Improving the governance of an organisation is about making an organisation more effective, resilient and strengthening its purpose.

For an organisation, good governance arrangements can contribute to its overall success. In the longer term, good governance can contribute to enabling the group to take on new challenges, meet community needs and grow and develop into a valuable resource for local people.

Developing good governance practices is often misunderstood, hurried or worse still ignored until matters start going wrong for the organisation. That's usually when the organisation seeks professional advice about establishing good governance practices.

Advice on good governance can be hard to find and is often particular to the culture and legal form of the organisation. The Governance & Participation (G&P) Project has produced a website and Development Toolkit that guides you through choosing the most appropriate legal form and organisational type, along with a FAQ section on governance and participation issues.

The G&P website can be viewed here

Download the Governance Overview information Sheet here (1,6MB, 8 pages)

The Governance and Participation project is a pilot project delivered across England and Wales, by Co-operativesUK. Its purpose is to develop and enhance ways and methods in which organisations across the social economy sector are able to actively involve members on governance.