Governance Under Pressure: What Works When Organizations Need It Most
About the Session
Governance can be easy to overlook when things are going well. Its importance becomes much clearer when organizations and systems come under pressure.
Across the impact sector, leaders are navigating funding cuts, political uncertainty, organizational change, growing demand, and increasingly complex partnerships. In these moments, governance can either help organizations make difficult decisions with clarity and accountability, or become another source of friction.
The challenge extends beyond individual nonprofits. As organizations form coalitions around shared climate goals and other complex problems, questions emerge about who decides, who is accountable, how resources are allocated, and how groups coordinate without duplicating effort or fragmenting their message. At the community level, governance also determines whether people closest to the work have meaningful influence over decisions made in their name.
This session will explore governance as a practical tool for resilience. What structures help organizations navigate uncertainty? What makes coalition governance work when multiple organizations share responsibility? How should leadership and boards adapt during periods of change? And how can accountability to communities be built into governance rather than added afterward?
Discussion Group Leaders
Alison McGardle is Managing Director at SRI Executive, strengthening global impact organizations through executive search, leadership, and organizational consultancy.
Manushi Yadav is Head, Strategy and Global Partnerships at Pratham, strengthening strategy and partnerships that expand opportunities in education and skills development.
Mario Picon is Founder and Senior Director at Governance Action Hub, advancing collaborative governance and institutional change across climate, democracy, and development.
What to Expect
A candid, practical exchange about how governance works when the stakes are high. Participants will draw on experiences from nonprofits, coalitions, community-led organizations, and multi-organization initiatives to examine where governance helps and where it gets in the way.
Rather than focusing on governance as compliance, the conversation will look at the decisions, relationships, structures, and accountability mechanisms that allow organizations and collaborations to remain effective through uncertainty.
Who This Is For
This session is for nonprofit leaders, board members, funders, coalition builders, community organizations, governance practitioners, and leaders responsible for designing or strengthening collaborative initiatives.
What You Will Get Out of It
Practical approaches to governance during periods of uncertainty and change
Lessons for building more resilient nonprofit organizations
Models for coordinating governance across coalitions and multi-organization initiatives
Ways to strengthen community accountability and participation in decision-making
Questions leaders and boards can use to assess whether their governance is helping or hindering the mission