About Us
Governance Pages is a project of Arvac funded by the Big Lottery Fund. We aim to provide concise and accessible information on governance fort committee members of small voluntary organisations.
The website draws on several years of governance research and came out of the recommendations of the report 'A Lighter Touch', published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2004. This report recognized that there were ample resources aimed at trustees of larger and more formal organisations, but that there was a lack of appropriate material written from the perspective of trustees and management committee members of groups and small organisations. Resources were needed that recognised the less formal and more fluid nature of small groups, where there is often no clear cut distinction between roles, no dedicated resources to support the committee, and many different ways for the committee to accomplish its aims.
Governance Pages aims to address this deficit by presenting information on governance from the perspective of the trustee or management committee member of a small voluntary organisation. The website contains a database of questions arranged logically to cover common questions about governance. Quick guides on popular topics and a range of downloadable sample documents. There is also a support finder feature that quickly locates appropriate sources of support. A dedicated search page allows you to search for resources and information from a range of hand picked sites greatly increasing the chances of finding what you are looking for.
We hope that the site will be of use to committee members of small organisations as well as those who advise them. Governance Pages will continue to add features in response to demand, and user feedback and ideas are encouraged and welcomed.
About ARVAC
ARVAC, the Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector, is a membership organisation which, since its establishment in 1978, has acted as a resource for people interested in research on or by community sector organisations. We believe that voluntary and community organisations play a vital role in creating and sustaining healthy communities and that research plays an essential role in increasing the effectiveness of those organisations involved in voluntary and community action.
As well as Governance Pages, ARVAC has run a series of conferences and seminars and produces occasional publications. We disseminate information through a quarterly on-line Bulletin; have developed a database of community research; and are currently redesigning our website to enable members to exchange information, experience and observations through a number of discussion forums.
