https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/london-policy-amp-strategy-network-31019071129

1. Governance beyond
government: lessons
from the third sector
#BeyondTheRules
–
London Policy & Strategy Network
24 March 2022
24
March
2022

2. 2
Governance
24
March
2022
Rules which dictate how we organise, decide to use resources,
and work together in highly variable societies.
Many different types of actors (civil society, corporations, or state
agencies) and all scales (local, regional, national, or international)
are involved in governance processes.
Governance is not only done by the state.
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
Source: Democratic Climate Glossary

3. 3
Third sector
24
March
2022
Formal
Private
Self-governing
Different structures
Non-profit-making
Non-political
Voluntary
Values-driven
Source: Woking Borough Council
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

4. 4
Governance evolution, not revolution
24
March
2022
Shifting away from Shifting towards
lack of transparency and accountability holding people to account
structure and rigidity decentralisation and “structurelessness”
hierarchy and withholding power relational leadership and active allyship
consensus building decision making around consent
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

5. 5
What we’re seeing in the third sector
24
March
2022
Shifting away from Shifting towards
lack of transparency and accountability holding people to account
structure and rigidity decentralisation and “structurelessness”
hierarchy and gatekeeping relational leadership and active allyship
consensus building decision making around consent
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

6. 6
Beyond the Rules
Collective enquiry into
governance and the
inequalities people
experience in their systems.
➔ Power & decision making
➔ Accountability
➔ Broadening participation
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

7. 7
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
#BeyondTheRules approach
24
March
2022
Who we spoke to
9 organisations
3 community-oriented
6 values-oriented
Mix of bounded and unbounded groups
Working locally, nationally and internationally
People who decide who decides

8. What have we learned?

9. 9
Holding people to account
24
March
2022
A culture of challenge is just as important as a formalised process.
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
Comfort with discomfort
Those at the heart set the tone
Hearing hard truths
Openness to challenge

10. 10
Holding people to account
24
March
2022
People are accustomed to hierarchies and asking for permission.
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
Key people at the heart of third sector organisations set the tone for un-learning and re-
socialisation:
➔ Encouraging people to boldly take things on, and not ask permission
➔ Reminding about this if permission asking continues
➔ Overcoming tendencies of ‘being deferential’
This doesn’t mean not being respectful, it means taking steps to change how we show up,
to shift dynamics of power and hierarchy.

11. 11
24
March
2022
Holding people to account
“We have some new members who’re accustomed and used to hierarchical
organisations and asking for permission.
Any time one of those reactions comes up, we point it out. And any time we
point it out, the more aware of it we become.”

12. 12
24
March
2022
Holding people to account
“Whoever turns up to a network meeting makes a decision about something –
this is where we’ve done voting. What they’re voting on will have been decided
by the Enabling Team who have the capacity to organise items into lists and
themes before presenting these to the group for a vote and prioritisation.”

13. 13
Holding people to account
24
March
2022
Transparency and ‘seeing the beast’ enables accountability…
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
➔ Power in smaller organisations can be more easily personified, identified and managed.
➔ In large, hierarchical, formalised contexts, long-established entrenched hierarchies can
be harder to surface and respond to.
➔ Disruption can need a jump-start of permissioning or funding from the top or centre.
Those in positions of power need to clearly set out what level of involvement people can
expect to have, and be careful not to over-promise what level of involvement more junior /
less involved people might have. Failing to deliver on this erodes trust.

14. 14
Holding people to account
24
March
2022
…but transparency brings its own problems.
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
Transparency and safeguarding marginalised groups aren’t always compatible goals, and
this is an issue when transparency is core to your values and community organising.
“Working in the open can be a barrier for some – a cultural shift – they might not feel
comfortable going there.”

15. 15
Decentralisation and “structurelessness”
24
March
2022
Resisting the replication of hierarchy is hard.
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
Limits of relational-based models: “As soon as you package something up as a model, I
think you’ve lost it.”
Making responsibility and accountability tangible
➔ Not as simple as removing hierarchy and hoping for the best.
➔ Hierarchy reasserts itself, based around existing subconscious biases and privileges.
➔ Funders and the system at large are replicating hierarchy, it’s hard to resist this.
➔ Avoiding existing governance structures brings its own set of problems e.g.
assumptions the ‘core’ team are doing this for their own benefit.

16. 16
24
March
2022
Decentralisation and “structurelessness”
“We’ve refrained from getting pulled in to existing governance structures because
they’d create barriers to what we want to do. We’ve not sensed what people want
instead yet.
There are advantages to this for participants and members, it’s not easier for us as the
Enabling Team, but it’s made things possible which wouldn’t have been otherwise.”
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

17. 17
Decentralisation and “structurelessness”
24
March
2022
Structures helpful in large organisations
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
➔ Striking a balance, asking what pathways and structures are helpful, not rushing to
become formalised as a small org, but not assuming removal of structure will be
liberating as a large org.
➔ Central hub for helping groups form, a go-to for ‘how to’ stuff.
➔ “Parcelling off” functions of Board members and staff that distribute focal points of
power e.g. facilitating Board meetings
“There are limits to how many people someone can know… there’s quite a lot of evidence
that splitting people into teams in larger organisations can help enable them to work.”

