Governance

In order to achieve your institutional goals, it is vital to have a good governance structure. All corporate bodies, large and small, public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit, are required to adhere to the principles and practices of good governance. However, many institutions are struggling to carry out their mandate, and are often unsure of the relationship between governance and management.

One of the priority areas of the governing body is to help to define and ratify the vision of the institution – or what it is aiming to become and for whom it provides benefits and experiences. Having a vision leads to a long-term strategy, and for heritage institutions this strategy is not required to be confined to the traditional 5-year cycle. The cycle can extend into generational planning, in particular the strategy for continuity of operations and mission between managers and curators into the future. A 50-year strategy cycle should not be out of place, given that you expect your institution to be thriving in this time frame. This is what makes heritage institutions different from any other type of business – and perhaps the biggest challenge is to create long-term sustainability.

ETHER Governance offers a range of services to support your governance

  • Providing mentoring support to governing bodies
  • Developing Policies and Procedure Frameworks to implement strategies
  • Supporting the development of institution-specific Strategic Plans
  • Developing ICT Strategies and Digitisation Strategies which are customized to your specific situation
  • Developing Digital Sustainability Plans to ensure long-term continuity for generations to come
  • A one-day Workshop on Governance of Heritage Institutions – exploring national (King III) and international practices on good governance
  • Products and services to support your move towards best practice in Collection Management – this includes SPECTRUM training, Inventorising support, ETHER Base Collection Management System, Storage Management