Governance
This section breaks down the structures and systems that help keep creative projects and organizations running smoothly. From understanding boards and bylaws to making collective decisions and ensuring accountability, this section offers clear guidance on how governance can support sustainable, values-driven work.
Producing Models
There are many different forms of producing relationships, many of them between venued and non-venued companies. Here are a few examples of ways you can collaborate with another organization to put on your production that will hopefully help define who is doing what.
Incorporated and Non-Profits
A non-profit is an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends.
They can be non-incorporated like an artist collective. Or they can be incorporated through the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. Incorporated non-profits must have a Board of Directors, with articles and bylaws to govern themselves. When they are incorporated, we call non-profits 'societies'. Non-profits may also choose to obtain Charitable Status which is granted by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) upon application by a non-profit.
Board of Directors
For an incorporated non-profit organization, a board is a group of volunteers who agree to take on the governance of and responsibility for a given organization. With the governance structure of incorporated non-profits, boards have ultimate legal authority over any persons working for the organization. Officially, they are your boss.
In the best-case scenario, a board is essentially a dedicated community of people (often non-artists) who want to help support the work of artists without financial compensation in return.
Professional Standards
Professional standards often include ethical standards, standards of practice and professional frameworks. They are frequently discipline specific. They describe the goals, principles and aspirations of professionals working within that discipline and cover both the rights and responsibilities of those professionals. Often these are created by professional associations and unions.
It is important to know that these standards cannot override provincial labour laws. s with an idea.
Workplace Safety
Did you know that as an independent producer or independent theatre company, you are required by law to have a Harassment Policy and a Health and Safety Policy? This page will talk about Workplace Safety from a Health and Safety perspective.
Harassment
Harassment is discrimination based on race, religion, sex, age, or disability. It can also refer to unwelcome physical contact. Harassment is defined by the Canadian Human Rights Commission as: "a form of discrimination. It involves any unwanted physical or verbal behaviour that offends or humiliates you.”
Archiving
There are a lot of practical reasons why keeping a record of your body of work is not just useful, but essential. Archival photos and videos can be useful support material for grants. They also can make or break your chances at staging your production at a curated festival, touring, or doing a remount. They can help grow your website and social media presence as you build a body of work.
Records Management
Managing communications & information effectively is an essential skill of any successful producer. While email is the most common - and absolutely the most essential - tool in today’s digital world, there are many free tools available to you to help streamline conversations, manage tasks, record and save key decisions or documents, and share information between collaborators. There are also a few key strategies that you can implement that can help you as you balance multiple projects. How you choose to use them and in what combination depends on what makes the most sense to you, the demands of the project and buy-in from your team.
