In 2001 CANARI adopted an innovative governance structure, the Partnership, which continues to flourish today. The Partnership was designed to effectively leverage the collective skills of elected Board members and senior staff, to improve the working relationship between the two groups, to give senior staff a more formal role in governance and to better reflect the participatory culture of the organisation. Under this structure, elected Board members are designated as ‘Elected Partners’ and the Executive Director as ‘Managing Partner’. Senior technical staff with management responsibilities can be appointed as ‘Staff Partners’. Legally, all Partners are Directors and have collective responsibility for oversight of the Institute and for ensuring the appropriate use of the Institute’s funds.