Public Sector Journal 39 (3)

PUBLICSECTOR

Rangai Tumatanui

Journal of the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand Volume 39 : 3 • September 2016

FUTURE FOCUS:

The Public Service in 2025 EXCELLENCE AT WORK:

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VOLUME 39 : 3

PUBLISHER

5

SEPTEMBER 2016

10

The Institute of Public Administration New Zealand PO Box 5032, Wellington, New Zealand Phone: +64 4 463 6940 Fax: +64 4 463 6939 Email: admin@ipanz.org.nz Website: www.ipanz.org.nz ISSN 0110-5191 (Print) ISSN 1176-9831 (Online) The whole of the literary matter of Public Sector is copyright. Please contact the editor if you are interested in reproducing any Public Sector content.

EDITOR John O’Leary: johntoleary@paradise.net.nz

Future Focus

16

Public Sector Excellence Awards

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CONTRIBUTORS Luke Aki Carl Billington Chris Eichbaum John Larkindale Karl Lofgren Margaret McLachlan James Nokise Rose Northcott Kathy Ombler Adithi Pandit Jennifer Young

Focus - Data Protection

New Professionals

JOURNAL ADVISORY GROUP Annie De’ath John Larkindale Karl Lofgren Len Cook Lewis Rowland Margaret McLachlan Ross Tanner

CONTENTS President’s Message by John Larkindale .........................................................

2

IPANZ News: Realising Their Potential: The New Professionals Conference .....................................................................

3

Guest Editorial ..............................................................................................................

4

CONTRIBUTIONS

COVER STORY Future Focus - The Public Service in 2025 ..................................................................................

5-8

Public Sector welcomes contributions to each issue from readers.

Perfecting Policy: The Policy Project .................................................................

9

Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2016 ...............................

10-15

Focus - Data Protection: Here’s Looking at You, Citizen Big Data and Surveillance Societies ...................................................................

16-17

Q&A: Leading from the Front: A conversation with Peter Hughes ......................................................................

18-19

Focus - Social Investment: Investing for the Future .................................

20-21

New Professionals: Looking Ahead ....................................................................

22-23

A Crystal Ball and Some Scotch ............................................................................

24

ADVERTISING Phone: +64 4 463 6940 Fax: +64 4 463 6939 Email: comms@ipanz.org.nz

Themes for 2016 issues are: April: Education July: Auckland September: the future public service December: beyond the rhetoric of customer focus.

Please contact the editor for more information.

SUBSCRIPTIONS IPANZ welcomes both corporate and individual membership and journal subscriptions. Please email admin@ipanz. org.nz, phone +64 4 463 6940 or visit www.ipanz.org.nz to register online.

DISCLAIMER Opinions expressed in Public Sector are those of various authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editor, the journal advisory group or IPANZ. Every effort is made to provide accurate and factual content. The publishers and editorial staff, however, cannot accept responsibility for any inadvertent errors or omissions that may occur.

Public Sector is printed on environmentally responsible paper produced using ECF, third-party certified pulp from responsible sources and manufactured under the ISO14001 Environmental Management System.

1 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The Future Starts Today

By IPANZ President John Larkindale

In this issue we focus on aspects of what the

as robust as possible. We need to avoid to the

that almost every senior and experienced staff

future public service might look like. We have

greatest extent possible making errors and poor

member could see the weaknesses in what was

only to think back over the past several decades

investment decisions. We need to demonstrate

proposed; no matter that the Chief Executive had

to be very confident that it will certainly be

to the public that the money that Government

been appointed to the position from outside

different from what it is today. Different both in

spends – money that comes from the pockets of

and had never served overseas as a diplomat;

terms of the issues and challenges with which it

the people of this country – is wisely used. If we

no matter that there was no examination of

will have to deal, different in the kind of skills,

don’t do that, the social pact under which the

why foreign services around the world tend to

knowledge and experience that will be required,

people are by and large content to be taxed will

be organised in a particular way (because form

and – very probably – different in the technology

come under strain.

follows function): there was seemingly no room

that can be brought to bear on those issues and

for informed discussion and debate.

If New

problems.

Good decision-making needs not only innovative

On the other hand, I believe very strongly that

from across the political, economic and social

the fundamental principles that underpin the

environment, but also the mechanisms to

New Zealand public service, namely an apolitical

support rigorous (and sometimes vigorous)

workforce, appointment and advancement on

discussion and debate.

Policy-making is

In underlining this, I am not advocating

merit, the provision of free and frank advice

a knowledge-based discipline, and strong,

that this debate should take place in public,

to the government of the day, and active

knowledge-based agencies generally function

although it may well be discoverable under the

implementation of decisions taken by the

best in flat organisations where input is

Official Information Act. And in the case of the

government, are ones that should continue to be

encouraged from all levels.

Strong policy-

MFAT enquiry, it is perhaps ironic that it was

central tenets of the public service of the future.

making does not flourish in a command-and-

demonstrated that the internal exchanges of

control environment, such as is necessary for

messages to which exception was taken were

sectors such as defence, the police, the fire

precisely that, internal. The leaking of material

service or corrections departments.

which the enquiry was set up to investigate was

These principles have stood the test of time; they have continued to be relevant and important despite the enormous changes that have taken place since they were enshrined in the Public Service Act of 1912. They have ensured that New Zealand has had – and continues to have – a public service that is widely considered to be up with the very best, in particular with respect to transparency and probity. Of course there is room for improvement, but let’s remember that what we have is pretty darn good. One challenge we all face is that there is no counter-factual; noone today has any inkling of what New Zealand might be like if we didn’t have a public service

thinkers able to join together disparate dots

TROUBLING It is from this angle that I consider the findings of the Ombudsman’s report into the Rebstock enquiry into alleged leaks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade so troubling. Yes, the conclusion that natural justice was denied to the former senior MFAT employee who took the issue to the Ombudsman is in itself deeply disturbing, as is the series of other faults identified. But from the perspective of the future public service it is

Zealand is to have an effective public service in the future, there has to be acceptance of – and, indeed, encouragement for – robust testing of policy options.

ascribed to someone in another department.

The Ombudsman’s report into the Rebstock enquiry contains much that the State Services Commission and the government should reflect upon.

But, taking the long view, nothing is

perhaps more important than what this case tells us about the risk to sound policy-making.

As has been said before, “to every complex issue there is an obvious, simple and wrong answer”.

