bestuurs

Bestuur is a Dutch term referring to the body or act of governing an organization. In everyday usage, het bestuur denotes the governing body of a company, association, foundation, or government agency, responsible for setting strategy, making policy decisions, and overseeing the organization’s resources and performance. The plural form bestuurs appears mainly in compound terms such as bestuursorganen (governing bodies) or discussions about multiple boards.

In corporate governance, the term bestuur is commonly used to refer to the management board that runs daily operations, sets policy, and signs contracts, while supervisory functions are often carried out by the raad van commissarissen in a two-tier system. In a one-tier board, management and supervisory responsibilities are combined in a single governing body. The exact distribution of powers depends on national law, the organization’s bylaws, and governance codes. In the nonprofit and public sectors, het bestuur ensures accountability to members, donors, citizens, and taxpayers, and ensures compliance with statutory duties and ethical standards.

Bestuurskunde is the academic discipline concerned with governance in the public sector, policy implementation, public management, and organizational behavior. It studies topics such as policy analysis, service delivery, accountability, transparency, leadership, and intergovernmental coordination.

In Dutch law and practice, founding documents define the board’s duties, including fiduciary responsibility, risk management, and reporting. The effectiveness of een bestuur depends on clear mandates, adequate resources, professional management, and appropriate checks and balances.