A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise

governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories). It is done by the ...

over an

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived fro ...

or political entity. The most formal is a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken

geopolitical Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

system (such as a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

) by establishing laws. Other types of governing include an organization (such as a

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

recognized as a legal entity by a government), a socio-political group (chiefdom, tribe, family, religious denomination, etc.), or another, informal group of people. In business and outsourcing relationships,

governance frameworks Governance frameworks are the structure of a government and reflect the interrelated relationships, factors, and other influences upon the institution. ''Governance structure'' is often used interchangeably with ''governance framework'' as they bot ...

are built into

relational contract Relational may refer to: Business * Relational capital, the value inherent in a company's relationships with its customers, vendors, and other important constituencies * Relational contract, a contract whose effect is based upon a relationship ...

s that foster long-term collaboration and innovation. A board of governors is often the governing body of a public institution, while a board of directors typically serves as the governing body of a corporation or other company larger or more complex than a partnership. Many professional sports have a sports governing body that serves as their regulating authority. Governing bodies can vary widely in size, which is "important not only for acquiring the necessary range of skills to oversee the entity, but also in promoting cohesion, flexibility, and effective participation of the members to achieve their governance objectives". A governing body is only one component of a system of governance, which also requires a written framework under which the body must operate, and governance mechanisms to both carry out directives of the governing body, and to report information back to the governing body.

Examples

Examples of governing bodies include: board of director and owners.

Education

*The school governing body of a school, particularly in Commonwealth areas * Board of education, the governing body of a school or higher administrative level * University Court, the governing body of a university in Scotland

Religion

*The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses *Governing Bodies of the Conference of European Churches

Sport

* FIFA, governing body of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

among others. * * FIA, governing body of

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

References

{{reflist Governance