1.1 What is governance?
Governance is not the same thing as ‘government ’ or ‘management ’. It is concerned with how big decisions are made - decisions related to achieving important goals, maintaining valued relationships, and providing accountability and feedback - and who takes those decisions. One definition that captures these key aspects is set out below:
|
Definition: It is useful to think of governance as being about people - ¬how they organise themselves as a group to manage their own affairs and achieve the things that matter to them. To do that they need to have in place processes, structures, traditions and rules so they can:
|
Think about how footy is played—it’s a bit like governance.
If the footy team wants to play its best and win the match, a lot of different things need to be pulled together on the day.
See: Resource 1.1 What can we do?–Footy–playing the governance game
Why is it important?
Without governance, you won’t achieve the things that really matter. Governance means:
- essential programs and services are run
- resources (money, people, culture) are managed
- rules, policies and laws are created and enforced
- Goals are set and achieved
- People have a shared understanding of the way things work.
Good governance benefits families and communities.
Who has governance?
All types of organisations need governance:
- Banks
- Businesses
- Community stores
- Schools
- Corporations
- Churches
- Art Centres
- Housing organisations
- Government departments
- Health clinics
- Mining companies
- Land councils
- Footy teams
Caption – Image, meeting, Warakurna Artists Aboriginal Corporation, WA. Photo provided by Wayne Quilliam
You can also see governance at work in informal groups such as women’s night patrol and native title claimant groups.
Indigenous Governance
Indigenous people have always had their own governance – an ancient jurisdiction made up of a system of laws, traditions, rules, processes, and structures that clans, groups and families use to collectively organise themselves and achieve the things that are important to them.
Governance has been defined as “how people in organisations, groups, associations and communities organise themselves collectively to achieve their visions or goals.” Governance in Indigenous communities can be formal and take shape in councils or registered corporations or be informal and be found in the way people arrange a football carnival, ceremony or manage resources. What makes it Indigenous governance is the role that Indigenous social systems, rules and beliefs play in the governance “processes (how things are done) structures (the ways people organise themselves and relate to each other) and institutions (the rules for how things should be done)”.
Power, authority and rules
Governance rules say:
- how power is shared
- who has the authority to make the important decisions
- how decisions should be enforced
- how the people who make decisions are accountable.
They might be written rules in documents such as constitutions, bylaws, policies, regulations, business and strategic plans, and company rules.
Or they might be unwritten rules that exist in traditions, ways of behaving and treating each other (codes of conduct), and the values people live by.
What does being accountable mean? It means being responsible—and having to answer to somebody—for a decision or action.
See: Resource 1.2 Snapshot—Similarities and differences between community and corporate governance
Women and governance
The number of women in important roles in Indigenous communities and organisations is growing.
If you promote gender equity (fair representation of men and women) in decision-making roles you will strengthen the roles of both men and women.
It isn’t always easy, but both men and women provide different kinds of leadership, so it’s good to have a balance of both. Some organisations deal just with women’s business or just with men’s business, so sometimes those organisations can have boards and leadership that are just men or just women. For most other organisations, especially those representing the community, it’s important to reflect the community (half men and half women) in the board, staff and leadership of the organisation.
Encourage women to become directors of organisations—so that they bring their own strengths to decision making and governance.
See: Resource 1.3 What can we do?—Encouraging women to be active members
|
|
|
Read next: 1.2 The Important parts of governance
Read previous: Understanding governance