We must not put impediments such as closing down the space for discussion and debate in the

based on those principles.

perhaps even more problematic that the very

I have observed before in these columns that I

debate about policy (in this case, how should a

If our frameworks today are not fit for purpose,

believe very strongly in the principles of free and

foreign ministry be best organised to deliver the

how can we be confident that we will get things

frank advice. We are a small country and we

outputs required) was challenged in the report.

right tomorrow?

The report took as a premise that it was improper

John Larkindale

for staff to question a proposal that had been

President, IPANZ

have to draw on all the talent and experience that we have available. In considering where and how to invest public funds, we need to ensure that our decision-making processes are

2 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

process of iterative analytical discussion and

decided upon at the highest level. No matter

way of finding right answers.

IPANZ NEWS

Realising Their Potential The New Professionals Conference

Towards the end of the day delegates

explored their own natural strengths, and

attended an expo of diverse and innovative

how to use and develop these further in

projects across the public sector, where

the workplace. Voice, Presentation and

delegates could get a feel for some of the

Performance

The IPANZ 2016 New Professionals

work going on. The day came to a close with

Beekman provided the group with some

a networking function.

practical tools to help ensure their non-

Conference was held 28-29 July at Te

Coach

Maaike

Christie-

Papa. The theme of the conference was

verbal communication was matching the

‘Realising Potential – your contribution

message they are trying to get across. The

to New Zealand’.

day then ended with a two-hour session led by Dr Paul Wood and Vanderson Pires

The first day focused on the big picture

on strategies to build personal resilience,

and kicked off with Colin MacDonald

including mindfulness.

talking about the purpose of the public service. He challenged new professionals

Feedback

from

delegates

was

to think about why they are here, and how

overwhelmingly positive, with many of

can they remain relevant and continue to

them citing some practical takeaways

simplify in a truly citizen-centric way.

that they could immediately apply to their work environment.

Delegates were then exposed to a range of perspectives, trends, and information about

Comments included: “It was inspiring to see

ROWING THE ATLANTIC

the passion of others in the public sector

what was going on across government. This included information about the investment

On the second day, the focus turned

to improve people’s lives. Also great that it

approach being used in agencies such

inwards to how new professionals could

got me thinking about the role of the public

as MSD, health and wellbeing trends,

better understand and develop themselves

sector and what the future might look like.”

and a direct challenge from Judge Carrie

to be successful. The day kicked off with

Wainwright to “acquire a level of competence

an inspirational tale of rowing the Atlantic

“I enjoyed meeting great people, and

in te reo Māori”. Experienced leaders shared

by Kathy Tracey. She encouraged new

knowing that I do have value to add to New

their journeys and gave advice to the cohort

professionals to think about the challenges

Zealand’s future - my contribution matters,

on how to be authentic, value diversity, and

they set themselves, and how to overcome

and the generation above me knows it.”

be guided by personal values. “Success

barriers.

comes easier when you’re doing what feels right for you,” Mervin Singham said. Gill Greer echoed, “It’s the direction you’re going in that is important, not the speed”.

You can view conference speeches and photos

Before lunch, the participants broke into

at: www.ipanz.org.nz/npconference

smaller groups and spent some time with a

strengths-based

facilitator.

Delegates

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3 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

GUEST EDITORIAL

Chris Eichbaum

Karl Lofgren

Acting Vice-Provost (Teaching and Equity),

Associate Professor, School of Government,

Reader in Government, Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington

BIG DATA AND PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY BIG HYPE?

However, as many commentators have pointed

or accessible facts, that some kind of algorithm

out, reaching these aspirations is not without

will then be applied and that the policy answer

constraints.

(and there can only be the one policy answer)

Notwithstanding the hyperbole of modern data

First, ‘data’ is not a uniform concept. There are vast

analytics, or ‘big data’, the future of public service delivery will not go unchanged by the prospect of using large data sets for better monitoring of supply and demand, and new insights in citizens behaviour. In contrast to existing forms of sources

differences in quality, forms and sources when we deal with data analytics. Among the questions public sector organisations need to ask themselves, is whether to trust data sets which have been collected by non-state actors, and where it may be

will emerge. In this scenario, judgement is not a required element, the process of policymaking is value-free and technocratic, and deliberation becomes unnecessary. The ‘free, frank and fearless’ test will no longer be a material consideration because the advice will be the product of a technocratic process. Indeed, taken to its extreme,

(e.g. user surveys) regarding citizens’ needs, views,

difficult to assess the quality.

attitudes and behaviour, modern information

Second, data is collected for certain purposes. This

systems management. The administrative vocation

means that it is not a straightforward process to use

as such will become an historical relic. Sage advice

the data sets for other purposes, and that data does

drawing on institutional knowledge and with an

not speak for itself. Someone needs to analyse the

eye for implementation risks will become a thing

data (and transform the data into information and

of the past.

technologies provide us with far better possibilities to collect, store, process and combine large data sets based on actual behaviour, exact localities, and often based on modern sensor devices monitoring daily activities. As an example, the Dutch tax authorities discovered when cross-matching their

knowledge).

policy analysis will be replaced with information

But we argue the future holds out real possibilities

data sets that individuals who were in the process

Third, although we are talking about ‘big’ data

in terms of bringing the traditional ‘craft’ of public

of getting divorced were much more likely to make

sets, it is not too difficult to identify individuals by

administration and public service to new digital

mistakes in their tax self-assessments. Likewise,

isolating a few factors (such as e.g. age, location

realities and new possibilities for governance.

there is the classic example of how the search

and gender), thereby making personal data more

Data analytics, in this alternative view, becomes

engine Google a few years ago was able to predict

vulnerable. This is particularly relevant if we are

part of the tool-kit that the public service advisor

both outbreaks and movements of ‘flu based on

considering making big data open data.

can draw on. The challenge is to get public sector

what search terms citizens entered (the precision of Google was, however, questioned afterwards).

For some, this trajectory is not only a revolution for delivering services to the public, but also entails a

Listening to some of the voices in the debate, one gets the impression that it is all about changing the roles of policy advisors and analysts in government.

leaders to understand not only the possibilities, but also the limitations of data analytics. In so doing governance may become all the richer, the role of public servants all the more important in

NO MORE POLICY ANALYSIS?

a range of authorising environments, and citizens

or even sold to commercial interests (contributing

Some claim that the role of the policy advisor

passive recipients of policymaking by some kind of

to innovation and economic growth in the country).

will become simply that of a harvester of known

enhanced Wikipedia.

real asset for the public sector which can be shared,

Fletcher, David, 1952 - : “We can’t afford to pay this massive wages bill.”

