Revised Code of Good Governance update

Many people participated in the consultation either via the seminars on ‘Charity regulation and good governance’ which were jointly held with the Charity Commission and local support networks, or by the online questionnaire.

The revised Code has been very well received by the sector and the positive response has given the Developing Governance Group the confidence to know that the revised Code of best practice is relevant and appropriate for the needs of voluntary and community organisations.

The Developing Governance Group is currently seeking funding to publish and distribute the revised Code as well as to update the associated governance resources.  The revised Code should be launched by the Group later this year but in the meantime organisations are encouraged to use the existing Code and resources to help them improve governance practice.

Consultation responses

Over 340 people attended the various seminars which were held in various locations throughout Northern Ireland at which the revised Code was presented and discussed.  The Group also received over fifty responses via completed questionnaires of which some of the results are as follows:

• 92% agreed that the content of the revised code is easy to understand
• 86% agreed that the content is applicable to their organisation
• 83% agreed that the language in the revised Code of Good Governance is appropriate
• 86% agreed that the Code is flexible enough to adapt to their organisation’s needs
• 88% agreed that the content is useful to their organisation
• 96% agreed that the Code of Good Governance resources can help them to improve governance practice in their organisations

Almost two-thirds of respondents agreed that the Code of Good Governance should remain as a self-assessment framework for committees to review their own governance.

For more information on the Code of Good Governance and its associated resources please visit www.diycommitteeguide.org the Code's dedicated online governance resource website.