Board Governance

Board governance is essential to building robust non-profit and voluntary organizations and to strengthening public trust and credibility of the sector. It involves ensuring that the appropriate systems and processes are in place to steer the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision, and accountability of an organization.

Our work in this area focuses on developing and sharing resources and tools related to board governance, the legal and regulatory environment, and governance models guiding the operation and environment of non-profit and voluntary organizations across Canada. CVSRD has been involved in a number of publications and studies, ranging from an examination of the current state of Canadian non-profit board governance, to a study of the relationship between board governance and executive directors within the sector. We have also offered a graduate-level module on Governance and Leadership.

National Study of Board Governance Practices in the Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector in Canada, Grace Bugg and Sue Dallhoff, 2006 (PDF, 1000 Kb)

National Study of Board Governance Practices in the Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector in Canada—Executive Summary, Grace Bugg and Sue Dallhoff, 2006 (PDF, 728 Kb)

Voluntary Boards and Executive Directors—A Relationship for Organizational Stability, Larissa Silver, Paula Speevak Sladowski, 2007 (PDF, 426 Kb)