The Scottish Governance Code for the Third Sector - Introduction

This governance code is a statement of best practice. It sets out the core principles and key elements of good governance for the voluntary sector in Scotland. We, Scotland’s Third Sector Governance Forum, originally developed the code in 2018. It was the first code produced specifically for Scotland’s third sector, to address the need for the sector to have its own principles of governance.

We recognise that the sector’s understanding of good governance, and their expectations, change over time. So in 2022 we carried out a review of the code. We would like to acknowledge the support of the Robertson Trust, which enabled us to carry out a wide-ranging consultation with the third sector. That consultation produced several recommendations. These are incorporated in this code, which was published in November 2023.

Thank you to everyone who contributed – we could not have done it without you.

About us

We are Scotland’s Third Sector Governance Forum. We bring together people and organisations with knowledge of and expertise in issues relating to governance (that is, the structure of rules, practices and procedures used to direct and oversee an organisation). We are a small group of people with a big ambition to improve governance in the third sector. You can find out more about us at goodgovernance.scot.