Governing for the Common Good: The Possibilities of Dynamic Governance for Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract

Within nonprofit studies there are two predominant interpretations of good governance. The first, compliance governance drawn from the principle-agent perspective reads good governance as tantamount to the board of directors and privileges efficiency and control, but, its critics argue, with a democratic deficit as wider stakeholders have little say in the most important decisions. The second, the workplace democratic perspective, promotes high levels of participation, but potentially at the cost of efficiency. This paper explores a third direction, Dynamic Governance, also known as sociocracy. Dynamic Governance offers the possibility of effective and inclusive organization, through a system of self-governance. Within Dynamic Governance decision-making operates through consent, the governing powers usually conferred onto boards are distributed to circles with clear domains for authority and control and creating a culture where every voice matters. This paper assesses the possibilities for Dynamic Governance within nonprofits and their potentiality to create good governance.