Better Governance Principles

SPORT GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP TREND REPORT 2021-2022BETTER GOVERNAN CE PRI N CI PLESTOWARD BETTER GOVERNANCEGovernance is a broad and multi-dimensional concept. It’s about oversight, steering, and directing, whichcan occur in 3 different spheres:ORGANIZATIONAL:how sport organizations direct andmanage the allocation of resources aswell as their financial and non-financialprofits and losses through ethicallyinformed standards, norms and valuesSYSTEMIC:how organizations interact(for example, mutual adjustments,competition and cooperation)within a given system like theCanadian sport systemBetter sport governance is anethically informed steering of a sportorganization or system’s structuresand practices. This includesoverseeing management, makingdecisions, allocating resources,integrating stakeholder voices, andrendering accounts.At the organizational level, good governance isof particular interest. This is especially the casegiven the governance issues seen at national1POLITICAL:how governing bodies andgovernments steer sportorganizationsand international levels (for example, corruption,conflicts of interest, and match fixing). Goodgovernance has its roots in the corporate world.It considers who has power, who makes decisions,how stakeholders’ voices are included, and howaccounts are rendered.Although good governance is still a popularterm, it leads to the idea of “good” versus “bad”governance. Instead, there’s a trend to replacethe term with better or improved governance toacknowledge that all (sport) organizations cando better in terms of their governance. Bettergovernance means following ethically informedstandards.SPORT GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP TREND REPORT BETTER GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES

Table 1. Examples of governance principles from around the worldSOURCE2PRINCIPLESAustralian Sports Commission (2020) Values-driven culture and behavioursAligning sport through collaborative governanceClear vision to inform strategyDiverse board for considered decision-makingDocuments outlining duties, powers, roles, and responsibilitiesBoard processes for accountability and transparencySystem to ensure integritySystems of internal review for continuous improvementCanadian Audit and AccountabilityFoundation arencyChappelet and Mrkonjic (2019) Transparency and public communicationDemocratic processesChecks and balancesSolidarityDe Waegeneer and Willem (2019) ParticipatoryConsensus orientedAccountableTransparentResponsiveEffective and efficientEquitable and inclusiveFollowing rules of the gameInternational Olympic Committee Vision, mission, and strategyStructures, regulations, and democratic processHighest level of competence, integrity, and ethical standardsAccountability, transparency, and controlSolidarity and developmentAthlete involvement, participation, and careHarmonious relations with governments while preservingautonomyPlay the Game TransparencyDemocracyInternal accountability and controlSocietal responsibilitySport and Recreation Alliance Increased trustFunding accessLeadership directionBetter decisionsManaging riskIncreased transparencyGrowing potentialUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP) Legitimacy and tz and Gérard (2019) IntegrityAutonomy and accountabilityTransparencyDemocracy, participation, and inclusivitySPORT GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP TREND REPORT BETTER GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES

GOVERNANCE CHALLENGESFigure 1. Better governance principlesImproving governance continues to be a challengefor organizations and researchers. On one hand,there are hundreds of so-called better governanceprinciples, guidelines, indicators, dimensions,factors, and aspects. Though most often, peopletend to use the term principle. Table 1 presentsa small sample of governance principles fromdifferent sources worldwide (see also Figure 1).On the other hand, these lists of governanceprinciples assume governance can be improvedby simply following these lists. But so far, there’sbeen little direct or practical evidence of the linkbetween applying governance principles andimproving organizational performance. Researchhas found a link between board composition orstructure (namely diversity) and organizationalperformance. However, there’s still a lack ofdirect evidence or research to know whether asport organization’s performance will improve if itfollows stated governance principles.In fact, some research that measured sportorganization practices using governanceindicators found certain sport organizations toexcel in terms of better governance indicators.At the same time, the media was publishingaccusations of corruptions in those sportorganizations!Finally, although small organizations can be goodat governance, their funders or governing bodies’expectations often aren’t aligned with small sportorganizations’ capacities. Funders and governingbodies tend to present blanket frameworks andguidelines that all organizations in their systemmust follow.3BEST PRACTICES ANDRECOMMENDATIONS FORBETTER GOVERNANCEImproving governance is nota one-size-fits-all processAn organization’s board of directors is responsiblefor the overall governance of the organization, butall organizational members should participate inimproving the organization’s governance.SPORT GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP TREND REPORT BETTER GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES

