Governance resources

The following resources are provided for information purposes only. The information and/or training programs offered by these external organizations are not endorsed by the Public Agency Secretariat or the Government of Alberta.

Diversity

The Government of Alberta recognizes the importance of diversity in the recruitment and appointment of directors for public agencies and has included this principle in the Public Agencies Governance Framework (PDF, 286 KB). A growing list of references confirms the importance of diversity on boards to ensure representation of populations being served, and to ensure that different opinions are represented at the board table.

The following links take you to sites and publications that will assist you in exploring diversity, and seeing how diversity strengthens public agencies and ultimately benefits its effectiveness.

Alberta Human Rights Commission: Diversity Resources website
Ernst & Young: Groundbreakers - Using the Strength of Women to Rebuild the World Economy (2009) (PDF, 2.8 MB)
The Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations:
- The Status of Women Corporate Directors in Canada - Pushing for Change (June 2009) (PDF, 2.5 MB)
- A Call to Action: Diversity on Canadian Not-For-Profit Boards (May 2009) (PDF, 1.0 MB)
Institute of Corporate Directors: Good Corporate Governance (August 2009) (PDF, 145 KB)
The Maytree Foundation: Diversity Matters - Changing the face of public boards (PDF, 362 KB) (February 2009)

Chartered Accountants of Canada

The Not-for-Profit (NPO) 20 Questions Series

This series of "20 Questions" style documents developed by Chartered Accountants of Canada provide questions that directors of not-for-profit organizations should ask about important issues in non-profit governance. Following is a sample from the series:

20 Questions Directors of Not-For-Profit Organizations Should Ask about Board Recruitment, Development and Assessment

Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness

In a continued effort to help directors be effective and strategic in the boardroom, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Institute of Corporate Directors retained the Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness to conduct a survey of directors' experience. The goal of this survey was to understand the current challenges facing Canadian boards and their impact on board evolution, comparing the strengths of today's directors to those of five years ago. This report examines some of the gaps and provides insight into the challenges that Canadian directors face in overcoming them.

Clarkson Centre-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2009 Directors Survey in collaboration with the Institute of Corporate Directors (2009)

Conference Board of Canada

This Conference Board of Canada report provides an overview of governance in Crown corporations in Canada today in both federal and provincial jurisdictions. It also provides two scorecards designed to support Crown corporation leaders in their evaluation of the success of the Crown corporation and in the application of good governance practices.

Good Governance Scorecards for Crown Corporations Report (December 2011)

Deloitte Review (Semiannual Journal for Business Leaders)

Article from the Deloitte Review (July 2011):

Government and the Publicly Accountable Enterprise - How citizens are defining the next age of intervention (PDF, 1.0 MB).

The Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)

The Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) has published 3 articles related to ethics and conflict of interest in the public sector. The titles are:

Ethics and Values Leadership (PDF, 193 KB)
Codes of Ethics (PDF, 187 KB)
Conflict of Interest (PDF, 183 KB)

Manitoba Office of the Auditor General

Manitoba's Office of the Auditor General completed an extensive survey of governance practices in 50 of Manitoba's most important public sector agencies. This document includes the results of the survey as well as an informative appendix "Attributes of Effective Governance"(Appendix C).

Study of Board Governance in Crown Organizations (September 2009) (PDF, 690 KB)

Public Sector Accounting Board

Click the following link to a document on financial literacy.

All government controlled entities, which includes all provincial agencies, crown-controlled organizations, universities, colleges, Alberta Health Services and school boards are required to follow Public Sector Accounting Standards issued by the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) when preparing financial statements.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

This story on the CBC website provides an interesting overview of Crown corporations across Canada. The story refers to the Review of the Governance Framework for Canada's Crown Corporations (2005) (PDF, 1.0 MB), issued by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

CBC News Story: What are Crown corporations and why do they exist? (April 1, 2012)

Other Governance Resources

University of Alberta

The Government of Alberta and the University of Alberta School of Business, Executive Education have a long and rich history of partnering together to develop programs designed to meet the current and emerging needs of employees within the public sector. These programs are also open to employees and members of the Alberta government agencies, boards and commissions.

Senior & Executive Managers' Development Program

The Senior & Executive Managers' Development Program is designed to enhance leadership skills. It also affords the opportunity to learn from colleagues and develop networks that are vital for success in a changing environment. This program is open to senior managers, executive managers, and senior officials in the Alberta public service, along with senior employees of Alberta's public agencies.

Management Development Program

The Management Development Program helps develop management and leadership competencies. It also offers the opportunity to learn from colleagues and develop networks that are vital for success in a changing environment. The program is open to managers and senior administrative, technical and professional employees in the Alberta public service along with employees at similar levels within the Alberta government's public agencies.