Introduction
This paper is the result of a number of workshops and discussions held by the governance stream of the Business Agility Think Tank community, and a collaborate effort by members of the BATT. The Governance Workstream are the lead authors of this White Paper and their details are below
The paper confirms the cultural values that define Business Agility, provides a perspective of governance through time before summarising the problems that ‘traditional’ governance approaches face in a volatile and uncertain world. It goes on to propose 10 Principles of Agile Governance and finishes with examples of their application to business.
For the purpose of this paper, we will use a definition proposed by the Agile Business Consortium:
Governance in Agile and Adaptive Organizations is “the management and curation (minding, careful development) of the structures, values, processes and practices that are required to develop and sustain an Agile and Adaptive organization” so that it can thrive in a changing business environment.
Authors
Hugh Ivory
Hugh has been helping people and organisations to become more resilient and adaptive for about 25 years. He is the Transformation Director at the not-for-profit Agile Business Consortium, where he works with a highly talented and super motivated team of learning experts, change agents, marketers, content developers, business operations and digital product and service transformers to develop, operate and grow the professional body for Business Agility.
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/hugh-p-ivory/
Ed Holt
Ed has been involved with the Consortium for over 30 years, having been its founder and first Chair. In those days it was all about software and projects, making them business-driven, with collaboration between customers and their IT suppliers. He recalls he had a ‘Eureka’ moment, thinking of the idea for a Consortium whilst in the shower!
He was involved in the Consortium’s major initiatives – from the move to ‘Agile Business’ in 2016, to authoring many of the Agile Leadership Principles, and to it becoming a Professional Body.
Outside his commitments to Business Agility, Ed plays bouzouki and percussion in a couple of folk bands and spends a lot of time tending a very large garden!
Peter Coesmans
Peter has been involved in agile working and its predecessors since 1997. He has helped to forward professionals in agility (co-authoring Agile Portfolio Management), project/programme/portfolio management (co-authoring IPMA’s ICB4 standard), and facilitation (setting up the international CPF assessment for IAF international). Peter often gets the opportunity to speak at professional conferences worldwide, on a myriad of topics. He is always looking for sustainable improvements and believes true change is brought forward in small steps, through learning and experimenting, and by collaborating with people with a common goal.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/petercoesmans/
Business Agility Think Tank
This publication has been developed by the Business Agility Think Tank - a global network of experienced Business Agility thought leaders and catalysts.
Bringing together experts from across industries and disciplines, the Think Tank exists to support and strengthen the work of research organisations, foundations, and institutions working to advance business agility worldwide. Its members combine deep practical experience with evidence-informed thinking to address the most pressing challenges facing modern organisations.
The Think Tank focuses on developing actionable solutions that help organisations become more adaptive, resilient, and outcome-focused.
This work is created collaboratively and shared openly, often in partnership with institutions and community groups, to drive meaningful, evidence-informed change at scale.
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To learn more about the Business Agility Think Tank, including details of its members, areas of focus, and additional publications, visit the main Think Tank webpage