GUBERNA launches research on innovative governance in a disruptive world

At GUBERNA, we are launching a long-term research initiative on Innovative Governance to explore how boards and organisations adapt their governance practices in a context shaped by increasing complexity, faster decision cycles and growing uncertainty, and how strong governance models and practices can contribute to innovation and resilience.

Governance has always evolved in response to change. Today, that pressure is intensifying again in a world where disruption is the only constant.

A shift in the context of governance

Boards today operate in an environment marked by geopolitical instability, rapid technological change and a growing range of interconnected risks. Climate transition, cybersecurity, supply chains and societal expectations all converge at board level.

At the same time, digital transformation and artificial intelligence are changing how decisions are made. Boards are expected to engage more deeply with data, understand technological implications and operate with shorter information cycles.

Expectations from stakeholders continue to broaden. Regulatory frameworks are expanding, while investors and society expect organisations to balance short-term performance with long-term impact. In parallel, ownership structures and power dynamics within organisations are evolving, sometimes leading to more concentrated decision-making under pressure.

This context raises a simple but fundamental question: are current governance models still fit for purpose?

Governance in evolution

Corporate governance has developed in successive phases, each addressing a structural problem in how power is organised within companies. Over time, the role of the board has expanded from overseeing management to balancing multiple interests and responsibilities. These phases are often described as three waves: a focus on controlling management, then on balancing shareholder interests, and later on integrating wider stakeholder concerns.

Today, organisations operate in conditions of higher speed, uncertainty and data intensity. Early signals suggest that this context may be associated with further changes in how boards organise decision-making. This project takes that as a working hypothesis and aims to investigate it in practice.

Several developments point in that direction. Decision cycles are shorter and boards are expected to act more often with incomplete information. Technology and data play a larger role in informing decisions and monitoring risks. The interaction between board and management evolves as topics become more complex and operationally intertwined. At the same time, boards experiment with composition, governance structures and working methods.

These are not yet part of a single, widely adopted model. They appear as emerging practices across organisations. The aim of this research is to understand whether and how these developments translate into a distinct new phase in governance.

Exploring innovative governance in practice

This research initiative focuses on how governance evolves in real organisations and how strong governance practices contribute to innovation and resilience.

A central element of the project is the Innovative Governance Barometer, a recurring study that will track the evolution of governance practices over time. The barometer will be based on a framework defined at the start of the project, inspired by GUBERNA’s Board Effectiveness Framework, and adapted to capture how governance structures and practices are evolving in response to current challenges.

Within this framework, we focus on how decision-making power is organised within organisations and how this evolves over time. We analyse how boards fulfil their core roles, how governance structures change, and how decisions are prepared and taken in practice. This includes the distribution of authority between board, management and shareholders, the rise of new specific leadership roles, the adaptation of governance structures and roles, the integration of data, technology and external expertise in decision-making, and the organisation of board processes and dynamics in a faster-moving environment.

This will allow us to systematically identify emerging practices and how organisations organise decision-making in different contexts. The aim is not to define a single model of 'good governance' but to map how governance is changing and which practices are emerging.

Alongside the barometer, the project will gradually develop additional initiatives to further deepen and apply these insights.

A collaborative research effort

We are pleased to launch this initiative together with Odgers Belgium, who join as Research Partner and contribute to the leadership dimension of innovative governance. Their expertise will strengthen our understanding of how leadership models evolve alongside governance structures.

The project is designed as a collaborative effort. Additional partners may join over time to contribute expertise in other domains.