Irish Sports Council and Emperia Deliver Corporate Governance Seminars

In late April, the Irish Sports Council held the first stage of its 2012 NGB Development Programme by hosting two Corporate Governance seminars. The seminars were led by Alan McDonnell, Michael Kelly and Paul White from Empeira Corporate Governance Advisors. The first seminar focused on the roles of Chair and CEOs of organisations while the second seminar was aimed at members who were new to a Board.

Representatives from numerous NGBs attended the seminars which were tailored to suit the needs of Irish NGBs. The presentations outlined numerous important points regarding Governance in today’s world. Alan McDonnell spoke of evolving governing practices in sport, how important reputation is to governance, principles of good governance for the sports sector along with governance ‘hot topics’ such as risk oversight, accountability and succession planning. Michael Kelly addressed the delicate balance of the Chair and CEO relationship while Paul White discussed Board dynamics and the process for inducting new members.

The interactive style of the presentations encouraged some good comments and questions from the attendees. The presenters were very happy to answer these questions which included queries about the functions of an NGB that does not have a CEO or fulltime staff and is run by volunteers.

The feedback from the seminars was very positive with attendees stating that they were extremely relevant and very informative. Jo McDaid from Special Olympics Ireland said “We have been to about five or six Governance workshops or courses and this one was by far the best and everything was presented so clearly”.  Ciaran Gallagher from Gymnastics Ireland, an organisation that is professionally led but voluntary driven, added that “these seminars are proving to be key in assisting us in our drive to develop. It is becoming more than clear that sport is an industry, in order for us as an industry to be able to deliver for all aspects of Irish society we need to function as an industry and improve practices across the board.  I welcome the ISC’s capacity building programme as a valuable resource to assist us and other sports to do this”.

Both seminars will be repeated in September of this year. NGBs that have not registered should contact the Irish Sports Council’s NGB Support Unit and come along to increase their knowledge and understanding in the area of Governance which is imperative to their roles. Some NGBs who attended the April seminars have already booked their spots in September.