Governance of Organizations in
Accordance with ISO 37000
Level: Intermediate
Introduction
The international standard ISO 37000:2021 is the
first comprehensive international reference for the governance of organizations
of all types and sizes, whether government entities, private companies, or
non-profit organizations. It is a guidance standard that sets out eleven governance principles, led by the
principle of organizational purpose, followed by the principles of value
generation, strategy, oversight, and accountability, and then the enabling
principles, such as stakeholder engagement, leadership, data and decisions,
risk governance, social responsibility, and viability over time. As a guidance
standard, it is not used to grant certificates of conformity; rather, it serves
as a reference for designing, evaluating, and developing the governance system.
The need for this reference is particularly evident in the Arab Gulf
states. The 2025 GCC Board Effectiveness Review revealed
that 83% of respondents believe boards should devote more time to strategy,
that 67% of organizations do not have a formal succession plan, and that only
14% feel confident in understanding the strategic implications of artificial
intelligence, while only 21% conduct an external evaluation of board
performance.
This course provides a practical application of the ISO 37000 principles
and links them to the governance frameworks and regulations in force in the
Arab Gulf states. It addresses risk governance, sustainability, data, and
artificial intelligence, so that participants leave with ready-to-use tools to
evaluate their organization’s governance system and develop a plan to improve
it.
Target Audience
•
Board and committee secretaries
and governance and compliance officers.
•
Executive leaders and senior
management in government entities and companies.
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Members of boards of directors and
their committees, and candidates for membership.
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Risk management, internal audit,
and legal affairs officers.
•
Strategic planning, institutional
excellence, and sustainability officers.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
•
Explain and classify the eleven
principles of ISO 37000, distinguish between the role of the governing body and
the role of executive management, and link the standard to at least one
governance framework in force in the Gulf States, by the end of Day 1.
•
Draft an organizational purpose
statement and a simplified value generation model, and review a board charter
and a delegation of authority matrix in line with the principles of oversight
and accountability, by the end of Day 2.
•
Prepare a stakeholder map,
identify at least three practices to strengthen disclosure and conflict of
interest management, and set out initial principles for data and artificial
intelligence governance, by the end of Day 3.
•
Draft a risk appetite statement
and identify the requirements for integrating sustainability and succession
plans into the governance system, by the end of Day 4.
•
Apply a self-assessment tool
covering the eleven principles, and prepare a 12-month governance development
plan and present it in the final project, by the end of Day 5.
Course Outline
1st Day: Introduction to the Governance of Organizations and ISO
37000
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The concept and scope of
governance, and the difference between governance and management.
•
The governing body and its
responsibilities: boards of directors, boards of trustees, and higher councils
in government entities.
•
The nature of ISO 37000 as a
guidance standard, and its position within the system of international
governance standards.
•
The structure of the eleven principles:
the primary principle, the foundational principles, and the enabling
principles.
•
Governance frameworks and
regulations in the Arab Gulf states: corporate governance regulations issued by
capital market authorities, and governance guidelines for government entities
and state-owned enterprises.
•
Practical exercise: a quick
assessment of the governance maturity level in the participant’s organization.
2nd Day: Purpose, Value, Strategy, Oversight, and Accountability
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Organizational purpose and how to
articulate it, and the stakeholder value generation model.
•
The role of the governing body in
directing strategy and balancing present and future value.
•
Oversight, internal control, and
ensuring the governance system operates as designed.
•
Accountability: reports,
disclosures, and assignment of responsibilities.
•
The board charter, its committees
(audit, risk, and nominations and remuneration), and delegation of authority.
•
Practical exercise: drafting a
purpose statement and reviewing a model delegation of authority matrix.
3rd Day: Stakeholder Engagement, Ethical Leadership, and Data
and Decisions
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Identifying stakeholders,
analyzing their expectations, and mechanisms for engaging them.
•
Ethical leadership, building a
culture of integrity, and codes of conduct.
•
Managing conflicts of interest,
disclosure, and transparency.
•
Data as a strategic resource, and
the quality of information provided to the governing body.
•
Artificial intelligence and data
governance: roles, responsibilities, and ethical controls.
•
Case study: analyzing a governance
failure and drawing lessons.
4th Day: Risk Governance, Social Responsibility, and
Sustainability
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Risk governance, risk appetite,
and the Three Lines Model.
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Emerging and geopolitical risks,
and the role of the board in overseeing them.
•
Social responsibility,
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, and their disclosure.
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Viability of performance over
time: protecting key resources and leadership succession.
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Integration with ISO 31000 for
risk management, ISO 37001 for anti-bribery, and ISO 37301 for compliance
management systems.
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Practical exercise: drafting a
risk appetite statement for an organization.
5th Day: Evaluating the Governance System and the Development
Roadmap
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Methodologies for evaluating the
performance of the board and its committees: internal and external evaluation.
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Indicators for measuring
governance effectiveness, and annual governance reports.
•
Gap analysis against the eleven
principles of ISO 37000.
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Building a governance development
plan and setting priorities and responsibilities.
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Final project: presenting the
12-month governance development plan and receiving feedback.
Why The Only Solution for Training and Consulting?
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Training and consulting experience
in institutional governance projects, including preparing delegation of
authority matrices and policy and procedure manuals for entities in the Arab
Gulf region.
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An applied methodology based on
practical exercises and training, case studies, and ready-to-use templates.
•
The option to design and customize the programme according to the
organization’s sector and the governance framework in force in its country.
•
Certificates of attendance for
each participant from The Only Solution for Training and Consulting and from
Cambridge Training College Britain.
Outcomes
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A comprehensive understanding of
the ISO 37000 principles and the ability to link them to Gulf governance
frameworks.
•
An organizational purpose
statement and a value generation model.
•
A review checklist for the board
charter and the delegation of authority matrix.
•
A stakeholder map and a risk
appetite statement.
•
A governance system
self-assessment tool covering the eleven principles.
•
A 12-month governance development
plan.
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Course completion certificates.