We work in organisations which are affected by policies, institutions, processes. It is important therefore to have a better understanding of this aspect in relation to Sustainable Livelihoods. In addition, the Sustainable Livelihoods Principles are in fact mostly governance principles about how to operate. This points to the importance of understanding the governance situation. In the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework this is shown by a simple box (or triangle) but in fact covers a wide variety of subjects:

• Policies - formal (such as laws) and informal (such as customs);
• Institutions (rules of the game, traditional, markets etc);
• Organizations operating at different levels, public, private, and civil society;

• Services being provided by different organizations. Recognizing that these may all be happening at different levels from community to international