AI Governance Assessments

A clear, evidence-based read on how your AI governance actually performs.

A Novara governance assessment measures the distance between the governance an organization believes it has and the governance it can demonstrate under review.

It is one of the most tangible and actionable engagements Novara offers: structured, benchmarked against the Novara Governance Framework, and delivered as findings you can act on immediately.

Why Assessments Matter

Governance is only real if it can be shown.

Most organizations discover the limits of their AI governance at the worst possible moment: during a regulator inquiry, a board question, a procurement review, or an incident. An assessment moves that discovery forward, to a point where it is still inexpensive to fix.

The purpose is not a grade. It is a precise map of where governance holds, where it is aspirational rather than operational, and what to address first.
What You Are Evaluated Against

Eight dimensions of operational governance.

An assessment examines whether governance exists in practice and can be evidenced, not whether a policy document exists on paper.

Dimension 01

Governance Maturity

Whether governance is documented, operational, and repeatable, or improvised case by case as questions arise.

Dimension 02

Accountability

Clear ownership for every AI system in use. Who approved it, who monitors it, and who answers when something changes.

Dimension 03

Oversight

Review processes, escalation paths, and committee structures that carry real authority beyond policy language.

Dimension 04

Documentation

Evidence that decisions were made, by whom, and on what basis. The record that internal and external review actually requires.

Dimension 05

Continuous Monitoring

Structured reassessment as systems change, use cases expand, and expectations develop over time.

Dimension 06

Regulatory Readiness

Whether governance can withstand scrutiny from federal and state requirements, accreditation bodies, and auditors.

Dimension 07

Procurement Readiness

Whether vendor evaluation, contracting, and third-party AI review produce the documentation procurement increasingly demands.

Dimension 08

Transparency

Explainability built into workflows so that how and why a system is used can be shown, not reconstructed under pressure.

The Backbone of Every Assessment

Benchmarked against the Novara Governance Framework.

Every assessment is structured around the same five interconnected components that define governance built to function in practice. The Framework is not a reference appended at the end. It is the measuring instrument.

01

Accountability

Clear ownership and responsibility for every AI system, including who is answerable when conditions change.

02

Oversight

Governance structures with genuine authority: review processes, escalation paths, and functioning committees.

03

Transparency

Documentation and explainability that supports both internal review and external scrutiny, built into workflows.

04

Operational Governance

Governance embedded into procurement, vendor review, and approval workflows that produce evidence as a matter of course.

05

Continuous Monitoring

Governance that evolves with AI, with structured reassessment as systems and regulatory expectations change.

The Tiered Assessment Model

Three depths, one standard.

Every tier measures against the same Framework. They differ in scope, depth of evidence review, and the level of the organization the findings are built to support.

Tier One

Governance Baseline

Orientation and gap identification
  • Framework-based governance review
  • AI inventory and workflow scan
  • Priority gap identification
  • Summary findings and recommendations
Tier Two

Governance Assessment

Full evidence-based evaluation
  • Evaluation across all eight dimensions
  • Documentation and evidence review
  • Regulatory and procurement readiness analysis
  • Maturity rating by Framework component
  • Prioritized remediation roadmap
Tier Three

Governance Audit-Readiness

Board and regulator-facing
  • Everything in the full assessment
  • Audit-ready documentation package
  • Board and executive briefing materials
  • Evidence structured for external review
  • Ongoing reassessment cadence
How an Assessment Runs

A structured process. Findings you can act on.

01
Scope

A direct conversation to define the AI systems, contexts, and review pressures that matter. No intake forms, no associates.

02
Evaluate

Structured review of governance practice, documentation, and evidence against each Framework component and readiness dimension.

03
Deliver

Clear findings, a maturity read, and a prioritized roadmap of what to address first, sequenced for practical action.

Find out what your governance can demonstrate.

An assessment is the most direct way to understand where you stand before a regulator, board, or auditor asks. The earlier the read, the cheaper the fix.