Charities are entering consortia without telling trustees, says new Commission research

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Charities are entering consortia without telling trustees, says new Commission research 2

Governance | Gareth Jones | 6 Jul 2011

Some charities are not consulting their boards before entering into consortia, Charity Commission research will shortly show.

Charity Commission chair Dame Suzi Leather revealed the finding, which comes from soon-to-be-released independent research on charities' experiences in consortia, in a speech at Action Planning's 'Leading your charity through a time of change' conference in Westminster today.

She said that while being involved in a consortium "can be an excellent way to expand your reach, have more impact and enable precious growth", it is "not easy".

She said: "They involve real financial and reputational risks and they're a very complex governance issue.

"It's hard to imagine how trustees can properly fulfil their duties if they're not party to these decisions."

Directory: Action Planning | Charity Commission
Who's Who: Suzi Leather

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Muriel Simmons
Executive Chairman
AllergyUK
6 Jul 2011

This is a really worrying story because if correct then it shows that neither trustees or managmeent are clear about their roles and levels of responsibilities. Don't they work under the Code of Good Governance? I agree with Edward my Board would have the hide of our management team if they did such a thing.
Hopefully the charities where this has happened will face some tough questions from their stakeholders and the trustees will wake up to their rsponsibilities.

[Reply]

EDWARD MURPHY
Director
MERSEYSIDE NETWORK FOR CHANGE
6 Jul 2011

How? you need a contract with a partner to form a consortium.My Trustees would have my hide if I signed a contract without telling them. Deciding to enter a contract is a deliberative act i.e.theirs. Negotiating and managing a contract are executive acts i.e.mine

[Reply]

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