Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation has become the first county organisation to achieve Gold standard governance under the ECB’s County Partnership Agreement (CPA).
The award was made after Gloucestershire completed the ECB’s new Gold Accreditation Scheme, run independently by ITrustSport, that aims to ensure all Professional County Cricket Clubs (PCCs) and Recreational Cricket Boards (RCBs) achieve the gold tier of the ECB’s County Governance Framework.
The ECB’s County Partnership Agreement (CPA) is the multi-year agreement defining the relationship between ECB and each county organisation, covering the the aligned priorities, funding and responsibilities of each organisation. Included in these agreements are a range of collective “Standards” that all county organisations sign up to, The County Governance Framework is one of these standards.
“Achieving Gold standard governance is a significant achievement for any county,” said Ed Ringe, head of governance at the ECB. “Our congratulations go to Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation for their hard work and diligence in meeting this standard. Cricket across England and Wales will only benefit as more and more organisations progress their governance and become even better equipped to grow the game across England and Wales.”
Steve Silk, CEO of Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation, said, “We’re extremely proud to be the first Recreational Cricket Board/Foundation to achieve the ECB Gold Accreditation for Governance. It’s a wonderful recognition of the time, care, hard work, and commitment that has gone into strengthening our governance practices over recent years.
"Everyone involved in the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation should be really proud as this award demonstrates our dedication to operating to the highest standards and ensuring we continue to serve our cricketing community with integrity, transparency, and excellence.”
Several other county organisations are currently working through the accreditation scheme, which has been designed in collaboration with ITrustSport, a leading sport’s governance consultancy, and county stakeholders. Following the success of these first counties, a full launch will now accelerate – providing opportunities for all PCCs and RCBs to formally achieve Gold standard.
Ed Ringe added: “For the past five years, county organisations have been asked to adopt the Bronze and Silver tiers of the County Governance Framework. Now, as part of CPA2, we’re introducing a Gold Accreditation Scheme that will evolve our assurance process for the Gold tier. We would encourage any county organisation who feel they have fully implemented the Gold Tier to follow Gloucestershire’s lead and complete the new accreditation scheme.”
Nigel Hill, Governance Lead at Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation said: “This award is a brilliant tribute to many years of hard work and skill by our executive team; it was not a box-ticking exercise, but a thorough review of processes and attitudes put in place over a long period.
"We have a team who take very seriously their responsibilities for good governance of our precious resources, really care about delivering the best cricket can offer to our whole community, and who want to continue being pioneers for ever higher standards. We're hugely proud of what we are doing, and are delighted with this recognition of everybody's efforts.”