Salford SU is both a charity and a democratic membership organisation. The Board of Trustees is the top decision making and oversight body at the Union. ## Board of Trustees The Board is comprised of - 5 USSU Student Officers, elected by the membership (University of Salford students) - 4 Student Trustees (current students selected by the Board) - 4 External (Lay) Trustees (externals, selected by the Board for their expertise). The Board meets five times each year. - Five of the trustees of the organisation are democratically elected and also have full-time roles working for the charity to represent students. - The most visible of these trustees is the USSU President, who is elected alongside four other student officers to represent students to the University of Salford and other stakeholders. These officers, however, are just the apex of the student representation pyramid and there are a range of roles beneath them that are also elected, such as our Voluntary Officers (part time student officers who represent distinct constituencies such as Black students or postgraduate students). Each of these Voluntary Officers has an executive committee of students that meets regularly to hold the organisation, and its Student Officers, to account. There are also School Representatives, who work with the Deans and Associate Deans in each school to improve the learning and teaching at the University, as well as Course Representatives who represent each student on each course across the University. ## Pillars of Governance As mentioned previously, there is a Board of Trustees which is the ultimate decision making body for the organisation. The five Student Officers sit on this board (the President sits as Chair), alongside four other students and four lay (external) trustees who are professionals from a range of backgrounds and industries. As CEO, I am accountable to the Board. These governance arrangements bring with them an element of risk that, in my experience, exceeds that of most private sector or third sector organisations of its size. The Education Act 1994 states that Student Officers may only serve for a maximum of two years, and many of the students who serve on the board leave after a similar length of time (due to the length of their studies) so turnover on the board often exceeds 60% per annum, including during much of my time as CEO at Salford. Additionally, there is a disconnect between the understanding of an officer role and the student electorate that votes each year. It is difficult to educate the electorate on the role and the influence that the officers hold over the organisation, as well as esteem given to them by the University of Salford (see below). ## Strategy Implications Ultimately, this provides a difficult operating environment for the creation, development and execution of any organisational strategy. There are multiple constituencies that need to be consulted and their expectations met, there is significant change in leadership and oversight of the strategy each year, and there is the complexity provided through the inter-relationship between our democratic, and membership focus and the trustees' general responsibility for the running of the charity. Having said that, the opportunities and information provided through these governance arrangements is also our greatest strength. It provides us with [[Dynamic Capabilities]] as we are always able to adapt to the emerging socio-political landscape. It also provides us with an [[VRIO#^d030e2|inimitability]] which is essential to our competitive advantage. ## See also - [[Charity Commission Good Governance Code]] - [[Salford SU Articles of Association]] - [[Governance without utility is bureaucracy]] - [[Counterculture Governance Diagram]]