Governance – what governance?

Abstract

The concept of governance is widely used within the Dutch government. However, the term does not appear to be unambiguous and moreover is used in ambiguous manners. This was the starting point for a research on aspects of governance used in the (re) directing of major programs and projects. The current paper describes the results of a study in which the concept of governance is examined on the basis of more than 300 performed Gateway Reviews for high risk programs and projects within the Dutch government. The conclusion is that programs / projects need to distinguish between an organization or apparatus focused and goal-focused governance, which require each specific monitoring and management, but both of which are relevant to the management and control of programs and projects.