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

governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...

over an

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

political entity A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people organized for governance ...

. The most formal is a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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

geopolitical Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states: ''de facto'' independen ...

system (such as a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

) by establishing

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

s. Other types of governing include an organization (such as a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

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 Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another ...

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 A relational contract is a contract whose effect is based upon a relationship of Trust (social science), trust between the parties. The explicit terms of a relational contract are an outline, while implicit terms and understandings determine the be ...

s that foster long-term collaboration and innovation. A

board of governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

is often the governing body of a public institution, while a

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

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 A sports governing body is a sports organisation that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions, including disciplinary action for rule infractions and dec ...

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 In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions: *Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction *Holding the headteacher to account for th ...

of a school, particularly in Commonwealth areas *

Board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

, the governing body of a school or higher administrative level *

University Court A university court is an administrative body of a university in the United Kingdom and other countries. In most older universities of England and Wales, the court is part of the governance structure and acts as a forum for local stakeholders from ...

, the governing body of a university in Scotland

Religion

*The

Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses, based in the denomination's Warwick, New York, headquarters. The body formulates doctrines, oversees the production of written material for publications and ...

, the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses *Governing Bodies of the

Conference of European Churches The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions. In its commitment to Europe as a whol ...

Sport

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, governing body of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

among others. * FIA, governing body of

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

. * ICC, Governing Body of

International Cricket International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, administrated by the International Cricket Council. The main forms are Test matches, ODI matches and T20I matches. Most games are played as part of "tou ...

. *

BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

, Wealthiest and Powerful Cricket Sport Governing Body in India and world

References

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