The 2020

ICDA Not-for-Profit Governance Roadmap

A year long research project into the workings of the Australian not-for-profit sector

View the roadmap

See the data visualisation

Read a quick snapshot

Why we’re doing this study

As the nation's top trainer and advocate for community directors, ICDA continues to press for improvements in the way we help board members.

The results will guide the Institute's work in education, resourcing and advocacy, and we'll be sharing results to boost public knowledge about not-for-profit sector governance.

"There are more than 600,000 not-for-profits in Australia - it's a huge and hugely important sector, yet there remain big gaps in our knowledge about the needs, desires, frustrations and expectations the leaders of those organisations hold," said ICDA executive director Patrick Moriarty.

"We're confident our report will yield practical results for our members and the wider sector."

The latest survey follows a 2015 study on governance, which will act as a baseline.

Who participated

The survey was open to any person who has served on a not-for-profit sector board/committee/council during the past 12 months, or any person who has worked in an official capacity to support a board/committee/council over the past 12 months (e.g. CEOs, Managers).

Anyone completing the survey was expected to have a thorough understanding of their organisation's governance activities.

Our terminology

In the study and our reports, we use the word “board” to represent any governing body (including trusts, committees of management, councils, etc.). We use the word “not-for-profit” to represent any community group, trust or other not-for-profit organisation.

We use the word “CEO” to represent an organisation’s head person, whatever term is used (including Director, General Manager, Manager, etc).