18. 18
24
March
2022
Decentralisation and “structurelessness”
“We don’t see our approach to decision-making as top down or bottom up. We have a
dual system in tech terms, a thriving network…layering on structure and hierarchy to
some degree. Not going centralised and chucking out old structures, those that do tend
to go backwards, might have worked in the 1950s and nobody would have questioned
it, but not now…
A picture would be three-dimensional, transparent, with nodes and layers cutting
through it to provide a bit of structure. It has the dynamic network, but it needs an
anchor of some kind to achieve mission. The network empowers by intersecting at any
point at any level with the structure. Optimising empowerment whilst having a
successful, strong organisation. E.g. “We need an accountant” for the essential skills.”
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

19. 19
Relational leadership and active allyship
24
March
2022
New ways of being and doing together
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
Building the trust in comfortable spaces: Curating a safe space, in which people are
comfortable contributing.
Inviting challenge: culture based on equitable contribution and open challenge.
Active listening: time and skills to listen
Language and information = power

20. 20
24
March
2022
Relational leadership and active allyship
“It's important to consider how individuals show up, particularly those in
positions of greater power. There's a need to be comfortable with
uncomfortable conversations, painful discussions in relation to decision
making. Very personally affecting conversations need to happen, people need
to be able to put egos to one side to listen and help others use their voice, and
be willing to learn.”
“Those in positions of power need to practice not exercising their power. This
isn’t necessarily about giving power away; other people in the group already
have their own power and need to be encouraged to use it.”
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

21. 21
24
March
2022
Relational leadership and active allyship
“Good decision making is about authenticity and deep reflection, trust, willingness
on an individual level – doesn’t matter that it stings my ego right now”
“Every relevant structure involves having a Board. This feels like a backwards step
for a group of women who have found a voice and become more courageous - to
suddenly devolve decision making to a Board… We’ve learned a lot about what we
don’t want to be…
For us, our method is so important – so organic. We know we will have to be more
formal and safeguard people, the finances... but we want to be free to move in our
own way.”
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

22. 22
Decision making around consent
24
March
2022
Consensus isn’t always the answer.
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
“Feeling together”
Keeping up the pace: Which decisions deserve or need consensus? What does this take?
w.g. away-days, enabling teams
Size matters: Larger, bounded organisations can struggle to reach consensus
Trust and confidence: process and values used for day to day decisions can enable a
different power dynamic to form.
Different paths to participation depending on who needs to be involved in the decision,
e.g. Participatory Grantmaking, Sociocratic methods

23. Comfort with Challenge
Confidence &
Permission
Contribution to and
challenge of governance
decisions
Partners &
Public
Governance
Projects,
Operations, HR
Social
Individual
Open conversations about
tricky topics, e.g. privilege,
power, pay
Newcomers feeling
welcome & informed
Enabling Conditions rippling out
Encouraging more equal
power dynamics
elsewhere
Staff contributing to
strategic thinking &
direction
Becoming more
accessible to partners,
practitioners and the
public
Transparency, e.g.
decision-making,
financial
Accessibility &
Openness
Trust
Active Listening

24. 24
Bonus round!
Other examples of
these evolutions
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

25. 25
24
March
2022
Participation through co-production
and deliberation
➔ Hybrid democratic model of policy
development working with groups with
lived experience, plus a national mini-
public selected via sortition;
➔ Co-design of realistic, practical plans:
opportunities for all who wish to take
part in coming up with workable
answers;
➔ People’s Panel convened to deliberate
on co-produced ideas and form
recommendations;
➔ Everyone’s expertise and experience is
valued, equally;
➔ Testing, iteration, and willingness to
go back to the drawing board: if
everyone isn’t on board with the plans,
they don’t get put forward.
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules
New ways of being and doing together that are
picking up momentum in cities worldwide
➔ Doughnut Economics communities: strong realisation
that transforming an economy requires a cultural
revolution, not a socio-technical one. While groups
desire not to replicate traditional hierarchies, some
are finding it’s not as simple as removing hierarchy
and hoping for the best. Adopting alternative
decentralised models takes work.
➔ Microsolidarity: Groups of different sizes are good for
different things. New ways of thinking about power,
authority and hierarchy. Alignment around shared
values, principles and purposes.
➔ 21st Century Competencies (IFF): “...(competence) is
not a capacity of the individual. Our competence is
always demonstrated in a human system, in a culture,
in a pattern of relationships”
➔ Design Justice: centering voices of communities
commonly marginalised from design processes and
decision making.

26. 26
Questions for groups
24
March
2022
1. Why pay attention to the third sector? What can be taken away from this?
2. (Where) are you seeing examples of new ways of being, working? Who or
what has brought this about, and what impact is this having?
3. Do we think governance beyond government is ‘better’? Why, why not?
demsoc.org/projects/beyond-rules #BeyondTheRules
Governance beyond government: lessons from the third sector #BeyondTheRules

27. Thank you.
24
March
2022
hello@demsoc.org
demsoc.org/projects/beyond-rules
#BeyondTheRules