GovernanceStandard Methodology

Governance & Institutional Review Framework

AIA's recurring institutional review framework — Mandate/Vision/Strategy, Operating, Organisational Design, and Governance & Reporting — used across multiple public-sector clients to review legislative mandate, policy framework alignment, delegations of authority and reporting/M&E processes.

What it is

A four-quadrant institutional review framework combining Mandate/Vision/Strategy, Operating model, Organisational Design and Governance & Reporting, used to review legislative mandate alignment, policy framework re-alignment, delegations of authority, risk and audit function, and monitoring/evaluation and reporting processes and tools.

Problem it solves

Governance weaknesses are often symptomatic of deeper misalignment between mandate, strategy, operating model and organisational design; this framework diagnoses governance issues in that broader institutional context rather than in isolation.

When to use

  • A public entity or government department needs an institutional governance review
  • Policy framework, delegations of authority or reporting processes need to be re-aligned to a revised mandate or structure

Key questions

  • Is the strategy and mandate clearly aligned, with a clearly articulated reason for existence?
  • Are the Delegations of Authority aligned with the structure?
  • Is the Policy Framework aligned to the Operating and Organisational Structure?
  • Are reporting processes, tools and M&E adequate?

Inputs

  • Legislative mandate and policy documents
  • Current organisational structure and delegations of authority
  • Existing reporting and M&E processes

Steps

  1. 1Review Mandate, Vision & StrategyReview alignment of strategy and mandate, situational context (PESTEL, SWOT), vision, goals and performance metrics.
  2. 2Review the Operating modelReview functional and service outputs, value-chain and workflow alignment, and resource utilisation against the mandate.
  3. 3Review Organisational DesignReview roles, responsibilities and organisational structure/capacitation supporting the business and operating model.
  4. 4Review Governance & ReportingReview the Delegations of Authority against structure, re-align the Policy Framework, and review Risk and Audit, reporting processes and M&E.

Outputs

  • Institutional governance review report
  • Re-aligned policy framework and delegations of authority
  • Improved reporting/M&E process design

Source visuals

Governance & institutional review framework: Mandate/Vision/Strategy, Operating, Organisational Design, Governance & Reporting
Governance & institutional review framework: Mandate/Vision/Strategy, Operating, Organisational Design, Governance & Reporting
governance reviewpolicy developmentinstitutional reviewdelegations of authoritymandate alignment
Custodian: Corporate Support. Internal (staff access). Source: AIA_Methodologies_2024.pptx (slides 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 244).