The Politician. 18 November 2013. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

4 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

made active participants in co-production, not the

FUTURE FOCUS: the public service in 2025

Peter Hughes

Glen Barclay

Colin MacDonald

Brad Jackson

State Services Commissioner

Public Service Association

Department of Internal Affairs

School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington

What will the public service - and the wider public sector - look like in 2025? What are the main trends and challenges, and what is being done to meet them?

CARL BILLINGTON found out.

“The future public service is a collaborative one, in which relevant agencies co-ordinate to provide joined-up services that are organised around the needs of the customers or citizens they serve,” Peter Hughes, State Services Commissioner, suggests.

“We’re still going to have government departments, but a lot of the customer service is going to be joined up virtually around individual customers through IT. People expect to be able to go onto their device and for us to be a one-stop shop, not a series of individual agencies.

“I joined the public service in the 1980s, starting out as a basic grade clerk in the Department of Social Welfare, but wanting to make a bit of difference. However, what we had back then really was a Gliding On-style bureaucracy.

“The reforms of the 90s began to address that with the focus on quality services and products and customers; and the current reforms are taking us to the next level.

“However the challenge of the future is to organise ourselves and our resources around our customers and focus on the social, economic, health and education outcomes New Zealanders need us to deliver together. That’s something you can’t do by yourself.”

“Considering the public service of the future, we’re still going to have government departments with distinct responsibilities, but we’ll see lots of customer services being joined up virtually around individual customers, and government agencies collaborating around common

“The public sector is organised vertically, but we will increasingly need to work horizontally.”

Ethos, leadership, public sector design and promoting a sense of ‘agency’ are all areas of particular passion for Brad Jackson, Professor of Public and Community Leadership and Head of Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government.

“The conventional wisdom used to be that a typical career begins in the private sector, moves to the public sector and eventually migrates to the not-for-profit sector in the latter years. Now, all of that can

outcomes for particular groups of customers.”

happen in just three years.”

Still, this collaborative vision of the future is not without its challenges.

“With a more fluid approach to careers, I think the answer lies in

WORKING HORIZONTALLY

to contribute to and the difference we can make, not which agency we

“The public sector is organised vertically, but we will increasingly need to work horizontally. That requires some very different ways of thinking and some markedly different approaches to leadership than those that have been at the fore in the past,” Hughes says.

building a stronger cross-sector ethos, focused on the issues we want work for. In the future I suspect we may well lose sight of where the work gets done at times, but we’ll still have a clear view of the core role each agency and each sector brings to the table,” Jackson says.

“Increasingly I think we’ll see people focusing on the problems they

5 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

want to tackle in their life and their work, rather than which agency

As we look to the future, especially one that looks set to be built on

they want to work for.”

collaboration and collective endeavour, the concept of agency quickly

Thinking in terms of the issues and opportunities that are emerging, retention and diversity are two key areas Jackson immediately highlights: “Somewhat ironically, we have an ageing population and an ageing workforce and one of our biggest challenges is the ongoing loss of institutional knowledge and experience. What if ageing was seen as a resource not a burden?

“There are some wicked problems we’re going to face that will require all the energy, enthusiasm, and savvy of our digital natives - but we’re also going to need the wisdom and sound judgement of those with experience.

becomes central. It speaks to our capacity to, and our desire to, influence the situations around us.

“There’s an opportunity for the public sector to show real leadership here – building the future with others, not doing it to them. Inviting others to exercise their agency. Part of that leadership ethos we need to adopt is the idea that if you want to influence, you also must first be willing to be influenced,” Jackson argues.

“If we think of where we invest our time and energy as being like dropping a stone in a pond, we each need to consider where best to drop that stone so its ripples have the greatest effect in the areas that really matter to us.

“Twenty five year olds and 70 year olds have a lot in common,” Jackson adds, “they both want to contribute and they both want to change specific things.”

Another key area where Jackson sees the potential for some quite

“Increasingly I think we’ll see people focusing on the problems they want to tackle in their life and their work, rather than which agency they want to work for.”

significant shifts in the future of the public sector is in our leadership models.

“For as long as we can remember, we’ve operated with Anglo-Saxon leadership models that tend to focus on the individual. In itself that’s not a bad thing, but we need to recognise its limits.

“The wicked problems we can expect to face will quite possibly require different models and concepts of leadership than we’re currently used to, or comfortable with in the public sector,” Jackson adds.

“As our ethnic base continues to diversify, we have the opportunity to draw on some very different models and concepts of leadership. In a future that rests heavily on collaboration and co-operation, drawing on the leadership perspectives of more collectivist cultures will be a real strength.

“Authority is important – I’m not advocating a shift towards ‘anything goes.’ There’s a healthy tension between providing vision and direction and leaving room for creativity. The healthy organisations I’ve seen all find ways to connect these aspects,” Jackson notes.

While Jackson observes that systems, processes, authority and structure are important, he is quick to point out that they are there to enable, to serve.

“The challenge is how to connect healthy government processes with healthy leadership and healthy management processes across the system. None of these can be the dominant force, though - they are processes, not people,” Jackson adds.

THE ART OF FOLLOWING

“When it comes to the future and change, we tend to focus our energy on the top leaders across the sector, but we need to emphasise the active role we need everyone to play in creating sustainable leadership. It isn’t just about the big grand gesture; it’s a sense of intention in each moment, in each meeting: what can I take from this moment and what am I adding to it?”

Colin MacDonald, Chief Executive for Internal Affairs, picks up on a number of these threads and themes as he considers what is shaping the future of the public sector.

“Predicting the future is nigh on impossible. Any analysis starts from what has happened, and tries to determine what appears likely if the future is based on that.

“That approach can only take us so far - the real key lies in seeing opportunities early enough to be able to leverage them. That’s the challenge we face.

“There’s a danger that we focus on technology as being the thing.

Technology is simply a tool we use – it just happens to be a very powerful one,” MacDonald argues.

“We need to deploy to achieve something more important: improving citizens’ experiences and making New Zealand better for New Zealanders.

If it’s harnessed well, technology is one of the tools that can really help us to do that.”

The other challenge MacDonald signals is that of how to organise ourselves

“Leadership creates identity, purpose and direction. We talk a lot

around a future we can’t

about that but following is equally important. We need to be more

fully envision from here:

active in our following; we need to start talking about agency.”

“Government is organised around an industrial age model, not an information age model. We need to continue learning and

6 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

being open to evolve. And, as we do so, it’s really important we take our Ministers on that journey with us.

work. We should expect this to continue.

