Governing for quality and safeguarding: what might disability service provider boards learn from others?

Abstract

Demands of commissions of inquiry, legislators, and regulators that disability service providers’ boards of directors have greater involvement in the governance of quality and safeguarding have been increasing, both in Australia and overseas. However, there is no empirical literature on how disability service provider boards might govern for quality and safeguarding. In contrast, there is a substantial literature on the impact of boards on the quality of care in the hospital sector and a small but developing literature on board influence on work health and safety. This article examines what might be learnt from both literatures and considers what findings might – and might not – be hypothesised to be transferable to the governance of disability service providers. Further, the article outlines a model for researching the boards of disability service providers and their influence on quality and safeguarding, and contributes ideas towards a research agenda.