Most not-for-profit organizations and institutions of higher education have volunteer boards or councils that, working closely with staff leadership, base their actions, deliberations and decision-making on processes that have served them well for many years. However, as times change and organizations and institutions evolve, their leaders are finding it helpful to assess the effectiveness of these practices and refine them as appropriate.

Collaborative entities must also develop systems of governance and oversight to enable them to meet their goals over time. It is important that the governance design process is appropriately participatory.