Governance Codes of Practice in the Not-for-Profit Sector

In the area of not-for-profit organisations the role, scope and desirability of governance is an emerging field. Both in academic literature and in practice the attempts to provide for governance of not-for-profit organisations are currently discrete and disparate. This is set to change with the publication by the National Hub of Expertise in Governance of a Code for organisations within the sector. This article examines the appropriateness of the new Code as a tool of regulation for the not-for-profit sector. In particular it focuses upon the challenges facing codes of practice for not-for-profit organisations, such as the identification of shareholders and organisational vision, and the purposes that such codes could have in the not-for-profit sector. The article concludes that whilst there is much of value in the new Code as a governance and regulatory tool, significant aspects the Code remain unclear; particularly the extent of the Code's constituency and the balance to be struck on the issue of compliance. Copyright (c) 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation (c) 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.