Trusteeship and governance


Trustees and risk taking
At our recent seminar hosted at the Clothworkers' Hall trustees shared the way they approach risk, and how their management and acceptance of it was advantageous to their charities. Here NPC Consultant Nicola Pritchard shared some of the insights from the day.

The Code of Good Governance: How to put it into practice
This briefing paper outlines the advice and recommendations from the panel at NPC’s Clothworkers’ seminar on how charity trustees can put the Charity Governance Code into practice.

How funders can unlock good charity governance
Charities require strong boards in order to be effective. So it's surprising that there are not more funders investing in improved governance. Ahead of trustees week, Sonali Patel gives 3 ways funders can support better trusteeship.


Funders can set a powerful precedent by involving service users
It has been broadly accepted by charities from across the sector that listening to users is not only the moral thing to do—it’s also the smart and logical thing to do. So, how do funders fit into all of this?

Stop quoting Latin in your board meetings
The voluntary sector's board diversity and inclusivity issue is well known. How do we tackle this? Grace Wyld shares insights from a recent NPC event on the topic.

We need brave, in-your-face, hard-headed governance
Kevin Carey, Chair, RNIB
In this blistering polemic, the Chair of RNIB gives his views on building better governance. For him, that doesn’t mean more calls from government for greater transparency, or more codes and procedures. It means rejecting the executive/non-executive divide between strategy and implementation, injecting commercial sector practices and principles, and being bold and fearless in these times of uncertainty.

Rockets not sausages: Let’s take a ‘trust-plus’ approach to the public
Peter Kellner, Chair, NCVO
Charities trade on trust, so it’s crucial to understand the public mood and work hard to revive people's confidence. But, as Peter argues here, we need to go further than this. We need a ‘trust-plus’ strategy. This means going beyond just toeing the line and following regulation to actively and positively work for the public’s trust.

Charities are underestimating the importance of trust
Jill Halford, Director, & Neil Sherlock, Partner, PwC
Public trust remains an issue discussed at a sector level. But as NPC’s recent research revealed, charities aren’t seeing the volatility of public trust as something that will affect their individual charities. For several years, PwC have been exploring the pivotal role trust plays in society. Here Jill Halford and Neil Sherlock outline the issues around public trust, why trust is important for charities, and how charities can understand and build public trust in their organisations.

Small charity trustees: How to overcome key challenges
This short paper outlines the key challenges of being a trustee of a small charity and sets out recommendations to overcoming them.

Sharing is caring: Intellectual property and the charity sector
Sharing knowledge about what works—and what does not—is instrumental to improving the effectiveness of charities. Here we talk through the various benefits and challenges of different approaches, and what might incentivise organisations to open up their knowledge and ideas to others.

NPC response to the consultation on the Charity Governance Code
The Code of Good Governance outlines six key principles of good governance, points out important legal requirements and how to apply the principles in practice. We draw on our experience of working with charities and funders to suggest how boards might enable charities in these uncertain times.

Britain’s unsung national treasure: Trustees
David Attenborough, Zadie Smith... and charity board members? Trustees are a national treasure, Ruth Gripper argues. And now there is a way to recognise their contribution.