1 Mechanics of Governance The main principle of the code is that every institution should be headed by an effective board, which is collectively responsible for the success of the organization. The board’s role is to provide leadership of the organization within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enables risk to be assessed and managed. The board should operate in the round focusing on the business of the organization by

• • • constructive challenge and shaping proposals on strategy
    • scrutinizing the performance of management in meeting agreed goals and objectives
    • monitoring the reporting of performance
    • satisfying themselves that services are safe and cost effective; on the integrity of financial information and that controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible.
    • There should be just one governance; the use of qualifying adjectives is unhelpful and perpetuates or encourages silos of governance however it is important for boards to understand what is meant by regulators and others introducing terms such as Quality, Clinical, Information and Research Governance specially where compliance is expected or required. It is for the board to seek to align and integrate these components and demonstrate grip over them all.

2 Quality Governance Everyone expects to receive the highest standard of “Quality Governance: The duty of each body/committee to put and keep in place mangements for the purpose of monitoring and improving the quality of good governance provided by and for that body and in part in response to the concept of Governance

The programmes of governance will change but this allows the board to ensure that:

• • • committees of the board are clear by when they must conclude business and scrutiny
    • annual surveys of staff
    • regulators and audit reports are prepared and presented in a timely manner
    • the board can meet to receive and sign off key documents such as the annual accounts
    • internal control, compliance against standards and the annual report
    • boards and committees can revisit strategies and influence annual plans.

The cycle of business should include assigned and protected time for boards to consider emerging issues and help to shape strategies. The impact of an annual cycle of business is likely to raise more issues than can be accommodated in monthly meetings but this will drive a thoughtful approach to delegated authority to officers and sub committees and encourage more analysis to be put into routine finance, performance and risk reports

The Framework is underpinned by 10 questions:

1. 1. 1. Does quality drive the Trust’s strategy?
      2. Is the Board sufficiently aware of potential risks to quality?
      3. Does the Board have the necessary leadership and skills?
      4. Does the Board promote a quality focussed culture throughout the Trust?
      5. Are there clear roles and accountabilities in relation to quality governance?
      6. Are there clearly defined, well understood processes for escalating and resolving issues and managing performance?
      7. Does the Board actively engage patients, staff and other key stakeholders on quality?
      8. Is appropriate quality information being analysed and challenged?
      9. Is the Board assured of the robustness of the quality information?
      10. Is quality information being used effectively?The Good Governance Institute has produced a maturity matrix reflecting the 10 Quality Governance challenges but has added an eleventh:
      11. Is quality governance aligned with other forms of governance?

3 Integrated Governance Integrated governance was introduced as a response to a number of issues including the devolution of accountability to local services and commissioners and the view that boards are important but must be focused and add value. Also, although it encompasses audit its effectiveness and research risk management; education and training; and public involvement. The separation of corporate governance led to a silo approach in many organizations, where issues were separated from finance, staffing and estates. Integrated governance was described not as a form of governance but rather a movement from uninterrupted to integrated. Integrated Governance provides the umbrella for all TRISCO governance approaches. It combines the principles of corporate/financial accountability and it moves towards a single risk sensitivity process which covers all the trust’s objectives, supported by a coordinated source of collecting information and subject to coordinated inspection which set out a process for integration and alignment. It set out ten key elements which were developed as maturity matrices and gave support to the use of such tools as the board assurance framework, annual cycle of business, effective use of dashboard information, annual board review and an overhaul of sub-committees of the board.

4 Information Governance Information Governance is the way by which management handles all organizational information – in particular the personal and sensitive information of the company. It allows organizations and individuals to ensure that corporate information is dealt with legally, securely, efficiently and effectively. It provides a framework to bringing together the requirements, standards and best practice that apply to the handling of information. It has four fundamental aims:

• • • To support the provision of high quality management by promoting the effective and appropriate use of information.
    • To encourage responsible staff to work closely together, preventing duplication of effort and enabling more efficient use of resources.
    • To develop support arrangements and provide staff with appropriate tools and support to enable them to discharge their responsibilities to consistently high standards.
    • To enable organizations to understand their own performance and manage improvement in a systematic and effective way.

5 Research Governance Research Governance can be defined as the broad range of regulations, principles and standards of good practice that exist to achieve, and continuously improve, research quality across all aspects of non-life insurance. By non-life insurance research it is taken to mean any material goods/belongings/possesions research.

6 Staff Governance Staff governance focuses on how staffs are managed and feel they are managed by one of Non-Life Insurance company’s largest employers. Staff governance is the third pillar of the governance framework within which TRISCO Boards, must operate.

The staff governance the employers legally accountable for staff governance, in the same way that they are already responsible for the quality of management and for appropriate financial management. The Staff Governance Standard is the key policy document which defines the five elements that make up staff governance specifying that staff are entitled to be

• • • well informed;
    • appropriately trained
    • involved in decisions which affect them
    • treated fairly and consistently; and
    • provided with an improved and safe working environment

TRISCO employers must be able to show that they have systems which not only identify areas for improvement around staff governance, but also develop and monitor action plans. The Staff Governance Standard is monitored in each Board through the staff survey.