“Bureaucracy is very good at delivering to 80% of the population –

“There are some things we can anticipate however. In the old world,

but we have an increasingly diverse population and one-size-fits-all

policy drove operational delivery. In the new world, the direct

approaches aren’t going to work,” MacDonald says.

feedback of where our operational delivery has been successful or not can help drive our policy thinking.

“In the past we’ve gained better services by taking a bespoke approach. However, in the world we’re entering now – with increasing

“The explosion of information around the world is eye watering.

diversity, multi-agency partnerships and processes - we’ll succeed by

This will continue to increase and so will our ability to assimilate, to

creating more streamlined, standardised platforms.

process, and synthesise information. This offers enormous potential when it comes to using that information to shape sound policy advice to Ministers,” MacDonald says.

DOING THINGS BETTER - OR DOING BETTER THINGS? Considering the question of to what degree the future will see us doing the same functions in different, better ways, as opposed to actually doing different things, Colin argues the future will be filled with both.

“There are some consistent things we will always need to do, but how we go about them is likely to change. For example, in 1910 we were out and about teaching square dancing to communities as a way of encouraging social ties and connecting neighbourhoods.

“We’re grappling with how to provide a more complex and more tailored service to customers. We’re seeing a number of the large multinationals doing that by deploying much more standardised platforms and then building on top of these as needed, using a shared, reliable infrastructure that’s being maintained by other parties.

“It enables design from a customer perspective – which, I think, will be one of the core principles of the future public service.

HOPPING OUT OF OUR AGENCY SHOES “The key is not to try to second-guess which technology is going to be the winner. The real challenge is going to be our ability to hop out of

“While it’s unlikely you’ll see us out teaching square dancing in the

our agency shoes – to break down our organisational barriers – and

future, we’ll continue to have a strong focus on the services we provide

redesign the things we do from a customer or citizen perspective.”

to communities. What we’re here for and why we do things tends to remain the same; it’s how we go about it that changes.

The potential in these developments, and the emphasis on more creative work for staff and others in the future of the public sector is

“Additionally, I expect that there will also be some things we simply

certainly inspiring – but what might this mean for the employment

can’t do today. The systems, tools, and structures don’t exist yet, but

environment of the future; and what challenges and opportunities

in 20 to 30 years’ time they will and that will enable new functions to

does that bring?

emerge,” MacDonald explains.

Listening to the commentary so far, it’s clear that a world of possibility

The other obvious trend MacDonald sees continuing is the way

appears to be looming on the horizon for the future public service

technology increasingly enables the automation of an increasing

in New Zealand. However, it depends greatly on an environment of

range of transactions and tasks.

collaboration – collaboration with citizens as well as collaboration

“The power and the capability of technology continues to grow.

across government agencies.

Technology is able to automate and standardise even more complex tasks than it used to. The long-run trend will continue and we will see more complex things being automated – this being made possible by

“What we also see is that, as certain tasks are automated, the space which this creates will get filled by more and more creative activity.”

the introduction of machines and algorithms.

“Some of those tasks will become completely automated, and in some cases information and options will be presented to humans – because the thing that humans are really good at doing is making judgements,” MacDonald adds.

“Although artificial intelligence will make big inroads into that, it’s hard to automate judgement. Anything that involves a leap of logic, a leap of faith or joining two disparate ideas together – any form of creativity is still very much in the bailiwick of people.

“What we also see is that, as certain tasks are automated, the space which this creates will get filled by more and more creative activity.

“One of the earliest applications of this was the way the invention of the spreadsheet allowed people to shift the time they spent on recordkeeping to focus on analysis – it enabled a much more creative level of

This may not be as straightforward as it seems. Glenn Barclay, National Secretary for the Public Service Association, highlights some of the challenges and barriers we currently face from an employment perspective.

“We’re increasingly going to need to move our talent around, yet our legislation reinforces each agency operating as an isolated employer.

It’s hard to encourage a whole-of-government mentality, when our legal and policy structure rigidly treats each agency in its silo.

“The current terms of the State Sector Act that reinforce siloed employment arrangements will need to change – in order to think of ourselves as public servants, we need a common set of employment terms and conditions,” Barclay argues. “In addition, there are several additional challenges that we need to address.

7 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

“The last Workplace Dynamics survey1 clearly indicated that our

something that will make a difference, something that counts; and

members have a strong commitment to their jobs, but not to the

secondly, development opportunities.

agencies they work for. The good news is there’s a strong commitment to contribute which is a really good platform for us to build a strong public sector ethos on.

“With the 90s focus on products and services and customers, we split policy and delivery away from each other. This still gave many public servants very rich, fulfilling careers but within very narrow fields of

“However, the alienation from the specific organisation that employs

activity. That approach isn’t going to work for where we need to go in

them could become an issue. It highlights the importance of investing

the future.

in workplace culture if we are to retain and engage our people,” Barclay says.

“I’d like to think we can start addressing that now, especially at a leadership level. That’s one of the things I’ve always done, in all of

Retention is another key challenge that Barclay sees in the future for

the big organisations I’ve led. Moving people across roles unlocks

the public sector, and it’s a challenge that strikes at both ends of the

the organisation – it broadens people’s horizons, it brings fresh

age and experience spectrum.

eyes to bear on established areas of work, and it creates a really rich

“The public sector recruits a lot of younger workers, frequently on

environment for staff development.

fixed term agreements. Yet, based on our findings, only one in five

“It’s not about going back. The pre-90s public service was a single,

graduates remain in their employment after four years.

integrated service but it was heavily over-engineered. The post-90s

“Those in their 40s and 50s were the most dissatisfied in terms of training and development opportunities, and we also need to do more

public service went in the other direction. This is about bringing the best of these aspects together, not a wholesale return to the 80s.

to retain the knowledge and expertise of our older workers,” Barclay

“We’ve already begun identifying our leaders across the public

adds.

service and working with them as a cohort. The next steps are

“Add these dynamics to the continued presence of restructures and the future trends of even greater automation, and security of work becomes a significant issue. Where the work is more transactional, we’re likely to see decreasing jobs in the future.”

perhaps to introduce some common leadership expectations, explore opportunities to move them around across the public service, and to treat every vacancy as a development opportunity.

“I don’t think we have to over-engineer it and it isn’t collaboration for collaboration’s sake. It’s simply about taking the learnings of the last few years and putting them in place to enable us to put these

“It highlights the importance of investing in workplace culture if we are to retain and engage our people.”

