Architecture is concerned with the practice of designing and building structures that are unified and coherent. Since the nonprofit organization could be seen as a structure just as a building is a structure, the specific practice of designing and building organizations could be seen to as governance architecture. And the organization leaders could be referred to as governance architects.
Governance architecture describes and organizes the context in which the organization leaders serve as architects to make decisions needed to advance the mission and meet organization performance expectations.
The basic governance architecture of an organization includes three interrelated and interdependent building blocks:
- Governance leadership — all organizations have an elected chair that leads the governing authority and is responsible for the governance culture. Governing authorities generally employ a chief executive who is the organizational leader and is responsible for organization performance. While the roles, responsibilities and authority of each leader are different, the governance design and structure in the organization require that they work together. Research supports the theory that if they are able to construct an effective governance partnership, the board will be more effective and the performance of the organization will improve.
- Governing Authority — all nonprofit organizations are required by law to have a board of directors who serve as the governing authority. The board serves in the public trust and has the fiduciary responsibility to ensure effective governance and organizational performance. The baord chair is elected by the governing authority in accordance with its bylaws.
- Organization — all nonprofit organizations are responsible and accountable to achieve mission and organization performance expectations set by the governing authority. The chief executive is employed by the governing authority to lead the day-to-day operations in a manner that meets those expectations.
These three building blocks serve as the foundation, framework, and infrastructure of the organization just as they are essential to the structure of a building.