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 programme and to exercise oversight on its administration. The entity could be a government ministry or department, a statutory body or a private entity.

The 21 guidelines for the board 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.