‘horizontal’ ways of thinking and being into practice.”

RETRAIN, RESKILL, REDEPLOY

According to Hughes, one thing we’re going to have to get really good

“If we’re going to maintain a public sector ethos and promote

you’re leading a team of people or a project across multiple agencies,

retention, then agencies need to do two things. Firstly, wherever

you’re going to have to find other ways of working.

possible retrain and reskill people for work elsewhere in the agency – the role they filled may disappear but many of them carry a large amount of sector knowledge and context that takes time to rebuild.

“Secondly, consider the next stage for workers affected by restructures and organisational change, and help prepare them for that. There may be other parts of the sector they can contribute to.

“We are looking ahead with cautious excitement. The shifts in technology mean that the services citizens seek are being accessed in increasingly convenient ways and are further improving the interactions citizens have with the State. This is all good,” Barclay adds.

“People come to work with a strong commitment to serve and to make a difference. In terms of a starting point for the future employment environment, that’s a strong platform to build on.”

In Peter Hughes’ experience of public servants, there are two key things that they’re typically looking for: firstly, to contribute to 1

Workplace Dynamics in New Zealand Public Services, September 2013.

Available through www.victoria.ac.nz.

LEADING WITHOUT AUTHORITY

at is leading without authority. “People are used to line authority, but if

“We need to get really sophisticated in our leadership approach leading through influence and persuasion, not just authority, and building really strong, coherent, and diverse teams that work well across agencies.

“Whatever the future brings, our success will continue to depend on skilled leadership, passionate staff, and increasing collaboration across the sector and with our customers.

“In some ways, I ended up in the public service by accident. Yet, I can’t think of any other work I could have done that would have been more meaningful. You don’t want to be sitting in a retirement village at the end of your working life regretting how you spent it.”

One thing Hughes, Jackson, MacDonald and Barclay all seem to emphasise in common is that, no matter where technology takes us, the central focus of the public service will always be on people and the difference it can make to their lives.

“It’s a huge privilege to serve in the public sector and, as has always been the case, its future belongs to those passionate people who care enough to make a difference,” Hughes says.

“Everything else is just the set of tools we use to achieve this.”

8 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

PERFECTING POLICY: The Policy Project

An important part of making the public service ready for the future lies in improving policy quality and capability.

Recently, the Prime Minister launched a new initiative designed to do just that.

Speaking at a special launch in Wellington, John Key said New Zealand’s

that improve the lives of New Zealanders.”

public service was well respected globally. But there was always room for improvement and the project to improve policy quality across

Kibblewhite said the Policy Project frameworks were designed by and for

government, known as the Policy Project, was designed to deliver on that.

the New Zealand policy community.

“New Zealand is fortunate in the calibre of people who are attracted into

“I’m proud of the frameworks the policy community has built for itself.

the public service. They have helped successive administrations steer our

People from across a broad range of policy perspectives, including

country through difficult problems, seize opportunities and position us as

analysts, managers, academics and HR people, have been involved every

a confident, outward-looking, open and optimistic country.”

step of the way.”

The Prime Minister said any good organisation had an eye to the future –

The frameworks specifically target policy capability (what makes for

maintaining and building capability to continuously improve its offering

a high-performing policy organisation); policy skills (setting out the

to its clients and customers.

knowledge, applied skills and behaviour expected of policy practitioners) and policy advice (characteristics and enablers of quality policy advice).

The three frameworks developed by the Policy Project in collaboration with the New Zealand policy community focus on the policy shop, policy

The frameworks can be used individually – or as a package. As a package

people, and policy advice.

they provide a mutually reinforcing infrastructure for improving policy quality and capability. Kibblewhite called on policy leaders to adopt and

Together, the frameworks, and the tools that have been developed to sit

use the frameworks in their departments.

under them, provide an infrastructure for improving policy quality, skills and capability.

“We now need to embed these frameworks in our thinking and our behaviour. This is about us thinking system and not just agency – one

The Prime Minister said a robust policy process was vital for delivering to

policy community that supports the government of the day in the service

the people it serves.

of the people of New Zealand.”

Mr Key said free and frank advice to ministers was vital for good decision-

To view the Policy Project frameworks and tools visit

making.

www.dpmc.govt.nz/policyproject.

For more information contact: policy.project@dpmc.govt.nz

POKING HOLES “It’s one of the strengths of our constitutional tradition of an independently appointed public service. Officials should actively poke holes in things in the interests of getting a better decision…Ministers need to listen carefully and respectfully too.”

Head of the Policy Profession and Chief Executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Andrew Kibblewhite, said he wanted to ensure the business of providing advice in New Zealand continues to be world-leading.

In outlining his vision for success, he said: “Our advice is based on the best available evidence and user insights – an understanding of the real lives of real people - we know what works and we keep striving for new and better ways of doing things. We can identify the ‘big issues’ (whether future, looming or cross-cutting) and can mobilise to collectively find solutions

9 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2016 EXCELLENCE AT WORK

involving stakeholder engagement at more than 1000 public meetings, hearings and information

Applying digital technology to improve efficiencies and better engage with New Zealanders was a central theme of the Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2016. This reflects government’s goal of making it easier for New Zealanders to transact with government digitally, which was discussed by Prime Minister John Key at the Awards dinner in Wellington in July. KATHY OMBLER reports.

The Prime Minister said the public sector is challenged dramatically because of technological changes. “The pressures are

events. Competing stakeholder interests were handled by the use of independent mediators and in-house advanced engagement tools and techniques, and by working with local ‘expert’ community groups. Be it about dogs, alcohol, or managing waste, water, health and hygiene, the social and economic impacts of all bylaws were assessed.

Councillor Calum Penrose, chair of the Auckland Council Regulatory and Bylaws Committee, says Prime Minister’s Award for Public Sector Excellence BYLAW REVIEW PROGRAMME

the hearings supported constructive debate to help resolve differences and get a deeper understanding of the real world impact of the regulations.

going to be huge in adopting that technology.

There is always going to be risk because of the size of those projects and investments.

The big challenge is going to be how we move even faster in that space. We’re looking at a world where young people are growing up with technology. Today’s four year old

Auckland Council A programme that consolidated 158, often

“I’ve always said our bylaws need to be workable, doable, and enforceable”

contradictory bylaws from eight former local councils into 32 coherent bylaws for the whole of Auckland City was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Award at this year’s Excellence Awards.

