{"id":60932,"date":"2022-12-06T10:21:35","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T10:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/?p=60932"},"modified":"2022-12-12T16:49:04","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T16:49:04","slug":"what-do-you-know-of-the-g-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/what-do-you-know-of-the-g-word\/","title":{"rendered":"What do you know of the g-word?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little-known fact about me is that when I first became a trustee I didn\u2019t know anything about governance. Two years later (and knowing what I do now), that thought makes me shudder. Much as I\u2019m embarrassed to admit it, I doubt I\u2019m alone.<\/p>\n

The Charity Governance Code recognises that:<\/p>\n

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good governance is fundamental to a charity\u2019s success. It enables and supports a charity\u2019s compliance with the law and relevant regulations. It also promotes a culture in which everything works towards fulfilling the charity\u2019s vision.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As trustees our role is all about governance. So, to do my position justice, I set off on a speedy learning journey to really understand the principles of good governance and how I could apply them in my contributions as a board member.<\/p>\n

This coincided with the culmination of many months of hard work in reforming SIA\u2019s Articles of Association (our governing framework), to better reflect the more modern charity we\u2019d become.<\/p>\n

With new Articles that reaffirmed our commitment to being a board comprised of 75% spinal cord injured (SCI) trustees, we renewed recruitment efforts to ensure our board make-up reflected the diversity of our SCI community and society, alongside skills and expertise that would complement existing strengths.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fast forward a few more months and we were taking the natural next step \u2013 a robust board review facilitated by Jonathan Rennison of Yellowchair. This was designed to assess our effectiveness as a board, highlighting key strengths and areas for development, keeping good governance at its heart.<\/p>\n

And here we are today, having spent the last 12 months listening, reflecting, analysing and putting into practice changes to improve how we work together as a board and senior leadership team (SLT), to further SIA\u2019s impact and to safeguard and future-proof the charity.<\/p>\n

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In line with recommendations from this review, to set the foundations for more effective governance we prioritised five areas in 2022:<\/p>\n