Governance and organisational development

more effective performance

Our focus in international development centres on enhancing government capacities for more effective performance through an improved governance system. Better governance, in this context, entails enhancing the management of the system and collaborating with civil society to ensure ongoing oversight.

“Realizing and maintaining successful development outcomes for impoverished populations necessitates strategies that tackle critical governance issues and foster the growth of proficient, accountable, and responsive public systems, such as those in health and education.”

Achieving and sustaining successful development outcomes for the poor requires strategies that address key governance issues and promote the development of capable, accountable and responsive public systems – such as health and education. In addition, it requires approaches to help strengthen the capacity and confidence of citizens to hold those who plan, finance and deliver their services accountable.

Governance in health

The health sector embodies some unique characteristics that imply the need for a clear focus from a governance perspective, including the predominance of public health systems in countries where public sector capacity is weak, the involvement of the private sector and the need for regulation, the difficulties faced by service users and others in judging the quality of care, weak information systems and the life and death consequences of corrupt practices.

Governance in education

At ministry and agency level, our work might involve putting in better information management systems, assisting finance ministries with more robust ways of disbursing and accounting for funds, or perhaps building the capacity of a national curriculum development centre. Whatever the need, our approach is to work from the ground up: to get individuals operating better so that their organisations are doing a better job.