In the chairman's foreword of the report, published this morning, Grade affirms the BBC's commitment to independent journalism.
He said: "The BBC is not worth having if it is not editorially independent. I and the other governors will defend the BBC's right to do difficult and courageous journalism about powerful people in powerful institutions. That kind of journalism -- set within a strengthened editorial framework -- must remain one of the hallmarks of the BBC."
The report moves away from the backslapping for which it was panned last year, and takes a more critical look at its output and success in meeting objectives.
To this end, the governors of the BBC have expressed concern that audience perception of the BBC's quality and work have declined.
"Work will be undertaken to understand audience perceptions of quality better and to find out whether the perceived decline in quality relates to the BBC in particular, or broadcasters in general," the governors said.
More specifically, the governors want BBC One to look at problems with its peak-time scheduling, saying that entertainment programming remains a problem for the station, which has seen ratings for its former flagship soap 'EastEnders' plummet. The show was recently beaten by 'Emmerdale'.
The report said: "We have asked our team of advisers to undertake an independent study to assess whether or not the channel has the best balance of output in peak time. We will report on the outcome next year."
The governors also criticised the broadcaster for its arts programming, saying that the BBC was perceived as being less cutting-edge than other broadcasters, with a tendency to aim for the mainstream.
It welcomed the decision by BBC Two to launch a new arts journalism unit to make programmes for BBC Two and BBC Four.
The report contains no director-general's report because Mark Thompson did not work at the corporation during the period of the review.
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