It's been a little while since the last post in the Unweirding Boards sequence, in which I shared the high-level 'Theory of Governance' that has emerged through calls with 40+ founders, leaders and board members of EA organisations.

Since then, there's been an uptick in the number of organisations reaching out for support and I've had to deprioritise writing to accommodate this. 

This short update serves to communicate how we're now thinking about The Good Governance Project's support offer, so that more organisations may consider whether they access this free resource.

Our Support Offer

Very roughly, the Good Governance Project exists to help organisations create and sustain the conditions for good governance.

Our support is free to access and consists of:

1. Governance reviews
2. Follow-on support to implement changes where helpful
3. Board recruitment support, drawing on a candidate directory

If you're interested in accessing this support, you can book a call here.

Governance Reviews

This is the default entry point for most organisations. The central question a review is meant to answer is:

Given your mission, stage, and context, is your current governance set-up fit for purpose? If not, what should change over the next 6–12 months?

The details vary by organisation, but a typical review involves:

• Scoping - A short call to understand your situation, key decisions and risks, and any sensitive topics. We agree what a “useful” review would look like, and who should be involved.
• Conversations - Semi-structured calls with a small number of people who see governance from different angles (for example: the ED/CEO, chair, one or two other trustees, and one or two senior staff; sometimes a funder or community representative).
• Doc review - Reading governing documents, a sample of recent board papers, and any existing strategy artefacts.
• Synthesis - A concise write-up that describes:
  • what appears to be working well
  • where things seem fragile, unclear, or misaligned
  • how governance interacts with the organisation’s strategy, risks, and people
• Prioritisation - A discussion with the ED and chair (and others if useful) to identify a small number of concrete priorities for the next 6–12 months.

The output is intended to be something you could take straight into a board or leadership discussion.

Follow-on Support

Some organisations prefer to implement changes themselves after a review. Others find it valuable to have temporary support in turning recommendations into practice.

The kinds of things we might support with are:

• redesigning board cycles, agendas and information flows
• clarifying decision rights between board, executive director and senior team
• setting up or refining ED appraisal and feedback
• introducing a light governance calendar across the year
• facilitating one-off board or strategy sessions

The aim is to help put in place practices that the organisation can then sustain without external involvement, rather than to create ongoing dependence on the project.

Board Recruitment

Whether highlighted through a review process, or identified independently, we can support board recruitment by:

• designing a structured recruitment process
• reaching potential board members via an evolving candidate directory and relevant networks
• planning onboarding and early meeting participation for new trustees

What Can't We Do?

Our support is less suitable if the main need is:

• detailed legal advice or formal compliance work
• someone to take decisions on behalf of the board or executive, or
• crisis-driven HR, legal or mediation support

Book a Call

If you are a founder, leader or board member and suspect that your governance is “good enough on paper but not yet in practice”....