A central aspect of effective global governance is the institutionalization of policies and systems that help prevent and/or allow an effective response to Infectious Disease (ID) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) threats. This research stream focuses on identifying political, economic, and cultural barriers to the institutionalization of effective global governance policies and systems for ID and AMT governance. It draws on the ideas of multi-level governance and meta-governance.

Multi-level governance involves a system of policy negotiation and implementation at different scales – from international to local – with support required at each scale to foster policy compliance, implementation, and accountability for policies in the realm of the global commons^. Meta-governance (whereby one level of government takes responsibility to steer the self-governance of another level of government) may be leveraged, evidenced through the steering effect of Canadian federal health legislation and health accords on provincial healthcare policy. The International Health Regulations are another example of meta-governance in which a binding international agreement has altered governmental control by requiring states to detect, respond to, and report public health outbreaks to the WHO.