Source: Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) published on this website Monday 5 August 2024 by Jill Powell
Part of the work of the Scottish Charity Regulator is to carry out inquiries in response to concerns from the public, charity staff and other sources.
Reflecting on some of the inquiry cases that they have dealt with recently, they have identified several common themes and lessons that charities, and those who work with charities, can learn from to help improve their governance and avoid potential problems.
On the 2 August they published the second in a series of reports going into further details about these common themes and lessons, focusing on the topic of dominant behaviour in charities. At OSCR there is an increasing concern about dominant behaviour in charities. Dominant behaviour in a charity’s governance happens when one person (or a small group of people) makes all the decisions in a charity and prevents the charity’s trustees, as a whole, from acting collectively and doing their job properly or force the charity trustees to legitimise their decisions at a later date. It can and does result in beneficiaries, staff and funders losing confidence in a charity.
The report, Learning from OSCR’s Inquiries: Dominant behaviour in charities, discusses:
- Why dominant behaviour arises in charities
- Why dominance is a problem
- How to prevent dominance from happening
- How you should tackle dominant behaviour
- Further sources of help and guidance
Read the report here: Learning from OSCR's Inquiries: Dominant behaviour in charities behaviour in charities.
The first report in the series, Learning from OSCR’s Inquiries: Financial Management, details ten key lessons to support good financial governance. It is available here: Learning from OSCR's Inquiries: Financial Managementearning from OSCR's Inquiries: Financial Management.
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