Governance

In the last 20 years, ‘governance’ has shifted from a rarely used concept to a fundamental consideration in most disciplines.  By the early 2000s, economic and social leaders had begun to recognize a causal link between governance and advances in national and international well-being.

Good governance is not an end in itself, but rather a process and a set of practices that enable organizations to realize their goals.  What governance is and what it can do will change with circumstances and context.  Hence, today’s understanding of governance must take into consideration changes in technology, civil society and government.

Today, some of our most vexing societal issues move outside the traditional boundaries of individual governments, departments, and organizations. Helping to resolve these problems is at the heart of evolving models of governance that require us all to work together in very different ways to meet the challenges that confront us.

In Canada and internationally, governance questions are raised at all levels of government, especially where responsibility if shared among many governmental and non-governmental actors.  Aboriginal governance-- finding a comfortable ‘space’ in the Canadian federation for our Aboriginal peoples—is a particularly challenging area. Another example, and one not limited to the Canadian case, is the need to re-invent government to respond to citizens’ expectations and provide services in an effective and timely manner.

The IOG has explored the meaning and value of governance, good governance and even good enough governance in the context of national, local, international and multinational governments, and in the realm of public sector and civil society organizations.  We can help you explore how governance works, how it can best be evaluated and how it can improve.