Pathways to Humane and Productive Societies

There are few existential and global threats that are not attributable to governance failures.

It is for this reason that we consider governance risk to be the most potent threat to human survival and well-being, calling for new ways of looking at the problem.

Past approaches to governance have focused on institutional structures, policies and rules in the hope that these will produce desired decision-making outcomes.

These strategies do not adequately take into account powerful forces acting upon decision-makers that impair the quality of decisions.

The Problem

The Approach

We have been developing a framework of understanding – a kind of governance lens – through which stakeholders are able to see more clearly the governance shortcomings that hold them back.

Common governance failures are caused by conflicts of interest, perverse incentives and abuse of monopoly positions.

We promote positive decision-making techniques, refining and disseminating practical tools that encourage lawful, ethical, accountable, inclusive, evidence-based decision-making aligned with the long term interests of society and governed by rules that promote procedural fairness.

Governance is a challenge whenever one person or group purports to exercise authority on behalf of others. Governance is therefore relevant in several contexts such as public institutions, corporations, charities, faith communities and political parties.

Clarity about the relationship between power holder and beneficiary transforms decision-making because it alters the identity of persons in authority from holders of power to trustees. This shifts the focus from entitlement to service, from powers to fiduciary duties that protect the interests of beneficiaries.

Our Vision: Governments and citizens acquire the means to identify and remove governance deficiencies that are obstacles to the attainment of peaceful, humane and economically productive societies.

Our Mission: explore the forms, causes and effects of governance risk and develop practical tools that address root causes.

Our Goal: empower those promoting UN Sustainable Development Goals and tackling serious global threats.

What is meant by:

    • Armed conflict and displacement of populations

    • Climate change

    • Poor pandemic responses

    • State capture and State failure

    • Economic policies that ratchet up the divide between rich and poor

    • First nuclear use, intentional, accidental or false flag

    • Cycles of disinformation causing political polarisation

    • Artificial intelligence indifferent to human values

    • High level of dependence on vulnerable infrastructures

    • Cascading and interactive effects of multiple risks

    • State capture through the use of force and intimidation of citizens

    • Regulatory capture through lobbying and political donations

    • Kleptocracy and corrupt practices

    • Destruction or incremental erosion of protective institutions (see below)

    • Deception as a tool of governance

    • Deliberate under-resourcing of public institutions to weaken them

    • Inefficient cost externalisation through short termism and lateral transfer of risks and burdens

    • Political parties that are internally unaccountable and undemocratic

    • Wealth transfer and concentration passed off as wealth creation

  • Protective institutions distribute responsibilities and govern the exercise of power through established mechanisms tested and refined over time. These include:

    • Separation of powers

    • The rule of law

    • Human rights and correlative obligations of public duty-bearers

    • independent media capable of scrutinising and disseminating news and informed commentary on public affairs

    • Mechanisms for citizens to be included in policy-making and to choose those who represent them

    • Learning and research ecosystems that use reliable processes to acquire, authenticate and share knowledge.

Strategy



To develop tools and techniques that promote responsible fiduciary decision-making.

To bring together researchers within the University of Cambridge and beyond to carry out world-class multi-disciplinary research into influences upon decision-making behaviour.

Use pilot projects to bench-test learning tools that provide feedback needed to refine content.

To increase impact by scaling up research and dissemination, forging new relationships and co-creating new projects.

To share our findings to support and empower institutions confronting global threats.

To explore new forms of knowledge dissemination to enter the mainstream of public administration and of public consciousness.

 

Activities in support of our strategy

  • Classify forms of governance risk, their causes and consequences

  • Convene events that enable academics and practitioners to share insights and develop the knowledge base

  • Publish research findings

  • Create modules and materials for classroom training and multimedia dissemination according to the needs of target audiences

  • Provide a base for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers who wish to carry out research on governance risk and attenuation

  • Refine governance indicators and develop interactive dashboards to enable visualisation and interrogation

  • Engage in practical field projects to bench test new concepts

  • Scale up to engage with global partners to promote governance literacy and the propagation of technical governance knowledge

Impact

  • Better administration, allocation of resources and service delivery

  • Improved policy formation

  • Balanced and forward thinking economic development

  • Fairness and justice in the workplace

  • Reduced uncertainty and conflict

  • Increased motivation, morale and productivity

  • Shrinking opportunities for corruption

  • Greater progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • Humane and sustainably productive societies