Universities, Research & Higher Education — Governance Five™ © Non-Academic Governance Guide

In higher-education and research settings, Governance Five™ © is used as a repeatable non-academic decision-to-delivery flow. It focuses on questions such as:

• How institutional missions, values and impact objectives are expressed in practical governance terms.
• How cross-faculty and cross-institution participation is organised for major initiatives.
• How evidence, risk, student and staff feedback are aggregated before commitments.
• How public claims about research impact, social value or student experience are grounded in governance evidence.

The Governance Five™ Flow is:

• Govern – Clarify non-academic principles, objectives and boundaries (public value, integrity, inclusion, safety, social impact, civic mission).
• Engage – Identify who must be heard before major non-academic decisions – faculties, professional staff, students, partners, funders, communities – and record how they are engaged.
• Aggregate – Bring together data, research, evaluations, feedback, risk and operational constraints into a clear non-academic basis for decisions.
• Deliver – Align governance instruments, policies, programs, partnerships and communications with what was agreed in the Govern / Engage / Aggregate stages.
• Evolve – Use reviews, evaluations, complaints, student voice, staff input and external scrutiny to adjust governance settings and document what changed and why.

This flow can be applied at institutional, faculty, school, research-centre, precinct or partnership level. Academic freedom, ethics and disciplinary standards remain independent.

Governance Five™ © is concerned with how non-academic decisions are structured, documented and traced – particularly when they affect:

• Institutional strategy and positioning – how missions, values and impact statements are turned into decisions and allocations.
• Research impact & translation narratives – how claims about societal impact are grounded in evidence and governance.
• Student experience, safety & wellbeing – how multi-portfolio initiatives affecting students are governed.
• Partnerships & precincts – how cross-institution, industry and community collaborations are structured.
• Equity, inclusion & access – how commitments to fairness and participation are reflected in decisions.

The Governance Five™ Flow – Govern → Engage → Aggregate → Deliver → Evolve™ © – offers a licensed method for making these non-academic pathways visible and auditable.

Governance Five™ can support non-academic governance over:

• how strategic priorities and trade-offs are decided and documented,
• how faculties and communities contribute to strategy formation,
• how statements about civic mission, impact and global contribution are grounded in evidence,
• how changes in direction are explained internally and externally.

It does not determine academic quality or ranking methodologies; it makes associated non-academic governance more transparent.

For institutes and research centres, Governance Five™ helps distinguish between:

• what the research shows (academic domain), and
• how non-academic decisions are made about translation, partnerships, communication and impact claims (Governance Five™ domain).

It does not interfere with research methods or peer review. It structures the non-academic governance around impact, partnerships and public narratives.

Student safety, wellbeing, inclusion and support often span multiple portfolios. Governance Five™ can help institutions:

• clarify principles and governance responsibilities for student-focused initiatives,
• structure engagement with students, unions, associations and communities,
• aggregate feedback, incidents, risk and evaluation data at governance level,
• align public commitments with traceable internal decisions.

It does not replace counselling, clinical or legal frameworks. It offers a non-academic governance method for how support is organised, improved and communicated.

Governance Five™ supports institutions to govern how:

• equity, access and reconciliation commitments are structured into decisions,
• First Nations and community voices are engaged and listened to in governance,
• trade-offs and constraints are documented and communicated respectfully,
• monitoring, evaluation and feedback loops inform governance, not just reporting.

It does not define cultural, ethical or political positions. It structures how non-academic choices and commitments are governed.

Many university precincts, hubs and collaborations blend public, private and community interests. Governance Five™ can help institutions:

• clarify public-interest and institutional objectives for each collaboration,
• structure non-academic governance forums with partners and stakeholders,
• aggregate risk, opportunity, equity and impact information before major choices,
• align public messaging and reporting with governance evidence.

Contracts, IP terms and ethics frameworks remain in place. Governance Five™ operates at the non-academic governance layer above them.

Governance Five™ supports governance around:

• how funding sources and conditions are assessed at a governance level,
• how independence, integrity and conflicts are considered and documented,
• how donor expectations are aligned with institutional values,
• how public acknowledgements and impact claims are supported by evidence.

It does not replace legal, financial or ethics requirements; it provides a structured non-academic governance method for decisions about resourcing and influence.

Quality-assurance processes, external reviews, accreditation audits and public inquiries all seek clarity about governance pathways. Governance Five™ can help institutions:

• make non-academic governance decisions more visible and documented,
• show how stakeholders were engaged and evidence was combined,
• link external findings and recommendations into Governance → Engage → Aggregate → Deliver → Evolve adjustments.

It does not replace existing quality or accreditation frameworks; it offers a method-origin governance flow that can sit alongside them.

About its role

• “We use Governance Five™ © as a non-academic governance framework to organise how decisions, participation and documentation are structured around our existing academic, legal and regulatory obligations.”
• “Governance Five™ helps us show the path from mandate to engagement, aggregation, delivery and learning for initiatives that affect students, staff, partners and communities.”
• “It is a licensed governance system, not an academic or legal authority. It complements, but does not replace, academic freedom, ethics and quality-assurance frameworks.”

About potential non-academic benefits

• “Using Governance Five™ may improve visibility and traceability across complex institutional initiatives and partnerships.”
• “It can reduce ambiguity about who is involved, when and under what rules in non-academic decisions that affect public value.”
• “It helps align engagement, evidence and implementation so that non-academic decisions are easier to explain to students, staff, funders and communities.”

About boundaries

• “Governance Five™ does not provide academic, research, ethics, financial or legal advice and does not alter statutory or professional standards.”
• “Decisions of academic bodies, ethics committees, regulators and courts remain the responsibility of the appropriate authorities.”

These examples are informational only and should be reviewed by institutional governance, legal, academic and communications teams before use.