During two weekends, the Forum on Governance of Nonprofit Organizations, organized by Esade Alumni and the Esade Institute for Social Innovation, brought together a diverse group of professionals—executives, lawyers, consultants, academics, and board members—interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how governing bodies operate in the third sector. The program explored four key dimensions: the role of governing bodies, the evaluation of results and social impact, the responsibilities of those serving on boards of trustees or boards of directors, and finally the challenges of sound management, communication, and digital transformation currently facing social organizations.
The starting point was a reflection on governing bodies and their relationship with executive teams. Professor Ignasi Carreras opened the forum with a session that combined conceptual reflection with practical discussion. From the outset, a central idea in any debate on governance emerged: governing is not the same as managing. While the executive team is responsible for the organization’s day-to-day activities—programs, projects, staff management, or fundraising—the governing body is responsible for setting strategic direction, safeguarding the mission, and ensuring institutional sustainability.
The session also included a practical exercise that helped ground the discussion in a real case: the experience of UNICEF Spain. Using this case, participants examined common issues in the governance of third-sector organizations: how the board of trustees is structured, what role it plays in strategic definition, and how the relationship between the governing body, its committees, and the executive team is articulated in an organization that combines a strong social mission with a complex institutional structure.
After the coffee break, the session continued with a roundtable discussion that added a more experiential dimension to the debate. Participants included Lara Aragones, trustee of the Fundación Champagnat; Francesc Mateu, linked to the boards of organizations such as Fundació Arrels, Habitatge Social, and Fundació Cassià Just; and Juan Antonio Bordas, a member of the board of trustees of the Fundación Club de Tenis Barcelona.
Their contributions offered insight into how governance is experienced from within boards of trustees. Beyond formal structures, the panelists emphasized that participating in the governing body of a social organization involves contributing strategic judgment, professional experience, and networks of relationships to institutions that work directly with social challenges.
The second session shifted the conversation toward results and social impact. Professor Guillermo Casasnovas shared reflections on how to measure the impact of organizations whose purpose, beyond economic outcomes, is primarily social. In this context, the debate within the third sector increasingly revolves around a key question: what real transformations do these social interventions generate in people’s lives or in communities, and how can they be measured?
The forum continued with a presentation by Professor Carlos Losada, who addressed the issue of strategy in nonprofit organizations. His reflection brought concepts from corporate governance into the third sector. In companies, strategy is typically oriented toward creating competitive advantages and economic value. In social organizations, by contrast, strategy is structured around the mission and its values. Strategic decisions are those that affect the organization’s ability to generate social impact or sustain its activities over the long term.
The morning’s inspiration session introduced concrete experiences from the foundation sector. Eugenia Bieto, professor and former director of Esade, shared her perspective from the Federació Catalana de Fundacions, while Paola Jubert explained the work of the Fundació Jubert Figueras supporting families who must relocate for medical reasons. Lluís Salart and Albert Guardia presented tools for measuring social impact and social balance that allow organizations to evaluate more systematically the social value they generate.
The day concluded with a session led by Ferran Ramón-Cortés focused on interpersonal communication, emphasizing that the ability to communicate an organization’s purpose effectively remains a key element.
Two weeks later, the forum resumed its sessions with a day focused on responsibility. Juan Carlos Quero opened the session by addressing the legal responsibilities of those who serve on boards of trustees or boards of directors of nonprofit organizations. Members of these bodies have clear fiduciary duties and must act with diligence, institutional loyalty, and respect for the legal framework that regulates the organization’s activities.
The roundtable that followed the coffee break brought together Camino Quiroga, trustee of the Fundació Lluita contra les Infeccions; Bernat Mullerat, trustee of Fundació Arrels and the Fundación La Salut Alta; and Eugenia Gay, involved in various institutional and social initiatives in Barcelona. The panelists agreed that boards of trustees should not limit themselves to validating decisions made by the executive team; rather, they should contribute strategic vision and help strengthen the institutional legitimacy of organizations.
The day concluded with a talk by journalist Francesc Miralles, who reflected on personal purpose through his book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, co-written with engineer Héctor García following their research on longevity and fulfilling lives in Okinawa. The reflection connected naturally with the spirit of the forum: many of the participants who serve on boards and governing bodies in the third sector find in that commitment a way to align their personal convictions and professional experience with a cause they consider valuable for society.
The final session was devoted to management. Franc Carreras opened the morning with a reflection on the strategic use of artificial intelligence and technological innovation in organizations. His talk focused on how to adopt and use these tools intelligently to improve decision-making and strengthen relationships with the audiences of social organizations.
Later, Marta Gabarró addressed a different dimension: the role of marketing in the third sector. Marketing should not be understood exclusively as a tool oriented toward profit; it can also become social marketing, a way of connecting the social value generated by organizations with society as a whole, thereby reinforcing the legitimacy of their causes and the public support they receive.
Subsequently, Juan Mezo dedicated his session to fundraising, emphasizing that resource mobilization should not be seen merely as a one-off activity but rather as a process of building long-term relationships of trust with society.
The day concluded with a presentation by Lluís Soldevila, who shared some reflections from his book Digital Thinking. In a world characterized by accelerated change, constant interconnection, and great difficulty in predicting the future, organizations must undergo digital transformation to improve their processes and strengthen their capacity to adapt. To survive in a VUCA environment, members of these organizations must be able to consolidate a clear vision, deepen their understanding of complex contexts, maintain clarity of purpose, and develop the agility needed to adapt quickly.
At the end of the four sessions, one conclusion became clear: although third-sector organizations exist to generate social impact, they cannot do without solid governance structures. Boards of trustees and boards of directors are the spaces where the mission is protected, strategy is guided, and the long-term sustainability of organizations is ensured so they can continue contributing to the common good. In a context where social challenges are multiplying and public trust in institutions is becoming increasingly fragile, strengthening the governance of the third sector is not merely an organizational matter—it is also a concrete way to strengthen civil society.
I am grateful for the invitation to participate in these sessions of the Forum on Governance of Nonprofit Organizations. For those of us who research and disseminate knowledge in the field of corporate governance, these spaces make it possible to contrast academic reflection with the practical experience of those who exercise governance responsibilities in social organizations.
Néstor U. Salcedo – Postdoctoral Researcher at the Esade Center for Corporate Governance
