Boards play a crucial role in ensuring that public and nonprofit publicly accountable and perform well. Following various failures and scandals they face increasing scrutiny, pressure and expectations. Serious questions have been raised about the ability of boards to govern effectively.
Such concerns have stimulated a renewed interest in organizational governance, and a growing literature on the subject. Much of the current literature, however, has been criticized for underestimating the constraints and conflictions demands that boards face and recommending unrealistic solutions. There have been relatively few detailed empirical studies of what boards do in practice. This book fills that gap by bringing together analyses based upon some of the best recent empirical studies of public and non-profit governance in the UK.
Using a new theoretical framework that highlights the paradoxical nature of governance the book throws light on the questions at the heart of recent debates about nonprofit boards:
* Are boards publicly accountable or is there a democratic deficit?
* Are boards able to exercise real power, or does management run the show?
* What do boards do? Are they effective stewards of an organization's resources? Can they play a meaningful role in setting organisational strategy?
* What effect are regulatory and other changes designed to improve board effectiveness having?
The book will be essential reading for academics and students with an interest in the governance and management of public and nonprofit organizations. It will also be of value to policy-makers and practitioners who wish to gain a deeper understanding of how boards work and what can be doneto improve their performance.

The current fashion for rolling back the state has seen the nonprofit or third sector playing an increasing role in what were previously the heartlands of the public sphere. The growing significance of the sector and its increasing reliance on public funds mean it has also attracted increased scrutiny. From outside the sector concerns have been raised about the accountability and performance of nonprofit organizations. From within the sector there has been considerable debate about whether the increased reliance on government contracts is in danger of undermining the sector's independence. As a result the spotlight has fallen on governance arrangements and whether they are adequate to ensure that nonprofit organizations are effective and accountable for their actions, and able to retain their independence. This collection offers a comprehensive assessment of research on the governance of nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit governance research has been dominated by the study of boards of unitary organizations and has paid insufficient attention to the multi-level nature of governance, governance relationships and dynamics, and the contribution of actors other than board members, to governance processes. Drawing on the research of leading scholars in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, this book presents new perspectives on non-profit governance, which help to overcome these weaknesses. Written in an accessible manner the book will be of value to scholars, researchers, students, reflective practitioners and governance consultants and advisers.

Boards play a crucial role in ensuring that public and non-profit organizations are publicly accountable and perform well. Following various failures and scandals they face increasing scrutiny, pressure and expectations. Serious questions have been raised about the ability of boards to govern effectively. This book brings together analyses based upon some of the best recent empirical studies of public and non-profit governance in the UK.
The book will be essential reading for academics and students with an interest in the governance and management of public and non-profit organizations. It will also be of value to policy makers and practitioners who wish to gain a deeper understanding of how boards work and what can be done to improve their performance.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203167570

The current fashion for rolling back the state has seen the nonprofit or third sector playing an increasing role in what were previously the heartlands of the public sphere. The growing significance of the sector and its increasing reliance on public funds mean it has also attracted increased scrutiny. From outside the sector concerns have been raised about the accountability and performance of nonprofit organizations. From within the sector there has been considerable debate about whether the increased reliance on government contracts is in danger of undermining the sector's independence. As a result the spotlight has fallen on governance arrangements and whether they are adequate to ensure that nonprofit organizations are effective and accountable for their actions, and able to retain their independence. This collection offers a comprehensive assessment of research on the governance of nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit governance research has been dominated by the study of boards of unitary organizations and has paid insufficient attention to the multi-level nature of governance, governance relationships and dynamics, and the contribution of actors other than board members, to governance processes. Drawing on the research of leading scholars in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, this book presents new perspectives on non-profit governance, which help to overcome these weaknesses. Written in an accessible manner the book will be of value to scholars, researchers, students, reflective practitioners and governance consultants and advisers.