The G1, G2, and G3 Standards form an integrated governance framework spanning board oversight, institutional controls, and AI-enabled decision-making. Each standard may be applied independently; together they provide a consistent and formally issued basis for governance assurance across the full organisational landscape.
The G-Series standards are designed to be applied as a unified governance framework or adopted individually based on organisational scope, maturity, and risk profile. Each standard addresses a distinct governance layer while reinforcing consistent oversight, accountability, and evidence-based assurance across the organisation.
In practice, implementation typically begins with board-level governance (G1), extends through institutional structures and controls (G2), and is complemented by technology and AI governance (G3) where digital systems introduce material risk, automation, or decision-making complexity.
Defines board-level governance responsibilities, including mandate, accountability, independence, and decision authority. Establishes expectations for strategic oversight, risk culture, and integrity across significant organisational programmes.
Establishes organisation-wide governance structures, internal controls, assurance pathways, and escalation mechanisms. Translates board intent into consistent operational governance across legal entities and functions.
Defines governance requirements for technology, data, and AI-enabled systems, including lifecycle oversight, risk management, monitoring, and incident response. Ensures alignment with institutional commitments and applicable regulation.
By adopting the G-Series Standards, organisations gain a measurable framework that supports ethical leadership, transparent operations, technology assurance, and continuous improvement across business-critical functions.
IGSB Standards provide a structured, globally aligned foundation for strengthening organisational governance, ethics, risk oversight, and system accountability. They enable institutions to benchmark maturity, demonstrate compliance with internationally recognised principles, and build a consistent, trustworthy operational environment.
Establishes the foundational frameworks, leadership responsibilities, decision-making pathways, and oversight mechanisms required to ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical governance across the institution.
Provides aligned expectations for risk management, internal controls, policy discipline, performance monitoring, and transparent reporting — ensuring organisations maintain operational resilience and regulatory alignment.
Defines safeguards for digital systems, data stewardship, AI transparency, human oversight, bias mitigation, and responsible innovation, ensuring technology aligns with organisational ethics and governance requirements.
The IGSB pathway is structured to support organisations from initial diagnostic through to formal certification and ongoing renewal. Each stage is anchored in documented evidence, governance practice testing, and alignment with wider regulatory and sustainability frameworks.
Initial review to confirm standard applicability, organisational scope, and readiness for assessment. This stage defines boundaries, exclusions, and evidence expectations aligned to risk and complexity.
Structured assessment of governance documentation, oversight practices, and accountability mechanisms against the applicable G-Series Standard requirements.
Formal determination of conformity, including identified strengths, gaps, and required corrective actions where applicable.
Certification is granted for a defined period, subject to ongoing compliance, periodic review, and re-assessment to reflect organisational change and regulatory evolution.
The same pathway applies whether an organisation is seeking a single G-Series standard or a broader multi-standard portfolio. Pre-assessment, certification and renewal are structured to work alongside existing regulatory reviews, internal audit, and assurance programmes.
G1–G3 share a common foundation rooted in accountability, risk management and stakeholder trust. Each standard expresses these principles in a different context—board governance, institutional governance and technology & AI governance—but the underlying expectations remain consistent across the G-Series.
G1–G3 require clear allocation of responsibility for governance quality. Boards and senior leadership must demonstrate how oversight is exercised, how decisions are documented and how governance standards are embedded in the organisation’s operating model.
Each standard expects organisations to identify material risks, design proportionate controls and obtain assurance over how those controls operate in practice. G1–G3 link board oversight, institutional structures and technology governance into a single, testable risk framework.
G-Series standards assume that sustainable governance depends on fair conduct, transparent reporting and credible engagement with stakeholders. G1–G3 require organisations to show how behaviours, disclosures and decisions support long-term trust in the institution and its use of technology.
The pre-assessment provides a low-friction way to understand how your existing governance arrangements align with IGSB G1–G3. It focuses on design and operating effectiveness, without requiring full certification immediately.
IGSB certification is evidence-based. Conformity with the G-Series Standards is assessed through documented governance artefacts, demonstrable oversight practices, and verifiable accountability mechanisms. Evidence requirements are proportionate to organisational size, complexity, and risk profile.
Formal governance documentation demonstrating role clarity, decision authority, accountability structures, and policy alignment. This includes charters, mandates, governance policies, delegation frameworks, and documented oversight responsibilities.
Evidence that governance arrangements operate in practice, including meeting records, reporting packs, escalation logs, assurance outputs, and documented challenge. Evidence must demonstrate consistency, independence, and effective use of governance information.
Periodic evaluation of governance effectiveness supported by internal review, independent assurance, or third-party assessment. Findings must inform corrective action, governance enhancement, and ongoing compliance with the applicable G-Series Standard.