“I’ve always said our bylaws need to be workable, doable, and enforceable. As decision makers, having good evidence and public insight shows

certainly isn’t going to want to interact with

The Bylaw Review also won the Excellence in

anyone in the public sector apart from

Regulatory Systems Award.

the trade-offs between competing interests.

Many of the new bylaws are considered to be

the role of the Council in improving the lives of

Technology aside, good, old-fashioned

exemplars for other local authorities, and could

Aucklanders. We’ve seen good outcomes since

values, working collaboratively, improving

form the basis of national regulations.

the bylaws have been implemented,” he adds.

The review had to be done. The law required

What, then, were the factors that made this

it, for starters, when the new Auckland Council

programme so effective? Two areas, project

was established in 2010. And it was clear that the

governance and political governance, were key.

digitally.”

workplace cultures and constantly striving for improvement, were also evident among award winners.

We’re moving away from operating in

existing bylaws were disparate, unconnected,

isolation from one another, incoming State

poorly enforced and did not meet best-practise

Services Commissioner, Peter Hughes, told those at the dinner.

“I believe public service is something we should celebrate and reward. Everyone here should be proud of the service you provide to the country and the difference you make,” he added.

Public sector efforts to build two-way dialogue with Māori were noted by Michelle Hippolite, Te Puni Kōkiri Chief Executive.

“There is no monopoly to strengthening relationships between Crown and Māori.

Understanding a whānau approach will

10 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

Project governance was spearheaded by the

standards of information management.

establishment of a cross-council steering group:

The new bylaws also needed to support strategic

Programme. This group worked to secure

directions as set out in the Auckland Plan, adopted

programme funding, identify system blockages,

in 2012, with its vision of Auckland becoming the

improve adaptability and ensure risks were

world’s most liveable city. Specifically, the bylaws

managed. It also ensured effective stakeholder

needed to meet the goal of creating ‘a strong,

identification and management (especially with

inclusive and equitable society that ensures

industry) from the start of each bylaw project. In-

opportunity for all Aucklanders’.

house public law experts provided legal advice,

Awards judges said the review programme was a highly complex, evidence-based activity undertaken over five years, with outstanding

the Integrated Bylaw Review Implementation

and a communications team helped apply a public perspective over some highly technical issues.

results. The review was a comprehensive,

Political direction from governance, established

impressive, customer-focused approach, they

early in the process, set clear parameters and

added.

expectations. Robust local board engagement

help you appreciate the wider definition of initiatives.”

It also helps to develop an understanding of

The review process was complex, and thorough,

addressed issues affecting local communities.

Auckland Council staff Sally Grey, Rose McLaughlan, Karl Ferguson, Patricia Reade, Jim Quinn, Paul Wilson and Christine Etherington receive the Prime Minister’s Award.

With no specific precedents to refer to, the review

governance arrangement and became more

presented a unique challenge. However, for each

sophisticated and successful in their planning

bylaw review, the programme team considered

and advocacy. These workshops also improved

the national context and assessed other councils’

stakeholder relationships by closing the loop

approaches to similar situations. International

and learning shared lessons, so that policy

experience was assessed for a range of

advice sought during implementation could be

regulations and Codes of Practice. The team also

captured for future review.

referred to the International Association of Public Participation (IAPP) guidelines, and all staff

There were significant milestones throughout

involved completed IAPP training.

the five year programme. First was the sign-off

Further training, for the programme’s policy

bylaws that would be developed and the way

analysts, included advanced engagement

they would work with other regulatory and non-

techniques, working with Māori, presenting in

regulatory approaches, such as the proposed

public, critical thinking and project reporting.

Auckland Unitary Plan, community education

Training was a key, says Kataraina Maki, General Manager, Community and Social Policy and Programme co-sponsor. “Investing in our people to ensure that they were adequately trained and

of programme outcomes, outlining the types of

and service delivery. The adoption of each individual bylaw was a highlight, as was meeting the statutory deadline, just two days before the old bylaws were due to lapse.

supported was a critical success factor for the

Also notable is that the Bylaw Review

programme.”

Programme was achieved during an intense

Maki says several aspects of the bylaw review were particularly satisfying, for example integrating with the council’s new flagship IT programme New Core, and its geospatial infrastructure. New Core ensures that the channel between Council and customers is open and easy to use and that Council compliance monitoring generates suitable evidence for future bylaw reviews.

Integrating with the geospatial channel provides, as one example, a publicly accessible, ‘datasharing agreement’ with the police with regards policy effectiveness of alcohol bans, and customers can plan events with alcohol in public parks by going online.

CLOSING THE LOOP Project closure workshops helped to fine-tune processes, for example as local boards and mana whenua groups “found their feet” in the new

time of change in Auckland; for starters the

and evidence-based.

The new Solid Waste Bylaw, as one example, highlights the importance of working alongside industry and community, says Helgard Wagener, Programme Manager of the Waste Solutions Unit.

“The Solid Waste Bylaw 2012 was developed with industry, businesses and the community in response to the development of Auckland’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, which seeks to see Auckland have zero waste put into landfill by 2040. The bylaw provided the regulatory focus for a number of controls that have helped the plan be implemented in a staged way. This has allowed industry and the community to adapt and improve their behaviours.”

The Alcohol Control Bylaw 2014 was a response to the government’s Alcohol Law reforms of 2012 (which also added pressure to the statutory timeframe; other councils had an additional

establishment of 21 new local boards (with decision-making mandates for local parks and services), and the Independent Māori Statutory Board (charged with auditing the Council’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi). A new rating base, calling for high levels of cost efficiency, was also being established. Key plans, including Auckland’s first Unitary Plan under the Resource Management Act, Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, Local Alcohol Plan and the Economic Development Plan, were being developed, and the Bylaw Review Programme had several interdependencies across these plans.

CUSTOMER-CENTRIC, EFFICIENT AND EVIDENCE-BASED Key tenets of the new bylaws included the need to consider these interdependencies, also to have close integration with industry and community, and to be customer-centric, efficient 11 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

three extra years to implement their Local

communities. Auckland’s new local boards

care for us”. These words from a Chinese shop

Alcohol Plans). The new bylaw introduced

are different from those that existed prior

owner following Operation Ping An, a police

high-evidence testing to the introduction of an

to amalgamation. Local boards have been

safety and crime prevention programme run for

alcohol ban. Local Boards have used the bylaw

delegated as decision makers for some bylaws,

to crowd-source evidence of harm across the

thus enabling local controls to facilitate

Asian shopkeepers in Counties Manukau, is just

community to review the alcohol bans. This led

community aspirations.

to the removal of some 50 per cent of alcohol bans, with no noticeable increase in alcohol harm being recorded. The police are now better resourced to enforce the remaining alcohol bans and, as a result of the programme, can use the same technology to review the effectiveness of the bans to manage harm.

one example of the culture change happening at Police.

