A meta-analysis of nonprofit governance practice.
The meta-analysis synthesizes more than 50 sources including peer-reviewed studies, academic journals, practitioner analysis, sector reports, and government data on nonprofit governance. It identifies five dimensions that determine whether an organization's governance architecture advances its mission or erodes it, and it documents the absence of any continuous measure of those dimensions across the sector.
Power
Who approves what, and is the distribution of power explicit, documented, and understood by all?
Accountability
What real mechanisms hold the board, the staff, and the organization to account?
Community stakeholders
Do the people served hold any formal power over governance, priorities, budgets, and leadership decisions?
Mission execution
Do recruitment, agendas, committees, and time actually serve the mission?
Staff and board partnership
What is each side's real experience of the other, and what turnover and burnout does it produce?
