When you are driving, you generally just drive, following the rules and markings laid out for you, rarely stopping to think about how consistent lane markers, signage, and signals make it possible to move smoothly from point A to point B. When a road is poorly designed or inconsistently maintained, however, everything slows down or becomes jarring, no matter how skilled or well-intentioned the driver may be.
Learning governance functions in much the same way, laying out clear guidance for a learning ecosystem so that people can focus on doing the work rather than navigating the system. Without it, the ride is almost always slower, rougher, and more frustrating than it needs to be.
What is Learning Governance?
Learning governance is the set of policies, processes, structures, and decision-making frameworks that oversee and guide learning activities to ensure they are effective, aligned with organizational goals, and consistent across the organization. It provides clarity and oversight for how learning is planned, designed, delivered, evaluated, and maintained in support of broader strategy (InStride).
Core Governance Operating Models
Centralized governance model
In this model, decision-making authority and standards are controlled by a single central team or governing body. All policies, processes, and quality controls are defined centrally (Alation).
Decentralized governance model
Decision rights and governance responsibilities are distributed across business units, teams, or domains. Each group governs its own activities and standards, with minimal central control (Atlan).
Federated governance model
Central governance sets overarching policies and standards while individual units or domains implement and manage execution locally. This model aims to balance consistency with flexibility (Atlan).
Hybrid governance model
A blend of centralized and decentralized elements where core policies or frameworks are centralized, but local teams retain significant autonomy in execution (Sprinto).
CSB L&D Governance Model
Model type: Federated L&D Governance
What is centrally governed at CSB:
- L&D strategy and portfolio alignment
- Learning ecosystem architecture (platforms, where learning lives, how it is tracked)
- Standards and guardrails for design, quality, launch readiness, and evaluation
- Role-based onboarding and academies where consistency, auditability, and workforce readiness are required
- Governance structures that function as decision-making and alignment bodies rather than ad hoc coordination
What is distributed:
- Subject-matter expertise from programs
- Contextualization of learning to specific roles and practice environments
- Facilitation and delivery support within centrally governed systems
What the model intentionally avoids:
- Fully decentralized program-owned training with parallel systems
- Fully centralized design and delivery that disconnects learning from practice
- Ambiguous ownership of quality, evaluation, or platforms
Why this model fits CSB:
- The work is complex and regulated
- Risk to clients and staff is real
- The workforce spans many roles, credentials, and practice contexts
- Learning must be both consistent and usable in real conditions
In short, Talent Development governs the spine; programs contribute the muscle.
Which Model Should I Use?
How your L&D ecosystem is governed depends on your organization’s structure and needs. The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) is a large, highly-regulated behavioral health system, which contributes to its governance. Different organizations will select models that make the most sense for the operational realities.
To that point, when organizational leaders are determining which governance model makes the most sense for their learning function (or any service function), they need a rubric or set of criteria that ties governance choices to real work conditions and organizational priorities. When determining an appropriate learning governance model, organizational leaders should consider a small set of structural questions rather than starting with labels like centralized or federated.
A learning governance model should be guided by:
Risk and regulatory requirements
The degree to which learning must be consistent, auditable, and defensible due to safety, compliance, or regulatory obligations.
Need for enterprise consistency
How important it is that learning experiences, standards, and outcomes are consistent across programs, roles, or locations.
Scale and complexity of learning demand
The volume, variety, and frequency of learning needs, and whether a single central team can realistically design and manage all learning.
Variation in local practice
The extent to which roles, workflows, and practice contexts differ and require localized learning adaptations.
Clarity of decision rights
The organization’s ability to clearly define who decides standards, platforms, quality, and evaluation, and where flexibility is intentionally allowed.
Internal capability and capacity
The availability of instructional design, facilitation, and evaluation expertise outside of a central learning function.
Systems and data integration needs
The importance of shared platforms, reporting, and data integrity across the learning ecosystem.
Strategic importance of learning
How tightly learning must align with organizational strategy, workforce readiness, and performance outcomes.
Organizations with high regulatory risk, strong consistency needs, and integrated systems typically benefit from centralized or federated governance models. Organizations with low risk, high local variation, and strong distributed capability may function effectively with more decentralized approaches.
Final Thoughts
As you think through what model works best for your agency, remember that the goal is not control. Instead, the goal of learning governance is clarity, coherence, and sustainability, and the decision criteria must link directly to risk, complexity, capability, and value.
Dr. Treca Bourne 