Governance in systems of systems: A systems-based model

Many concepts associated with governance and governance systems fall short in their capacity to influence or 'steer' towards intended ideals, goals or desired outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for complex governance systems that provides an alternative viewpoint based on systems theoretic principles. This effort supports a system-of-systems (SoS) governance concept that examines: 1) a governed system ' the target of governance structure and activities; 2) a governing system ' the direct controller that provides regulatory capacity of the 'governed' system; 3) a meta-governance system ' a metasystem that strategically influences the 'governing' system directly and the 'governed' system indirectly; 4) the contextual environment ' as anything external to the articulated SoS boundary. The main contribution of this paper is a set of systems-based concepts representing governance that will enhance the dialog and foster better understanding the governance construct as well as the associated phenomena for design, development, and performance of governance for complex systems of systems.