governing group is, what they are called and how many of them there are. The Charity Commission's preferred term is "trustee, but a more-common term is "management committee member". Other terms include: Executive Committee member Board member Director Governor Council Member The Charity Commission has details of about 890,000 charity trustees. Since community groups and small voluntary organisations do not have to register, the precise number of those involved in governing them is unknown but is estimated to be about one million. This gives a grand total of almost two million people in governance positions in community groups, voluntary organisations and charities in England and Wales. Concerns At the turn of the 21st century, a number of overlapping areas of concern arose and reshaped the environment for governance. These included: International debate about the role of civil society Concern about scandals in the private, public and voluntary sectors concerning those in governing positions Gap in understanding between funders and regulators on the one hand and small charities and voluntary organisations on the other Competing governance requirements have arisen, and each stakeholder in small organisations has concerns about governance: Regulators are concerned with declining public confidence in charities. Funders are concerned with reputation and financial risk. Trustees/management committee members feel that the duties expected of them are unclear. Members find themselves competing with funders, as accountability to funders usurps their role in controlling the organisation. Conflicts Small voluntary organisations find themselves faced with four competing governance requirements: Whilst countering social exclusion and strengthening civil society, they must be accountable to members and have a strong voice. Whilst delivering services to users, they must be accountable to funders/purchasers. Whilst promoting social entrepreneurship, they must balance accountability to a wide group of stakeholders with individual action. Whilst engaging in consultation and lobbying, they must demonstrate responsiveness and accountability to the community. Definitions Governance is defined in a variety of ways: Structurally (for example, having a constitution) Processes (for example, having sub-committees in positions of responsibility) Roles and functions Group dynamics (teamwork) Individual competence (for example, chairing skills) A more comprehensive way of looking at governance is to view it as the sum of these perspectives. One way of connecting all of these aspects of governance is to visualize a governance system (see below). The individual competencies and resulting group dynamics between the individuals can be seen as the inputs into the system. Those