Things to consider before you start

From Our Toolkit

Whether you are at the beginning of setting up your governance or if you are reviewing your current situation here aspects which underpin this area of work.

Codes of ethics

It is best practice for the governance (and often membership) of an organisation no matter what shape or size to be bounded by an accepted code of ethics. For organisations which are public facing these are often based on the Principles of Public Life.

There are also a series of sector and nation specific codes which you can read and refer to:

There is also specific guidance for charitable organisations:

Don’t need to be a charity to adhere to the principles of the Good Governance Code. The pillars of good governance are applicable to all organisational structures. The code covers organsations in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland a Code of Good Governance has been set up by the Developing Good Governance group.

Organisational purpose

At the centre of all good governance is your organisation’s purpose. It is important that you define this. You may find this easiest to do by working with your governing body (and later your membership if appropriate) to define your mission statement, vision and aims. We will return to this as part of business planning section but it is worth thinking about this at an early stage as it feeds into your governing document. The Culture Hive Vision and Mission Guide is a good starting point for this activity.

Both the Museum and Archive Accreditation schemes require statements on organisational purpose. Each set of guidance provides best practice advice on what is required in this type of statement even for those not wishing to complete an Accreditation application.

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