The Diana Award

Carrying out a Governance Review for The Diana Award

As part of our stream of work design to strengthen the governance of non-profit organisations, we undertook a practical governance review for The Diana Award.  The objectives of the review were to ensure that documents and practice in the organisation relating to governance are fit for purpose and appropriate, and to allow the charity to make practical improvements to its governance and ways of working, in the interests of better meeting its charitable aims.

Key areas within the scope of the review included the governing documents, board structures and working practice, key policies and procedures, communication between Chair and CEO, risk management, and day to day charity management at senior level only. Our work included a review of approximately forty documents provided by the charity and other public information, and interviews with all of the charity trustees and senior managers. Our detailed report included thirty prioritised recommendations, following which we worked with staff and trustees to help develop an implementation plan.

“I would have no hesitation in recommending Fiveways to conduct a governance review and similar work for another charity. They took time to get to know the organisation, its history and ambitions, consulted widely with key stakeholders, and ensured everybody was invested in the process. Fiveways offered practical and pragmatic advice and assistance in implementing, handled delicate elements very well, and were pragmatic in drawing conclusions and recommendations. At the same time they were robust when needed to ensure that findings that may not have been popular for everybody were, nonetheless, included where necessary. Our organisation is certainly stronger as a result of our engaging Fiveways.”
Wayne Bulpitt, Chair, The Diana Award