With office bearers changing quite regularly in most not-for-profit organisations, there is a risk of corporate memory loss – and metaphorically suffering ‘neurodegenerative issues’. Consequently, the maintenance and use of key governance document registers is an essential measure. To that end, it is helpful to review which documents qualify for inclusion in these registers. The… Continue reading Avoiding ‘organisational Alzheimer’s’
Tag: resources
What? So What? and Now What? – your reflective practice guide
One of the defining characteristics of a profession is that its members commit to reflect on their practice in order to improve it for the benefit of those they serve. This applies to policy and governance professionals as much as to members of any other profession. Various models and frameworks have been developed for different… Continue reading What? So What? and Now What? – your reflective practice guide
Policy Advocacy – tools worth having
Further to the valuable resources offered by the Alliance for Useful Evidence (which have been mentioned in this blog previously), another UK think tank offers a range of tools that every policy worker should have in their kit. The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has produced a collection of policy analysis and advocacy resources that can… Continue reading Policy Advocacy – tools worth having
Separating the facts from their meaning
If you have followed this Blog for any length of time you will know of my commitment to evidence-informed policy and advocacy, so you won’t be surprised that I like to share resources and thinking which promote those positions. Bernard-Henri Levy’s recent article in Project Syndicate, Google, Fake News, and the Crisis of Truth, is… Continue reading Separating the facts from their meaning
Nudging your board towards better decision-making
If you would like to help your directors to be more effective decision-makers, you will find the Behavioural Government report from the Behavioural Insights Team of interest. While it is sub-titled “Using behavioural science to improve how governments make decisions” it could just as readily have been styled “Using behavioural science to improve board governance“,… Continue reading Nudging your board towards better decision-making
Social progress – we must do better
The Social Progress Index for 2018, shows that Australia slipped from 6th (Tier 1) to 15th (Tier 2) place between 2017 and 2018. Our lowest component scores were for: Inclusiveness Access to Advanced Education Health and Wellness Personal Freedom and Choice Environmental Quality Australia’s highest component scores related to: Nutrition and Basic Medical Care Water… Continue reading Social progress – we must do better
(Shadow) values dictate behaviour
For an insight into how we can all trick ourselves into saying one thing and doing another, The Ethics Centre report on their review of Cricket Australia’s culture is a valuable resource. Peter Drucker’s observation that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’ has been acknowledged as a fundamental truth for many years, and yet we continue… Continue reading (Shadow) values dictate behaviour
Improving board deliberations
In my view, the quality of board decision-making is usually determined less by the time invested in an issue at the board table than the time spent before the meeting considering what points should be made and questions raised in the deliberations. I recently updated my Director’s Deliberative Checklist for a client, and thought I… Continue reading Improving board deliberations
Meanwhile, back in the real world …
While Environment Minister Melissa Price was suggesting that the IPCC climate change report was ‘drawing a long bow’ to recommend phasing out coal in favour of low-carbon energy sources, businesses, insurers, lawyers, accountants, peak bodies, and even Government regulators have all been getting on with the job – both here and internationally. In their December… Continue reading Meanwhile, back in the real world …
Criteria for a Public Policy Business Case
In my previous post about a research project, in which two think tanks with decidedly different heritage and focus were invited to assess the same 20 policy initiatives using a common set of criteria (effectively a draft evidence-based policy standard), I mentioned that those criteria had been developed by Prof Kenneth Wiltshire AO, and previously… Continue reading Criteria for a Public Policy Business Case