Governance & Public Policy

When Boards Don't Govern: Lessons from Recent Public Entity Failures

Grey Matters · 22 February 2026 · 0 min read

The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. Across multiple jurisdictions and sectors, government-appointed boards are failing to prevent the very outcomes they were established to oversee. The question is whether the problem is the people on the boards, or the structures that constrain them.

The Accountability Gap

Expertise Without Authority

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