“Meanwhile, over the next five years, we expect significant improvements in the quality of evidence for future decision making in Auckland,” says Maki. “These will result largely from the services, programmes and regulations that have come about from the Bylaw Review Programme.

“We knew that effecting culture change in such a large organisation was not going to happen with anything less than an integrated, fresh and innovative approach.”

“Our focus will be on increasing collaboration with central government agencies and investigating opportunities for our stakeholders

According to the Citizen Satisfactory Survey,

to be engaged in the conversations and actions

in the past seven years public trust and

that will build the world’s most liveable city.”

SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY:

to 78 percent, as a result of a wide-reaching

A KEY ROLE

programme of culture change.

Social media and digital technology will play a

This programme linked a number of initiatives.

key role in this, she says. “We will continue to improve the connection between the Council, its Working with industry was key in developing the Health and Hygiene Bylaw and Code of Practice 2013, which relates to services for improving cosmetic beauty and health that fall outside the Health Act. Challenges included building

confidence in Police has risen nearly 10 percent

customers and stakeholders, by integrating the rules in our bylaws with new media including third-party social media apps, and geospatial

These included the development of ‘Our Business, Our Code and Our Values’ to drive culture change and identify both poor behaviour and value-aligned behaviour. One new value, for

data-sharing arrangements with the government

example, focused on better reflecting the diverse

and the private sector.

communities Police serves. Targeted recruitment

an evidence base around cultural practices and

“In the future we will see a greater volume of

pseudo-science, and undertaking comprehensive

complaints and feedback coming in via social

engagement across multiple industries.

media. Auckland Council is committed to

Stakeholders ranged from local pharmacists who

investigating new ways for the community

have offered ear piercing services for decades to

to engage and play a larger role in the

cultural tattoo artists who market only by word

implementation and monitoring of bylaws.”

of mouth.

campaigns have since contributed to significant increases in the number of female, Māori, Asian and Pasifika constabulary staff.

Operation Ping An is an example of building trust and confidence with different ethnicities. Many Asian shop owners were reluctant to engage with police, says Justin Zeng, Counties Manukau

The Health and Hygiene Bylaw subsequently

Ethnic Liaison Officer. “They were surprised when

received an International Association of Public

approached by officers speaking their language,

Participation Award; recognition of the review

Mandarin, Cantonese, or Korean, asking how

team’s customer-centric processes.

police can better serve them. They opened up to the officer instantly.”

This bylaw also set in place age controls for sunbed use, which have since been recognised as best practice by central government. The

Kaye Ryan, Acting Deputy Chief Executive,

team’s research and engagement on alcohol

People, says it is fantastic to see these initiatives

control and solid waste management has also

coming together. “Most satisfying for us is

been recognised by other councils across New

Building Trust and Confidence

knowing that the multiple initiatives showcased

Zealand.

in Government

in the Award entry are now contributing

Thus the Bylaw Review Programme has been not only a success story for Auckland; it has established useful parameters for any future amalgamations of territorial and regional authorities in New Zealand, says Maki.

“Auckland’s experience with local boards

ENHANCING TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH CULTURE CHANGE AT NEW ZEALAND POLICE New Zealand Police

demonstrates how regional strategies can

“Sending a Mandarin-speaking officer to teach

be implemented at a scale relevant to local

me how to keep my shop safe shows Police do

12 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

towards making a difference to the culture of the organisation and therefore the lives of New Zealanders, and in the trust and confidence they have in Police.”

Key factors contributing to the programme’s success included consultation and engagement with frontline staff, providing support and resources to embed the changes, and leadership

how to file their return. Inland Revenue

and role modelling from the top, she added.

Excellence in Judicial Administration.

“We knew that effecting culture change in such

For Tony Fisher, Ministry of Justice Director

tax debt and overdue returns, instigated a

a large organisation was not going to happen

Māori Strategy, the most satisfying aspect of Ngā

completely new, customer-focused approach.

with anything less than an integrated, fresh and

Kooti Rangatahi is that they show what can be

innovative approach. It was great to see how

achieved, in terms of improving outcomes for

ready the organisation was for our refreshed

Māori youth, when hapū and iwi are involved in

Values, for example, and how quickly they have

identifying and shaping the solution.

recognised this and, faced with ballooning

become part of the fabric of the organisation.”

“Ngā Kooti Rangatahi are an excellent example of how Māori constructs and values can be used to drive improved outcomes for Māori.

It’s worked. In the past five years the resulting

“This concept presents an excellent model

increased file returns and collected an extra $1.47

of collaboration in a complex social, cultural

billion of revenue. This is revenue that funds

and justice system context. The focus of Ngā

government services, which in turn contributes

Kooti Rangatahi is to develop a more culturally

to New Zealand’s social and economic wellbeing,

appropriate process and to increase respect for

says Inland Revenue Group Manager Collections,

the rule of law,” he says.

David Udy.

On Awards night, the Ministry of Justice jointly

“An important part of what we’ve achieved

accepted the award with former Principal Youth

is seeing our people’s engagement increase

Court Judge Andrew Becroft, in recognition of

year-on-year and an increase in customer

the judiciary who were a significant driving force

satisfaction,” he adds.

for Ngā Kooti Rangatahi.

Excellence in Crown-Māori Relationships NGĀ KOOTI RANGATAHI

business transformation has reduced tax debt,

“This really is about making a difference - doing

Fisher also gives credit to cross-agency support.

the right things right which has transformed

“Ngā Kooti Rangatahi couldn’t have happened as

Collections’ customer services and culture.”

successfully as they have without the agreement Ministry of Justice

“Essentially what we wanted is to give people the opportunity to do the right thing, first time.”

and support of other agencies - both within the justice sector (for example NZ Police, CYFS and

Marae-based Youth Courts (Ngā Kooti Rangatahi),

the legal profession) and outside it (for example

a cultural-based approach to support Māori

the Ministries of Health and Education).”

Udy says what has made the approach work so well, and continues to make it work, is taking a customer-centered approach to managing debt, so that more people file their returns and pay

youth and reduce their re-offending, have proven

on time. “It’s all about understanding customers

highly successful since the first court was trialled,

and being agile. Instead of ‘one-size-fits-all’ we

in Gisborne in 2008.

use customer insights and smart analytics to tailor different approaches to different needs.

