The Coherence Programme: A Conceptual Overview and Entry Point to the Research Programme

This paper introduces the Coherence Programme, a research programme examining how institutional decision systems maintain or lose fidelity to declared intent. It models governance as a translation architecture in which purpose is progressively transformed into capabilities, strategy, and decision signals. The paper outlines the core concepts—translation dynamics, coherence, and drift—and positions the programme as a framework for analysing how meaning becomes operational in complex institutional settings. This paper is part of the Coherence Programme.