Governance Canvas
Makes decision-making logic transparent.
PURPOSE
In many organizations, decision paths are unclear, leading to delays, frustration, and conflicts. The Governance Canvas makes transparent who makes which decisions, on what basis, and with what legitimacy. It helps teams and leaders consciously design decision structures rather than letting them emerge implicitly.
HOW TO USE
The team collectively fills in the canvas fields by identifying key decision types and assigning them to respective decision-makers. Decision principles, escalation paths, and forms of participation are explicitly recorded. The canvas is regularly reviewed and adjusted when conditions change.
WHAT IT IS
The Governance Canvas is a visual worksheet that structures an organization's decision-making logic on a single page. It includes fields for decision types, decision-makers, principles, escalation paths, and forms of participation. As a canvas format, it is particularly suited for workshops and collaborative design of governance structures.
EXAMPLE
Example: In your scale-up with 120 employees, nobody knows exactly who can decide on budgets above 10,000 euros and which committee approves new product features. You use the Governance Canvas to collaboratively make all decision types, responsibilities, and escalation paths transparent on a single page with the team leads.