Measuring Good Governance

Good governance encompasses the best possible process for making and implementing decisions. Parameters are a set of requirements used to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of an institution's activities. Questions like "How does the institution conduct its activities and deploy its resources?" and "Do the activities meet the institution's agenda as well as stakeholders' needs?"

The parameters for good governance, in my view, can be tracked through the interplay of various structural elements of the operational system of any institution, whether it is public or private, at the international or domestic levels, as follows:

(1) Principles - To avoid arbitrariness or potential conflict of interest is the key. (a) Does the institution comply with the law? (b) Does the institution honour any agreements? (c) Does the institution uphold fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory practices?

(2) Rules - To improve effectiveness and efficiency quantitatively and qualitatively is the key. (a) Does the institution formulate specific policies that conform to its mission and vision? (b) Does the institution set implementation guidelines based on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms? (c) Does the institution follow through its initiatives and projects timely?

(3) Processes - To allow external stakeholders to make meaningful analysis (eg on economic, social and cultural fronts) of the institution's operation is the key. (a) Are the institution's decision-making processes inclusive and transparent? (b) How are monitoring mechanisms structured and what are their risk appetite eg zero tolerance? (c) Are they effective to pre-ampt institutional mismanagement?

(4) Actors - To act responsibly to the institution and its stakeholders is the key. (a) Are the actors (particularly the senior management) committed to adhering underlying principles of good governance ie obligations of answerability, responsibility and accountability of their acts or omissions (particularly about resources management)? (b) Are errors of judgment or negligence leading to mismanagement corrected, and sanctioned if warranted? (c) Are there mechanisms enabling stakeholders to query and assess the actors' performance?

(5) Institution - To achieve the institution's mission and vision is the key. (a) Do actors of the institution share the value to achieve common goals? (b) Do actors pool their capacity to achieve better effectiveness and efficiency? (c) Do actors support each other to build, maintain and sustain an innovative and outcome-oriented institution in the dynamic environment with a view to getting tangible economic outcomes as well as intangible social and cultural reputation?