Good governance of an organisation can be greatly enhanced by the active participation and democratic involvement of users, members and wider stakeholder interests.

The extent to which an organisation involves its users, members or wider stakeholders varies from organisation to organisation. Issues relating to who owns and controls an organisation, if considered early in the group?s development, can help inform the structure the group adopts and the level of participation that it encourages from members.

An involved and informed membership helps an organisation remain accountable, responsive and can empower members to own and control the organisation through effective governance. For some groups the type of legal form it chooses can shape the level and type of participation. For others, active user and member involvement is a core value and determines the legal form and governance arrangements the group chooses to adopt at an early stage.

Information for options on how to involve users, members or wider stakeholder groups can be difficult to obtain and confusing when considered alongside the organisation's legal form and governing document.

The Governance & Participation (G&P) Project website and Development Toolkit provides resources, fact sheets and guidance on the most effective way to enable participation within your social enterprise.

The G&P website can be viewed here

Download Participation Overview infomation sheet here (1.5MB, 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