When looking to improve your governance, include structures, practices, processes,and outcomes, such as:STRUCTURES: Board structure andcomposition Board and organizationalcommissions Constitution and by-laws Organizational structure Delegation and separationof powersPRACTICES ANDPROCESSES: AccountabilityControlComplianceAutonomyBoard processesDemocracy and decisionmakingIntegrityStakeholder engagementStrategic focusSustainabilityTransparencyOUTCOMES: Corporate socialresponsibility Effectiveness Efficiency Equality and inclusivity Organizational resilienceAt a minimum, consider adopting the following: transparency, accountability, and democracy.Finally, funders, government, and governing bodies should align their governance expectations withorganizations’ capacities.Table 2. Definitions and examples of key better governance principles.DEFINITIONEXAMPLESTRANSPARENCY refers to the accurate and- Reporting decision-making processes andoutcomes in an open and accurate manner.ACCOUNTABILITY can take many forms.- Accurately reporting financial statements in atimely manner.timely disclosure of all materials, whetherfinancial, performance or other, for theorganization as a whole or a particular decision.Internally, it can be administrative or financial.Externally, it can be legal, professional,personal or political/electoral in nature.Accountability and transparency are oftendiscussed together, whereby transparencyhelps an organization be accountable.DEMOCRACY refers to an organizationhaving electoral processes in place as wellas to the participation of stakeholders in anorganization’s decision-making processes.- Having a governing body oversee budgetarymatters and organizational performance.- Reporting to members who elect you.- Having a regular (annual) general meeting wheremembers of the governing body are elected.- Having stakeholders or partners be involved instrategic planning and other key organizationaldecisions and processes.This report was prepared for SIRC by Milena M. Parent. It is based on the research paper:Thompson, A., Lachance, E. L., Parent, M. M., & Hoye, R. (under review). A systematic reviewof governance principles, guidelines, and indicators in sport. European Sport Management Quarterly.Funding support for this paper was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities ResearchCouncil of Canada (SSHRC) grant # 435-2017-0247 and Sport Canada grant # 862-2017-00064SPORT GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP TREND REPORT BETTER GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES

Key resources for further readingon better governanceAustralian Sports Commission. (2020). Sport governanceprinciples. https://www.sportaus.gov.au/ data/assets/pdf adian Audit and Accountability Foundation. (2021). Whatis governance? -governance/what-is-governanceChappelet, J.-L., & Mrkonjic, M. (2019). Assessing sportgovernance principles and indicators. In M. Winand & C.Anagnostopoulos (Eds.), Research Handbook on SportGovernance (pp. 10-28). Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.De Waegeneer, E., & Willem, A. (2019). Embedding goodgovernance principles in sport governing bodies througha code of ethics: Opportunities, pitfalls and goodpractices. In M. Winand & C. Anagnostopoulos (Eds.),Research handbook on sport governance (pp. 102-117).Edward Elgar Publishing.Geeraert, A. (2015). Sports Governance Observer 2015 - Thelegitimacy crisis in international sports governance. Playthe Game/Danish Institute for Sports Studies. ea97-422aa0df-abde00d250d7Geeraert, A., Alm, J., & Groll, M. (2014). Good governance ininternational sport organizations: an analysis of the 35Olympic sport governing bodies. International Journal ofSport Policy, 6(3), 281-306.Henry, I., & Lee, P.-C. (2004). Governance and ethics insport. In J. Beech & S. Chadwick (Eds.), The Business ofSport Management (pp. 1-21). Prentice-Hall.Institute on Governance. (2022). What is good national Olympic Committee. (2008). Basic UniversalPrinciples of Good Governance of the Olympic andSports Movement. d-Governance-2011.pdf# ga 9775Parent, M. M., & Hoye, R. (2018). The impact of governanceprinciples on sport organisations’ governance practicesand performance: A systematic review. Cogent SocialSciences, 4(1), 1-24. t, M. M., Hoye, R., Taks, M., Naraine, M. L., &Seguin, B. (2021). Good sport governance anddesign archetype. In A. Geeraert & F. van Eekeren(Eds.), Good governance in sport: Critical reflections(pp. 180-194). Routledge. 833-14Parent, M. M., Hoye, R., Taks, M., Thompson, A., Naraine,M. L., Lachance, E. L., & Séguin, B. (2021). Nationalsport organization governance design archetypes forthe twenty-first century. European Sport ManagementQuarterly, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021.1963801Play the Games. (2022). National sports governanceobserver – Benchmarking governance in national sportsorganizations. l-sports-governance-observer/Sport and Recreation Alliance. (2017). The principles of goodgovernance. bb47d57-7523-4966-8839-707377f94148.pdfSport for Good Governance. (2014). Welcome to “Sport forGood Governance”. http://www.s4gg.eu/Sport Good Governance Game (SG3). (2021). Sport goodgovernance game: Inspire sport managers to becomeethical leaders. https://www.sg3.eu/Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC). Leadership andGovernance. https://sirc.ca/leadership-governance/Support the Implementation of Good Governance in Sport(SIGGS). (2015). Self Assessment. http://www.siggs.eu/self-assessmentZintz, T., & Gérard, S. (2019). Support the implementation ofgood governance in sport (SIGGS): A European projectfor national Olympic committees and national sportfederations. In M. Winand & C. Anagnostopoulos (Eds.),Research Handbook on Sport Governance (pp. 53-71).Edward Elgar.SPORT GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP TREND REPORT BETTER GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES

1 SPORT GOVERNANCE AN LEAERSIP TREN REPORT BETTER GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES . United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Legitimacy and voice Direction Performance Accountability . Sport Policy, 6(3), 281-306. Henry, I., & Lee, P.-C. (2004). Governance and ethics in