Excellence in housing association governance
Thu, 18 Oct 2012 11:41:00 BST
Housing associations and the social housing sector have witnessed massive change in recent years, not least in their regulatory regime and the funding environment.
As the opening speaker at the National Housing Federation's "Excellence in Governance" conference held in London on 11 October 2012, FEGReG Director Professor Chris Cowton argued that financial viability is necessary for the achievement of mission, but not sufficient.
The adoption of smaller, business-like boards (rather than supposedly "representative" bodies) with a high proportion of business people, is likely to promote financial viability but – depending on what information is available and how the board operates – there is a risk that the mission of not-for-profit organisations is insufficiently considered or even compromised.
Chris considered some of the ways that boards, and especially non-executive members, might best operate where finance is important but profitability is not the primary objective.
