The board is the group of persons who, under the legislation or by-laws establishing the entity, is given the responsibility to govern the social security programmes and to exercise oversight on their administration. The entity could be a government ministry or department, a statutory body or a private entity.

The management is the group of persons who, under the legislation or by-laws establishing the entity, is given the responsibility for the administration and daily operations of the social security programmes.

The 25 guidelines for the board and management support and promote the following five principles of good governance, as applied to social security institutions:

1. Accountability

2. Transparency

3. Predictability

4. Participation

5. Dynamism

Each principle is described briefly. Guidelines are then provided on how each principle may be applied.