Perspectives

Becoming Te Tiriti-led is an obligation, not a choice

Lana Simmons-Donaldson presents the second part of her exploration of the Human Rights Commission’s journey towards being a Tiriti-based organisation. Featured in the July 2021 Edition of the Public Sector Journal.

• 16 Jun 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Maori-Crown Relationships
• Public Service
• Te Tiriti

Learning from the 2020 COVID Budget

Improving trust in the New Zealand Government – learning from the 2020 COVID Budget Derek Gill - IPANZ, IGPS and NZIER Unprecedented fiscal stimulus COVID COVID was a difficult emergency for governments to manage that required swift action, but newly released survey data shows that in almost all countries including New Zealand emergency spending was not as transparent, accountable, or inclusive as they could be. When speed and accountability are pursued together, the public gets better services, which builds confidence that government can deliver. Public trust is critical to recover and renew our societies after COVID...

• 08 Jun 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Budget
• Trust & Confidence

Rangatiratanga and the Crown

Lana Simmons-Donaldson looks at the evolution of rangatiratanga and what it means for the Crown through three very different Waitangi Tribunal reports. One looks at claims from central North Island iwi that highlight the impact of sustained historical Treaty breaches, the second finds that 1840 rangatira did not cede their rangatiratanga (autonomy), and the third is a contemporary claim that recommends a Māori-led review of the Māori Development Act.

• 08 Jun 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Maori-Crown Relationships

Co-Design Success Factors

Co-design is used most successfully when you understand the factors listed in the attached table.

• 17 May 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Co-Design

Good Ideas Take Time

David Cameron was furious. The report just released by his favourite think tank was “insane”, “barmy” and “rubbish from start to finish”. The Tory leader went on to demand that the person responsible should leave Britain: “The sooner he gets on the ship the better.” Well, that was in 2008 and the person so exiled was me. The crime I was guilty of was to commission, edit and publish a report on urban regeneration policy. Its conclusion was simple: Politicians should allow thriving places to grow and failing places to shrink. They should also give power to local communities to take charge of their own affairs...

• 20 Apr 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Think Tanks

A View from Local Government - Local government is Community

Monique Davidson has an eye to the future in imagining local government. When we think about role of local government, it would be easy to get sucked into the confusing and naïve trap of thinking about the traditional roles of local government – the rates, the roads, the water, the red tape, and let’s not forget the rubbish. A provider of infrastructure and services. However, when I arrived in local government around 10 years ago, what I found was a sector so broad in its mandate and with responsibilities so connected to community influence, impact, and decision making that I soon realised what profound opportunities local government provides to make a real difference to the lives of people. Stewards in place making and community building.

• 14 Apr 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Local Government
• Wellington

As Presented in the Oranga Tamariki Annual Report

Annual Reports are not usually top of the list for people’s reading. So here are some key points made in the annual report -

• Lowest number of children entering care since 2004.
• Lowest number of children in custody since the establishment of Oranga Tamariki...

• 07 Apr 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Public Service
• Vulnerable Children

Allies: A Faster Road to Equality

Can we afford to wait 100 years before women achieve equality in New Zealand? Not many women can. But to get there faster, we need men to be part of our gender equality solutions. An article written by Kerri Du Pont from the Government Women's Network.

• 30 Mar 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Equality
• Public Service
• Public Service Reform

Iwi endorse Human Rights Commission Tiriti-Based Approach

Achieving authentic partnership with iwi is the ultimate goal of becoming a Te Tiriti o Waitangi based organisation. Lana Simmons-Donaldson explores one organisation’s partnership journey.
The Human Rights Commission has received rare endorsement from the National Iwi Chairs Forum to call itself a Tiriti-based organisation. Professor Margaret Mutu (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, and Ngāti Whatua), Iwi Chairs Forum Pou Tikanga Chair, says the endorsement is built on a relationship of trust and respect that began just before the government signed up to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2010. The relationship was formalised in 2020 when Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt and Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon presented to the Forum.

• 25 Mar 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Culture and Heritage
• Maori-Crown Relationships
• Public Service

Ideas to Build Public Sector Performance - Colin James

In December 2020, IPANZ hosted an event that focused on what to expect in 2021 and what ideas (radical or not) public servants might consider. Many ideas came out. IPANZ will always welcome these challenges and hope our readers do too.
Colin James was on the panel for this event. He was asked to give some “radical thoughts” on the public service – thoughts that could be picked up by public servants. Here’s what he came up with -
Putting “radical” and “public service” in the same sentence is quite a stretch. Roger Douglas found that in the 1980s – Treasury officials of that time talked of proposing reforms only to find Roger turn up with an envelope on the back of which he had sketched far more ambitious ideas. Bill English complained in 2009 that the Treasury and other departments were comfortably enclosed in a box and he was having trouble getting them out...

• 25 Mar 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Public Servant
• Public Service

It’s Time to Co-Design Government Policy and Programmes

Keitha Booth looks at how some other countries have engaged effectively with the public and asks our government agencies to lead more of this work. Government policy and programmes are often developed with little public input – yet the public are the main users of government policy or programmes. Instead of looking to the public, many policy agencies see their key stakeholders as other policy agencies. Public consultation often comes at the very end of the process, which can result in low public support for new policies or products. We need another way. Let’s lead from the centre. Let’s have a new “business as usual”. Let’s make design decisions together. Let’s build on and adapt methods being used or tested in countries similar to ours.

