Explain the core governance principles set out in ISO 37000 in language a board will act on.
Leadership & Management
Applying ISO 37000 Guidance on the Governance of Organisations
Apply the ISO 37000 governance principles to board structure, oversight and accountability, and translate them into practical governance improvements.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
ISO 37000:2021 sets out governance principles rather than prescribing a single model, which leaves many boards unsure how to move from the standard's language to a working improvement plan. This course closes that gap by taking participants through the standard's core areas, purpose, stakeholder engagement, strategy, oversight and accountability, and showing how each translates into concrete board practice. Participants learn to run a governance self-assessment against the standard, identify where the current board structure fails to deliver genuine oversight rather than ceremonial approval, and design remedies that fit the organisation's size, sector and legal form. The course covers using ISO 37000 alongside sector-specific codes rather than as a replacement for them, briefing a board on governance principles without triggering defensive reactions, and building a governance improvement roadmap with owners and deadlines. Case material spans a listed company, a public sector body and a large charity, so participants see how the same principles apply differently depending on ownership and accountability structure. By the end, participants can produce a governance gap analysis against ISO 37000, prioritise the findings that matter most, and present a credible improvement plan to a board or audit committee.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Run a governance self-assessment that maps current board practice against the standard's principles.
Distinguish genuine board oversight from ceremonial approval using evidence from board papers and minutes.
Design a governance improvement plan that fits the organisation's ownership structure and legal form.
Reconcile ISO 37000 principles with sector-specific governance codes without duplicating requirements.
Brief directors and senior executives on governance gaps in a way that invites correction rather than defensiveness.
Present a prioritised governance roadmap with named owners, milestones and review points.
Who Should Attend
Company secretaries and governance professionals responsible for board effectiveness reviews.
Non-executive directors seeking a structured framework for assessing board performance.
Chief executives preparing a board for external governance scrutiny or a listing process.
Public sector and charity governance leads applying international governance principles locally.
Internal auditors assessing governance maturity as part of a wider risk and controls review.
Chairs of boards and committees wanting a common language for governance improvement discussions.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Understanding the ISO 37000 Governance Principles
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1The Structure and Intent of the Standard
- Explain why ISO 37000 sets principles rather than a prescriptive governance model.
- Distinguish the standard's treatment of purpose, values and strategy from its treatment of oversight and accountability.
- Position ISO 37000 alongside existing corporate, public sector and charity governance codes.
- Identify which parts of the standard apply directly and which need local interpretation.
Session 2Purpose, Values and Strategy Oversight
- Assess whether a board can articulate the organisation's purpose beyond a mission statement.
- Test whether strategic decisions can be traced back to the organisation's stated purpose and values.
- Identify where a board delegates strategy formulation without retaining genuine oversight.
- Draft board questions that probe whether strategy delivery is monitored rather than merely reported.
02Running a Governance Self-Assessment
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Building the Assessment Framework
- Convert each ISO 37000 principle into a set of assessable governance behaviours.
- Design an evidence-gathering method using board papers, minutes and committee terms of reference.
- Interview directors and executives to surface gaps between stated and actual governance practice.
- Score governance maturity against the standard using a defensible, repeatable rating method.
Session 2Interpreting and Prioritising the Findings
- Separate governance gaps that create material risk from those that are cosmetic or low priority.
- Identify recurring root causes behind multiple governance gaps rather than treating symptoms individually.
- Benchmark findings against comparable organisations without over-relying on any single external comparator.
- Draft a findings summary that a board audit committee can act on without further translation.
03Oversight, Accountability and Risk
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Distinguishing Oversight from Approval
- Identify board agendas dominated by approval items with little time for genuine oversight discussion.
- Redesign board reporting so that risk, performance and assurance information reaches the board unfiltered.
- Assess whether committee structures duplicate, or genuinely support, main board oversight.
- Test whether escalation routes bring bad news to the board early enough to act on it.
Session 2Accountability to Stakeholders
- Map the organisation's stakeholders and the accountability owed to each under the standard.
- Assess whether stakeholder engagement influences board decisions or only follows them.
- Design accountability reporting that is proportionate to organisational size and public interest.
- Reconcile competing stakeholder expectations when governance principles point in different directions.
04Building and Sustaining the Improvement Plan
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Designing the Governance Roadmap
- Sequence governance improvements so foundational fixes precede more visible structural changes.
- Assign named owners and realistic deadlines to each governance improvement action.
- Anticipate resistance from directors whose influence is reduced by the proposed changes.
- Cost the governance improvement plan in director and executive time, not only in fees.
Session 2Embedding Continuous Governance Review
- Build governance self-assessment into the board's annual effectiveness review cycle.
- Set indicators that show whether governance improvements are changing board behaviour, not just documents.
- Prepare the board to explain its governance approach to investors, regulators or funders on request.
- Review and refresh the governance roadmap when the organisation's structure or risk profile changes.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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