Cardiff Met Students’ Union governance and democracy review

Cardiff Met Students’ Union (CMSU), as the member organisation for students, plays a vital role in enhancing student life, ensuring student representation, and enriching student experience at Cardiff Met University.

Recognising the need to modernise its governance and democratic structures, CMSU commissioned GGI to conduct a comprehensive review with a brief of being creative.

This was CMSU’s first governance and democracy review in many years and came at a pivotal time—with a new chief executive, a new university strategy, pressures in higher education, and ongoing challenges in student engagement and some big questions about student experience and the future role of the students’ union.

The review

GGI carried out an in-depth review, assessing governance effectiveness, decision-making processes, student participation, and leadership oversight. Extensive stakeholder engagement—including interviews, focus groups, surveys, and best practice research—provided a clear picture of the union’s governance strengths and areas for improvement.

A key part of the review was to work with the student leadership of the SU, and the wider members of the representative structure, to codesign the suggested reforms. It was a thoughtful process that included a number of workshops to look at current structures, reflect on good practice and live challenges and opportunities within the SU and university governance and explore innovative solutions.

Reflecting on the process, CMSU’s chief executive Will Fuller said: “From the first point of engagement, we were impressed with GGI's professionalism and reputation. The GGI team demonstrated expertise in governance best practices, along with a deep understanding of democratic principles. Importantly for us, they showed a strong desire to learn about us as an organisation and a willingness to support our ambitions. Their methodology was thorough and insightful, giving us a detailed analysis of our governance structures and practices."

Key findings and challenges

We identified significant opportunities to strengthen governance and democracy at CMSU:

• Governance structures were underdeveloped, with inconsistent application of good governance principles.
• Student democracy needed modernisation, with low engagement and participation rates.
• Leadership visibility required improvement, with limited engagement between trustees, student representatives, and the wider student body.
• Decision-making processes lacked clarity, and strategic oversight required strengthening.
• Resource constraints were limiting governance effectiveness and student-led initiatives.

Despite these challenges, CMSU demonstrated a strong commitment to reform.

Recommendations

To address these issues, we provided a structured roadmap for transformation, including:

• Clarifying CMSU’s purpose through an annual review and improved strategic alignment.
• Enhancing student engagement by establishing a formal student forum and online feedback channels.
• Strengthening leadership and governance by restructuring the board of trustees, increasing independent trustee representation, and developing a robust code of conduct.
• Improving transparency by publishing board minutes, decisions, and governance materials online.
• Expanding democratic participation through referenda rules, AGM reforms, and revised election processes.
• Bolstering risk management with a strategic risk framework, an audit sub-committee, and policy reviews.

Will Fuller praised our collaborative approach. He said: "GGI provided clear and actionable recommendations tailored to our specific needs and context and have helped us to set a clear course for the future. Our team loved working with GGI, who were highly collaborative and communicated clearly throughout the process. Their final report was well written, clearly structured, and has provided us with a roadmap for development, making it easy to socialise within the SU and with stakeholders."

Impact and future direction

CMSU has embraced GGI’s recommendations, with a phased implementation plan spanning two-to-three years. A key milestone was the revision of election rules, leading to a significant uplift in voter turnout and student engagement. The union is now embedding stronger governance principles, fostering a more inclusive democratic culture, and ensuring that students are truly at the heart of decision-making.

Will Fuller concludes: "We would highly recommend GGI to anyone looking to conduct a governance review to enhance its governance practices."