2.3 Being clear about relationships between governors and the public
Governors and governing bodies need to be clear about the nature of their relationship
with the public. The governing body’s role is to direct and control the organisation in
the public interest (see 2.1) and to ensure accountability to the public (see 6.2). Being
clear about this increases the chances that governors and others will understand
governors’ responsibilities to the public and be aware of the limitations of what they
can be expected to do.
Public service governors are either elected directly by the public or appointed by
governing bodies and/or government12 . All governors share collective responsibility
and accountability for the governing body’s decisions13. This includes the governing
body of a partnership, whose members may come from a range of organisations. As
governors of the partnership, they are responsible for taking decisions that support the
partnership’s purpose, not simply the interests of their ‘parent’ organisation.
Their different routes to becoming a governor mean that elected and appointed
governors have different types of relationship with the public. However, both are