Governance by Assurance White Paper - A Systems Approach to Outcomes-Based Regulation

Governing by Assurance: A Systems Approach to Outcome-Based Regulation presents a practical path for agencies and regulated enterprises to transition from activity-based compliance to evidence-based performance. It introduces governing by assurance, a management approach that emphasizes outcomes and verifies capability with measurable proof.

This paper is intended for policy leaders, program executives, oversight bodies, and managers who need to turn statutory intent into dependable results. It assumes familiarity with established frameworks, such as NIST CSF, COBIT, ITIL, and the ISO/IEC 27001 series, and explains how to integrate them within the Digital Value Management System (DVMS).

What this paper does:

• Defines the shift from Governance, Risk, and Compliance to Governance, Resilience, Assurance, and Accountability with outcomes at the center.
• Explains DVMS as an overlay that links intent, capability, and evidence in a continuous learning loop: Intent → Capability → Evidence → Learning → Improved Intent.
• Uses the Create, Protect, Deliver model to translate policy goals into operational design.
• Introduces Minimum Viable Capabilities to specify what must exist for compliance to produce real performance.
• Applies the Question Outcome–Question Metric discipline to make outcomes testable and comparable.
• Describes how automation and AI enable continuous assurance while preserving human judgment and legal safeguards.

Administrative fit:
The approach aligns with the Administrative Procedure Act, OMB Circular A-4, the GPRA Modernization Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and current federal policies related to AI and data. It reduces reporting burdens, enhances data quality, and bolsters the evidentiary record for oversight and judicial review.