In Aotearoa New Zealand there are more than 100,000 non-government organisations (NGOs), charities and community groups. Our country would not function without the tireless work of these organisations in all sectors: supporting parents, caring for older people, providing surf-life saving services, protecting the environment and organising education, sport and arts events.

Most of these groups have some form of board or committee. For the approximately 500,000 people currently volunteering in governance roles in the community sector, these roles can be rewarding but difficult. The capabilities and capacity of boards and committees in the community sector are variable.

Raising support for and the overall capacity of governance in the community sector will result in not only stronger community organisations, but more effective services and outcomes for the communities they serve.

However, the challenge to do so is complex. Community organisations are diverse, board and committee members are usually time-poor volunteers and there are limited resources available to invest in training and development.

The Centre for Social Impact (CSI) and the Community Governance Steering Group (a collaboration of people and organisations interested in developing and supporting good governance practices in Aotearoa New Zealand’s community sector) used a 'co-design sprint' process, with more than 150 people involved, to develop a National Strategy for Community Governance. The aim was that ‘all community organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand are well governed’.

In this document the authors share their experience of what they did and how they did it, and reflections on what worked well and what we could have done differently. In doing so, the aim of the document is to support and inspire you to find innovative ways to work collaboratively to solve complex social good problems.