What is governance?

Governance is the oversight and activities of a governing body that sets the strategic direction and goals of an organisation. This could be a board, committee, trust or similar. It involves a framework of values, processes and practices that should direct the organisation and provide a benchmark to monitor progress and measure performance.

Through this framework, a governing body can make informed decisions that:

• help the organisation achieve its purpose and goals
• make sure the organisation operates ethically
• make sure laws and regulations are complied with.

Governance is about working on your business rather than working in it. The separation between the two is the difference between governance and management.

The difference between governance and management

Governance is about planning the framework for work and making sure it gets done. Management is about organising and monitoring the work.

As far as possible, a governing body should steer clear of making managerial decisions and getting involved in day-to-day operations.

Governance is about:

• setting strategy
• setting expectations
• requiring and endorsing processes
• holding management to account
• prioritising outcomes
• leading people 

Management is about:

• planning
• directing
• managing best practice
• conformance to expectations
• delivering outcomes
• Managing people
• controlling
• doing things right.

Governance in rail safety

The rail licence is the responsibility of the governing body of the licence holder.

When applying the principles of governance to rail safety, there’s a focus on rail participants having a clear plan and actively making sure all their rail activities are as safe as they can be.

This means the governing body should be making sure:

• the organisation’s safety case is followed, reviewed and maintained
• the right systems and processes are in place to support health and safety
• the systems and processes are reported on to provide evidence of compliance
• there’s proper resourcing and support of health and safety at the board table.

Managing the risks involved with the organisation’s rail activities is central to maintaining safety. The governing body is legally responsible for the compliance of the whole organisation, so must be aware of all the laws and regulations that apply.

Section 66(external link) of the Railways Act 2005(external link)

Risk management(external link)

Governance beyond the board

Not all organisations are run by boards, but all of them must have governance. In the rail industry, the governance function can be done by:

• an owner
• trustees – operation is overseen by a trust
• boards or committees – of an incorporated society or a company
• sub-committees – the board delegates governance of rail activities to a rail committee
• senior leadership teams – when rail activities at an industrial site are governed by site management.

When there’s a changed or informal arrangement you need to be clear about who does the governance duties.

The final responsibility and accountability sits with the . Having a clear reporting process helps satisfy everyone that things are safe and builds the trust needed for stable and effective governance.