The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), a national non-profit institution that celebrated its 125th birthday in 2005, is one of Canada's most enduring cultural entities. Traditionally, the Academy has been governed by a national council allowing for representation, on a rotating basis, of both the rich variety of visual arts disciplines in the membership and their regional locations.

In 2004, Meta4 conducted a strategic review of the governance of the RCA. The review resulted in a new mission statement and a series of recommendations to significantly update governance arrangements and restructure the governing Council.