Department-Agency: Funding, Assurances and Trust | ONLINE
22 February 2024
11:00–12:30
on-line
Government Departments are supported in delivering on their priorities through a wide array of state agencies, public bodies and public benefit entities, which deliver important public functions and services. As such, the relationship between Department and agency or funded entity is critically important, both in terms of priorities and performance, and controls and assurance. This may be heightened in some instances whereby an agency is onward funding to a public benefit entity and has performance and oversight responsibilities over one or more such entities.
In recent years, there has been a greater degree of formalisation of relationships through, for example, Oversight Agreements and Performance Delivery Agreements, and Memorandums of Understanding/Service Level Agreements. Critical reviews are also becoming more common, including Periodic Critical Reviews of state agencies. At the same time, personal relationships are of significant importance.
The purpose of this Governance Forum session is to give focus to these critically important relationships on the basis that performance or control/assurance (or broadly “governance”) issues in a particular policy area can be impactful for all concerned, including the Minister, Secretary General, Department, Board and state agency.
With the help of three experienced practitioners, the event will explore:
- The experience of relationship-building, oversight and assurances
- Key risks and how they might materialise
- The benefits and limits (if any) of formal agreements and formal assurance processes
- The experience of, and value-add, of Periodic Critical Reviews (PCR) of state agencies
- Key tools and levers to help influence good governance arrangements
The speaker line-up includes:
- Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive Officer, The Heritage Council
- Scline Scott, Head of Corporate Affairs & Mary McCarthy, AP Corporate Affairs, Department of Finance (Department leads on FSPO PCR)
- Margaret Campbell, Principal Officer, Department of Education (with responsibility for corporate and sectoral governance)