• 25 Mar 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Co-Design
• Public Service

When to use and not use representative deliberative processes

Drawing on the evidence collected and existing scholarship, this OECD report explores when deliberative processes have been shown to work well and when they do not.

• 11 Mar 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Democracy
• Engagement
• Wellington

Stitches in time? Realising the value of futures and foresight

This introduces you to some of the key ideas in a report published by the RSA (Royal Society for Arts) in the UK, funded by PERU (Policy Evaluation Research Unit and Metropolis). The RSA says “We invite you to be part of this change. Join our community” This is why we attach the link to the full document. Authors: Adanna Shallowe, Aleksandra Szymczyk, Ella Firebrace, Ian Burbidge and James Morrison

• 11 Mar 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Futures Planning
• Futures Thinking
• Wellington

Ministry of Possibilities - UAE

The United Arab Emirates has a Ministry of Possibilities Our two countries are very different - but all governments are trying to tackle the difficult challenges, and the UAE have chosen the following way. There may be some ideas in here to spark our thinking in New Zealand.

• 04 Feb 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Futures Planning
• Innovation
• Wellington

Climate Change Action Ideas

Here we share two examples from the summary of 100 great ideas for climate action collated and published by Apolitical. The link to the full, very large, article is at the bottom of this page. We think this is pretty inspiring, especially as we face the challenges of the climate change commission report. We hope you find something of interest for your sector.

• 04 Feb 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Climate Change
• Sustainability
• Wellington

Employee Performance Management in the Public Sector: How it works in reality

Modern employee performance management, which concerns the day-to-day actions to manage employee performance, is effective when done well, but is often done poorly.

This article offers initial insights offer a glimpse into what our public service people-leaders are saying. We look forward to sharing more to help make modern performance management real, not a bureaucratic chore.

• 01 Feb 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Leadership
• Public Service
• Wellington

Ethics and Leadership in the Public Service

IPANZ is committed to exploring and enhancing the ethical culture of the public service. Hence, we will be sharing information and insights about ethics in the next few months. As always, we welcome the views of IPANZ members.

• 28 Jan 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Ethics
• Public Service
• Wellington

Well-being Policy and Practice: Wales and New Zealand

New Zealand and Wales both place well-being at the heart of public policy but have followed very different approaches. This note provides a brief comparison.

• 26 Jan 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Public Service
• Wellbeing
• Wellington

Types of Ethical Leadership

TYPES of ETHICAL LEADERSHIP (as explained by Karin Lasthuizen who is the Brian Picot Chair of Ethical leadership at the Victoria university Business School at an AOG leaders Integrity Forum in 2018). Here is an example of the different roles that a leader needs to play when trying to influence ethical behaviour in the workplace.

• 26 Jan 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Ethics
• Leadership
• Public Service
• Wellington

Political Acuity

Being politically savvy is an important skill for public servants. Here are some ideas on some of the things to think about is as you develop.

• 19 Jan 2021
• 2021
• Best Practice
• Public Service

Achieving Digital Inclusion

In the April 2020 edition of our Public Sector Journal Laurence Millar talks about ways of achieving digital inclusion - the challenge of digital inclusion has become urgently into prominence. Laurence has prepared this video for IPANZ members to follow up on his article. He talks about the challenge of digital inclusion, what is needed, why exclusion happens; he will finish by looking beyond COVID. Shocked by the stark reality of digital reliance, surely the public service must act decisively.

• 14 Jan 2021
• 2020
• Best Practice
• Wellington

Can Health Technology Foster Greater Resilience in Our Health Systems?

Can health technology foster greater resilience in our health care systems? What lessons have we learned from the covid-19 pandemic about the role of technology in healthcare provision? In a summer workshop hosted by CSaP in partnership with Member of Parliament George Freeman and experts from the health policy and technology policy sectors, we explored the future potential of health technologies in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic. This was the second in a series of three workshops which seek to explore aspects of how institutions and policy approaches focused on health and the economy can be strengthened and support innovation following the covid-19 pandemic.

• 08 Dec 2020
• 2020
• Best Practice
• Innovation
• Technology

Q&A with Lil Anderson of Te Arawhiti

SHENAGH GLEISNER talks to Lil Anderson of Te Arawhiti about what public servants are doing and what they can do to change Māori Crown relations.

• 30 Nov 2020
• 2020
• Best Practice
• Leadership
• Maori-Crown Relationships
• Public Servant
• Public Service

Taking Stewardship Seriously

JONATHAN BOSTON of the School of Government, Victoria University, asks how the idea of stewardship will be applied. For public servants, exercising wise stewardship is mandatory; it is not optional. Morally, it has long been a relevant and important obligation. Legally, it has been a specific and significant duty since the passing of the State Sector Amendment Act in 2013. Recently, the Public Service Act 2020 has strengthened the stewardship obligations of public service chief executives and their staff. It is now critical for these obligations to be taken seriously and accorded a high priority.

• 30 Nov 2020
• 2020
• Best Practice
• Principles and Values
• Public Service
• Public Service Reform
• Stewardship

Exciting Times for Collective Action

JO MILLER, chief executive of Hutt City Council, imagines a world where collaboration is the norm. Compassion, communication, clarity of purpose, collaboration, and a focus on citizens were at the heart of New Zealand’s rightly lauded response to COVID-19. We did well as a team of 5 million, with great leadership and central–local partnerships. Here in the Hutt Valley, councils, iwi, businesses, voluntary organisations, and communities collaborated to problem-solve and innovate for the common good.

• 30 Nov 2020
• 2020
• Best Practice
• Collaboration
• Engagement
• Local Government