Governance Frameworks

Almost everyone in the organization has a stake in the intranet.  A governance framework identifies the process by which decisions are made, who makes them, and how they are held accountable.

Governance is the starting point for defining how the intranet is managed. Governance issues frequently occur because:

• Different groups of people make different and conflicting decisions.
• The right people were not involved and therefore do not feel committed.
• The governance decisions are too theoretical or superficial.
• The governance defined  is not actionable for different reasons: management buy-in, technology limitations, lack of change management.

An effective governance model should be built on clearly-defined principles.  If your stakeholders agree on the principles, it will be much easier to implement a framework that people buy into.

We have run workshops in governance on “Making Governance Operational” and “Using Governance to Future-proof your Intranet”. Feedback from a May 2010 workshop:

• “I usually flinch at the mention of governance but this session really helped me get a better understanding of what it is, why it’s necessary and how to do it well. I think my earlier reluctance really stems from experiencing poorly thought out governance.”
• “Extremely helpful as I am just beginning to plan an intranet implementation.”
• “Very very useful, authoritative, applicable. Great delivery with lots of interaction.”

Governance frameworks need to be adapted to each organization’s culture, intranet maturity and intranet vision. However, there are fundamental principles and some models that exist.  We have extensive experience helping  organizations define their governance frameworks: we can help you define yours.