The prestigious Good Governance Awards recognises and encourages adherence to good governance by non-profit organisations in Ireland. The awards were developed by Carmichael who are a leading specialist training and support body for non-profits in Ireland with the support of their partner organisations and leading national bodies in the non-profit sector.

The Governance Improvement Initiative award recognises measures that have been taken by Canoeing Ireland in the last 12 months to improve the quality of its overall governance. Entrants for this award had to submit their governance initiatives, setting out the governance issues they addressed, the actions they took and the impact that this has had for the organisation.

In his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony today, President of Canoeing Ireland, Brian Ogilvie said that:

“Canoeing Ireland is delighted to win the Carmichael Good Governance award. The award is important to us as an organisation as it recognises the pathway of change, which we as a National Governing Body have taken over the last number of years.

It is a significant milestone for Canoeing Ireland as it acknowledges the work of our Board who took on the collective responsibility for driving positive change through a series of measures designed to increase accountability and transparency.

Sporting bodies rely heavily on the efforts and goodwill of our members and paddlesports is no different. We as an organisation have experienced how poor governance leads to a culture of mistrust, suspicion and disengagement. This came to a point where there was a need for radical action to mend Canoeing Ireland and create a new positive and productive environment.

Improving our governance structures, policies and practices has been a core enabler to facilitate this transformation process. We now build accountability into every action and decision. We reflect on successes and failures.  One-sided communication has now become an open conversation.

Based on the results of stakeholder surveys, satisfaction ratings with Canoeing Ireland are rising. There has been a positive response to new initiatives and most importantly, we are becoming a cohesive community again.

I would like to thank everyone for their involvement and commitment to making this happen – our Board of Directors, CEO Moira Aston, staff, clubs, committees, members and volunteers.

Finally, I would like to thank Carmichael, their partner organisations and especially the judges.”