an organisation understand how it compares with its peers, pinpoint strengths and areas for development, formulate strategies for development and link to other participants to share good practice. A summary report is available free and can be downloaded at www.BoardsCount.com and the full report can be purchased for £100+VAT.   A second survey and report will be offered in 2008.

Meeting the Standards online publication provides useful advice on different aspects of the National Occupational Standards alongside an extensive round-up of publications, websites and other resources available to help trustees put the Standards into practise.

‘Celebrating Success’ is a series of articles, supported by the Hub, and published in Governance magazine and on their website. to profile charities and voluntary organisations that have increased the effectiveness of their organisations through good governance.

The UK Workforce Hub and Governance Hub, working in partnership with the Association of Charitable Foundations, have produced 'Is it Seaworthy? - Assessing and funding the capacity of voluntary and community organisations'.  The resource will help funders understand how to assess the capacity of an organisation, and how and why funding it effectively is crucial to the organisation’s service delivery and sustainability. 

The Governance Hub has researched and added over 200 new entries for publications, organisations and events to its Resource finder on the Hub website. The revised design also ensures that information is more accessible, and navigation around the site has been improved. Further enhancements will be launched in September including a new webchat facility which will enable visitors to the site to ask questions on-line and receive an immediate response from the governance helpline.

The third round of the Partnership Programme has awarded almost £150,000. The Hub is supporting 17 umbrella groups and federated charities on initiatives that will facilitate a significant improvement in the quality of governance within the sector.

'Funding and Costing Workforce and Governance Development' is aimed at helping VCOs better understand the costing and funding implications of governance and workforce development.

'Governance and Organisational Structures' is an on-line guide about the common organisational and legal structures, including newer forms outlined in the Charities Act 2006: Community Interest Companies and Charitable Incorporated Organisations.

'What Managament Committees Need to Know' is a new guide aimed at helping small voluntary organisations and community groups understand the Trustee and Management Committee National Occupational Standards and to provide an introduction to key issues related to the running of their organisations.

The Business Plan for 2007-11 has been published by the Governance Hub.

A mentoring programme for Chairs is being piloted to enable Chairs to support and encourage each other, explore new ways of working and of re-energising their boards.

Two online resources for Chairs have been launched - 'Starting on the Right Track: A Guide to Recruiting and Inducting a New Chair'; and 'Setting up a Network for Chairs', which contains seven key steps to establishing a network and guidance on how to make the network successful.

Get On Board - is a public campaign to raise awareness of trusteeship and recruit more trustees in the voluntary and community sector. The campaign is primarily aimed at young professionals, including those from minority backgrounds.

Living Values is a pocket guide for trustees based on the findings of a research project carried out by Community Links into values in third sector organisations. It has interesting case studies and exercises to help organisations put values at the centre of their activity.

The document Reducing the Risks: A Guide to Trustee Liabilities provides unambiguous advice on the liabilities of trusteeship based on qualitative research and analysis commissioned by the Governance Hub. The research highlighted the need to raise awareness about the reality of risks and to signpost existing resources available to trustees on a wide range of issues, including the broad legal framework around liabilities. The Guide is aimed primarily at trustees of small and medium sized organisations, as well as support staff and advisers.

At govhc.org.uk organisations can take a quick health check on their governance by answering 7 multiple choice questions to establish a benchmark.