What is a Management Committee or Board?

All organisations and community groups must have a group of people who are responsible for ensuring that it is properly managed and can take decisions collectively. This is usually called the management committee or board. It can also be known as the 'governing body'.

The name of your committee will depend on your legal structure but generally speaking most informal groups or small organisations that are unincorporated associations have a management committee, whilst SCIOs and companies have a board. In this page we talk about a committee and this means either.

During the early months and years of a new group, the committee often develops out of a loose group of active people or a steering group. As this becomes more organised and formal, a constitution may be adopted and people are appointed or elected by the members of the organisation onto the newly formed committee. Usually this happens at the Annual General Meeting. The committee is accountable to the members of the organisation. Some organisations choose not have a membership and this is discussed here.

The rules about how the committee is run will be found in the constitution of the organisation. This document explains how many committee members there should be, how they are appointed, how long they serve etc.

People volunteering their time

Most committee members will be volunteers and do not get paid for the work they do for the organisation. If committee members are paid and the organisation is a charity, rules must be followed. Being a member of a committee requires people to give their time freely and take the role seriously, contributing to its work and to the organisation.

Members of a committee work together as a team. Each member of the team brings their own skills, knowledge and experience and tasks can be split across people.

Responsibilities of a Management Committee or Board

If your organisation is a charity there are specific charity trustee role and responsibilities to consider laid out in law. Similarly the directors on a company’s board must be aware of their company law responsibilities.

For all committees, however you are formed, registered or unregistered, your tasks and responsibilities are as follows:

• Setting strategy and direction so that the activities of the organisation deliver against the purposes it was set up to achieve. The organisation’s constitution will list the purposes, or objects).
• Acting as guardian of the organisation’s assets and resources, and having oversight over its money, people and property.
• Taking overall responsibility for ensuring the organisation is effectively managed, properly run and legally compliant.
• Representing the organisation externally to the world and being accountable to members, funders, regulators etc
• Forward planning
• Ensuring that the committee itself functions effectively and is effective in taking the necessary decisions.

Further resources and links

SCVO - Developing your board

For further free, well-informed information, find your local Third Sector Interface (TSI) at the directory page here