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Governance design
Good governance design starts with understanding the relationship between organisational structure and performance. We know from long experience that for any activity to be effective, whether in business, the community or the public sector – it needs the right structure. This is not just about choosing (say) a trust over a company. It is crucially a matter of how the structure is designed, including stated purpose, rules for governance, transparency and accountability and a myriad of other aspects that affect how well governance arrangements work.
We also know that getting it right is a process of first knowing what an activity is intended to achieve and what the key relationships will be, and then designing a structure to meet these. As the old cliche has it, “form follows function”.
We can evaluate and design organisational structures, analyse and develop stakeholder relationships, assess organisational capability and performance and apply the tests of accountability. We specialise particularly in issues surrounding public ownership and stakeholder relationships.
By using us to help create, review or develop your governance arrangements you get:
- An approach to governance design drawn from our in-depth understanding of the performance characteristics of different organisational structures in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
- A solution that is tailored to your needs and those of your stakeholders rather than simply taken “off the shelf”.
- A team that knows how to handle the practical aspects of putting a new governance structure in place.
Feature project
Much of our work on governance is necessarily confidential which prevents us from citing a client specific project. Instead, we offer what we think of as an “oldie but a goodie”: a paper for the Society of Local Government Managers on The Application of the Trust Model in the Local Government Sector. The paper showcases our analytical approach and the way we go about helping clients identify the options available to them.
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| Recent projects |
| 2004/5 |
Advice to a major participant in the horticulture sector on restricting the transferability of shares, and the appointment of directors/board members to affiliated entities |
| 2004 |
Advice to a Pacific Island Trust regarding governance issues between a government-established trust and a company set up by the Trust |
| 2003 |
A paper about setting new standards of governance for the public sector presented at the Governance and Accountability in the Public Sector Conference (see library) |
| 2002 |
Advice to Local Government New Zealand on the council-controlled organisation provisions of the Local Government Bill to assist them in preparing their submission to the Select Committee (see library) |
| 2002 |
A project reviewing the effectiveness of the governance, accountability and funding arrangements for Crown Research Institutes for the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology |
| 2002 |
Advice to the Rodney District Council on general principles in the use of trusts |
| 2002 |
Governance work for the Wellington City Council including a paper on governance structures for the Wellington Zoo, and governance options for their council housing |
| 2001 |
Two reports for the Horizon Energy Trust on issues relating to 1) the election/appointment of trustees and 2) accountability and the constitution of a selection board for the appointment of trustees |
| 2001 |
Review of the board manual and standing orders for the New Zealand Qualifications Authority |
| 1999 |
An independent review of the governance of parliamentary administration in New Zealand focusing on the Parliamentary Service Act and the role of the Parliamentary Service Commission. An MDL Principal sat as a member of the review body |
| various |
Advice on the design and structure of charitable trusts, for example Tourism Bay of Plenty |
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