GRIPP’s good governance – serving and organising ourselves based on the GRIPP values and ethos
Written by Tracey and members of GRIPP’s Trunk group
Good governance of any organisation or collective is fundamental to its success and for GRIPP’s “Trunk” (think trunk of a tree, not trunk of an elephant!), we have been (and still are) on a journey that fully considers what ‘good’ looks like.
Governance conversations are not always the most interesting and energising discussions. Talking about integrity, compliance, accountability, evaluation and responsibilities and then having to spend the time thinking about how to ensure these principles are reflected in practice often lead to people heading for the door, making a cup of tea or switching off from the discussion. That’s not because people are not concerned that they organise themselves in an appropriate way, but because these are difficult conversations and concepts, especially when trying to consider ways which fit well within the values of GRIPP’s way of working.
Despite this, a committed group of insightful GRIPP members who had expressed a desire to develop a way of working that could enable the Partnership to function and grow as agreed by its members, epitomized as, ‘feeding its roots and moving energy and power’, the Trunk group was born. Not wanting to repeat and put into practice restricting or stifling structures that inhibited GRIPP and its members, time was spent on thinking about how we ensure we remain inclusive, how we demonstrate and value our knowledge and abilities, how we respect members capacity and energy and how we work together towards financial sustainability.
The GRIPP approach remains committed to ensuring power remains within the wider GRIP Partnership and not a handful of designated people who have taken the time to explore the potential of a suggested governance structure. We collaborate, deliberate and organise ourselves. We celebrate, nurture and tap into the various skills, knowledge and insight. This way of working has informed the emergence of the Trunk. The Trunk does however have a role which can be best described as ‘serving GRIPP’ – it is an anchor or solid foundation that holds together and cultivates safe and welcoming spaces, enabling GRIPP members to be free to develop ideas, learn and grow without being bogged down with the nitty gritty aspects of governance. It has responsibilities that will work towards ensuring the financial sustainability of the partnership, enable GRIPP to flourish and it will support paid members of staff. The Trunk will alleviate any pressures that prevent the partnership from functioning and realising its potential and it will cultivate the right environment that encourages growth.
Our governance approach and way of working is evolving, and we are continually learning. It has been an intriguing journey at times and a steep learning curve, but one that has also brought laughter, curiosity and a fab team spirit.
‘As a team, we are getting stronger and becoming fairly structured with clear roles and responsibilities (complimenting each other)’
‘We’re gaining lots of experience and feel able to participate- we work well together navigating some complicated issues’
The foundations are now embedded. We have agreed supporting structures and processes in place; we are confident in our ability to forward plan and adopt financial monitoring processes. Decision making sits within the membership and the lines of communication between the Trunk and wider partnership are open and transparent. Together, we will continue to refine our approach to governance, ensuring we remain steadfast to ‘serving GRIPP’ and our practice reflects the wider values of the Partnership.