Governance Now 2025: Power!
Earlier this week, I attended this year’s flagship conference exploring cultural sector governance, Governance Now 2025, presented by Clore Leadership and the Cultural Governance Alliance. The theme: Power.
I went along to Governance Now wearing a number of hats. I wore my Tangram hat of course. And also my Creative Estuary Co-Chair and my A New Direction Trustee hats. My aim was to understand best practices in cultural governance for Tangram’s clients as well as the organisations I advise and support pro bono outside of the day job. The location held a personal significance too, as Shoreditch Town Hall is where I took on my very first trustee role for Theatre Centre, marking the beginning of my own cultural governance journey. For for the first few years of my tenure on the Theatre Centre Board it was housed in Shoreditch Town Hall before moving to Deptford and then Crawley.
It’s always a sign of a good conference when you’re still pondering the core themes days later. Governance Now 2025 proved excellent in this regard, prompting me to think about some deep questions around cultural governance
My biggest take away from the day is that it’s impossible to uncouple strategy and governance. They are complimentary functions and inextricably linked.
Here are the key questions that remain on my mind since the conference a few days ago:
How can good governance support an arts organisation to represent a full diversity of views in today’s polarised world?
What effect will devolution in England have on cultural organisations? (This is particularly relevant in my role with Creative Estuary)
How might we expand governance out of the board room and into communities?
What’s the optimum relationship between a CEO(s) and Chair(s)?
Who hold the Chair(s) to account?
What’s the right balance of lived experience and professional expertise around a board table?
Should charity trustees be remunerated for their time?
How can a board encourage experimentation with new technologies while understanding the risks and implications?
How might boards be a vehicle for collaboration and co-creation with audiences?
How can boards from different organisations work together for the sector’s benefit?
Arguably, Governance Now raised more questions for me than it answered, and that is a truly positive outcome. A conference that provokes reflection is a successful one. That, and running into so many sector colleagues and friends, made for an excellent and thought-provoking gathering.
