Good governance a steel rod in a crisis

“It has been made devastatingly clear that the best defence against health emergencies is a strong health system.  A strong health system is a resilient health system.”

WHO Director-General, 9 July 2020

I want to extend my sincere admiration for those who have been working on the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery planning. The grit, focus, selflessness and team spirit of all involved has been amazing to watch.

Success in these circumstances relies, of course, on the competency and commitment of individuals – but that alone is not enough, as we’ve seen this year. Good people need to be supported by strong and resilient systems, founded on good governance.

I have previously written about governance being the bedrock of implementation success. Extending on this idea, I suggest that strong governance in the good times is an invisible glue – but in challenging times, becomes a steel rod providing essential stability. I strongly believe that investing in effective governance is the best insurance policy to help tackle the next crisis that will come along.

What is governance?

Some people think good governance is hard to define. Like good art; they say: “I know it when I see it”.

I disagree. Governance principles and practices can be designed, embedded into practice and learnt.

A few definitions:

• The ASX defines it as “the framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within and by which authority is exercised and controlled in corporations”.
• The Governance Institute of Australia defines governance in these terms: “Governance encompasses the system by which an organisation is controlled and operates, and the mechanisms by which it, and its people, are held to account. Ethics, risk management, compliance and administration are all elements of governance.”
• The Australian Government Public Service Commission in Building Better Governance defines it as “‘…the set of responsibilities and practices, policies and procedures, exercised by an agency’s executive, to provide strategic direction, ensure objectives are achieved, manage risks and use resources responsibly and with accountability”.

You can see there are core elements of governance irrespective of what sector you work in. In contrast, it is clear to people when governance is lacking, though they might not necessarily see if it as a failure in ‘governance’.

Recognise the following?

I’m sure you’ve all had that déjà vu moment, when people re-prosecute the same decision again and again. I once heard the same committee make the same decision three times! Or – when things fall through the cracks because it was not clear who was responsible for them. Or – when performance is continually below average, but nothing happens about it because no-one is monitoring performance and holding people to account.

Elements of good governance

Below are elements which I believe characterise ‘good governance’.  Whether you have oversight of an organisation or are responsible for running a program within an organisation, this is a handy checklist of considerations.

An effective corporate governance framework will consider the following:

• Strategy: Setting, guiding and monitoring the future direction of the business
• Risk management: Establishing appropriate control processes and accountability systems
• Compliance: Ensuring that the business operates within its relevant legal boundaries
• Monitoring: Driving the performance of the business, through the management team
• Cultural tone: Guiding the development of the business culture internally and externally.

Other elements that can be added to that for public sector entities are:

• Accountability: Being answerable for decisions and having meaningful mechanisms in place to ensure the agency adheres to all applicable standards
• Transparency/openness: Having clear roles and responsibilities and clear procedures for making decisions and exercising power
• Integrity: Acting impartially, ethically and in the interests of the agency, and not misusing information acquired through a position of trust
• Stewardship: Using every opportunity to enhance the value of the public assets and institutions that have been entrusted to care
• Efficiency: Ensuring the best use of resources to further the aims of the organisation, with a commitment to evidence-based strategies for improvement
• Leadership: Achieving an agency-wide commitment to good governance through leadership from the top.

Good governance structures are not ‘set and forget’. They need to be reviewed regularly.

Banking Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne recommends that entities should, as often as reasonably possible, take proper steps to:

• Assess the entity’s culture and its governance
• Identify any problems with that culture and governance
• Deal with those problems
• Determine whether the changes it has made have been effective.

Governance in a crisis

Incorporating these elements will act as an invisible glue in good times, helping an organisation or program run smoothly. But it is in times of crisis that good governance emerges as truly essential – the steel rod underpinning all you do.

In a crisis, good governance safeguards against panic and chaos, and prevents reinvention of the wheel.

In a crisis, an organisation with good governance structures can rapidly make time-critical decisions and ensure their response is both fast, and effective.

When mistakes are made, good governance means they are investigated through agreed processes and lessons are quickly learnt.

Finally, good governance means that crisis planning is up to date and can be acted upon when needed.

A timely example is how rapidly the existing governance and public health structures across NSW Health were able to be harnessed to deal with COVID-19.