The Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site is managed by the Joggins Fossil Institute (JFI), a charitable organization consisting of a volunteer board of directors and a small staff team. This article illustrates how the governance of this small institution evolved since its inception nearly 20 years ago. Originally, the institute had a traditional hierarchical management structure. But 10 years later, when it had matured and positions and responsibilities no longer needed to be invented, it adopted a flat management structure, which continues to function in a manner that does justice to the demands of running this small centre. We document our unique case study here because we believe it may help other (potential) geoheritage sites, UNESCO sites or others, in crafting a governance structure.

乔金斯化石悬崖被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产，由乔金斯化石研究所（JFI）管理，该慈善组织由志愿者董事会和小型员工团队组成。本文说明了自20年前成立以来，这个小型机构的治理方式是如何演变的。该研究所最初具有传统的分级管理结构。但是10年后，当它成熟并且不再需要发明职位和职责时，它采用了扁平化的管理结构，该结构继续以符合运营这个小中心的要求的方式运作。我们在这里记录了我们独特的案例研究，因为我们认为它可以帮助其他（潜在）地理遗产站点，联合国教科文组织站点或其他站点，以制定治理结构。