There are now 14 Kooti Rangatahi around the

Essentially what we wanted is to give people the

country, presided over by judges who have full

opportunity to do the right thing, first time.

iwi backing. Respected kaumatua, for example, support the presiding judge and provide

“Our people have training in understanding and

insights and guidance from a traditional Māori

influencing customer behaviours, and they’re

perspective to the young person and their

empowered to make decisions about debt. We

whānau.

use ‘test and learn’ cycles of interventions so we can keep on improving.”

Ngā Kooti Rangatahi will only be established at Udy says the IPANZ Award is a tribute to the

the request of hapū and iwi and only if there is unanimous support amongst the hapū for the court to be held on their marae.

Ministry of Justice analysis estimates that young people who have appeared in these courts are 15 percent less likely to reoffend over the following year compared with those who appeared in a mainstream youth court. Ngā Kooti Rangatahi

Excellence in Improving Public Value through Business Transformation

leadership and hard work of the Collections team, and the collective effort across Inland Revenue.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE – DOING THE RIGHT THINGS RIGHT Inland Revenue

have also received international acclaim,

Most people do the right thing about tax. But

including winning an Australasian Award for

some simply forget to pay, or don’t understood

Ministry of Justice analysis estimates that young people who have appeared in these courts are 15 percent less likely to reoffend over the following year compared with those who appeared in a mainstream youth court.

13 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

With RealMe login that will enable parents to

shared vision and understanding, to ensure that

control their data, maintain privacy and get the

expectations for both school- and tertiary-led

right government support for their baby, this tool

trades academies are consistent, says Douglas.

is set for release before Christmas.

Excellence in Digital Government BIRTH REGISTRATIONS ONLINE Department of Internal Affairs Being parents of a new-born baby can be

Excellence in Achieving Collective Impact

challenging... and then there’s the legal

WORKING TOGETHER GIVES KIDS BETTER

paperwork needing to be done. Thanks to the

CAREER CHOICES AND REAL RESULTS

new Birth Registrations Online this process, at least, just got easier.

Ministry of Education and Tertiary Education Commission

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)

Improving Performance through

project set out to replace the previously time-

Hands-on trades experience, leading to NCEA

consuming, paper-based process with a 24/7

Level 2 achievement and full employment on

electronic system. The result, Birth Registrations

leaving school are the outcomes for an increasing

Online (BRO), was introduced in March 2015 and

number of secondary school students enrolled

now, 90 percent of all births in New Zealand are

in the Youth Guarantees Trades Academy

registered online.

programme.

Jeff Montgomery, DIA Registrar-General, Births,

A collaboration between the Ministry of

developed a high-performing, constructive

Deaths and Marriages, says BRO removes

Education, Tertiary Education Commission (TEC),

and all-embracing workplace culture has also

long-standing barriers that new parents faced

schools, tertiary providers and employers, the

been instrumental in achieving international

when dealing with government. “They are busy

programme today involves 24 academies, 300

recognition for the Guardians of New Zealand

enough, without having to complete and post

schools and more than 6500 students.

Superannuation.

Leadership Excellence IMPROVING OUR WORKPLACE CULTURE Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation A leadership and talent programme that’s

forms to the government.”

Typically, students spend one or two days

Mika Austin, Guardians General Manager Human

That the innovation benefits some 120,000 new

a week at the trades academy, and work to

Resources, says the programme aimed to give

parents of the roughly 60,000 babies born in New

achieve NCEA Level 2 with a Vocational Pathways

staff global experience within a New Zealand

Zealand each year is particularly satisfying for

endorsement.

context. Programme components have included

Montgomery. “BRO makes it easier to notify a

leadership coaching, 360-degree feedback,

birth for registration, order a birth certificate and

The best thing has been seeing young people

exchanges with off-shore peer funds and

apply for an IRD number for the baby by means

enjoying their programmes and achieving

behaviour-related bonus payments.

of a single tick box, on any device at any time

success, says Ministry of Education deputy

after birth.

secretary (graduate achievement, vocations and

In 2015, four years after the programme began,

careers), Claire Douglas. “Trades Academies work

the Guardians was named by JP Morgan as the

“BRO also increases data accuracy, delivers

because young people see the relevance of what

world’s best performing sovereign wealth fund.

efficiency gains for the DIA, and contributes

they’re being asked to do.”

to the government’s goal to make it easier for

A key part of the programme’s success has been

New Zealanders to transact with government

In particular, Ministry data shows positive

the commitment from the Leadership Team, says

digitally,” he adds.

outcomes for students who have not always

Austin. “It has been very satisfying to have rich

enjoyed success in traditional educational

and meaningful conversations at leadership level

The department isn’t stopping there.

settings, she adds. “Many who have been at risk

Montgomery says BRO is just one step that fits

of dropping out are now staying firmly ‘in’ and

into the all-of-government Birth of a Child life

reaping the rewards.”

event product, a step-by-step tool aimed to improve service delivery for growing families.

14 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

The Ministry and TEC have worked closely, with a

“We are always challenging ourselves to think of ideas to keep the programme fresh, alive and genuinely heartfelt.”

about the development of all our staff. We also

There were also significant events taking place,

health clinician, scholar, leader, health equity

seek regular, robust feedback from employees

for example the Cricket World Cup, that made

campaigner and fluent speaker of te reo.

and try to target our programmes around key

management more complicated.”

System Level Measures are pioneering new

themes in their feedback.”

Howard says one of the key reasons the

health measuring systems developed by Dr

Thinking laterally about talent development and

campaign worked so well was the support of the

Lyndon for Ko Awatea, a health innovation and

being inventive about creating staff opportunities

Auckland Council. “The council communications

improvement hub within Counties Manukau (CM)

meant less constraint when identifying areas

team provided us with local knowledge regarding

Health. These measures have since been adopted

where staff can add value, Austin adds.

community demographics, information about

by the Ministry of Health and have gone on to

the mood on the ground, and local suppliers for

influence wider health policy, both nationally

And the organisation is not resting on its laurels.

some of our communications. The team also

and internationally. Meanwhile Lyndon has

“Although we have made great progress we see

provided a boost through their own publications

been promoted to Clinical Lead for Ko Awatea

our culture programme as a continuous journey.

and social media.”

at CM Health, charged with delivering health

We are always challenging ourselves to think of

equity in South Auckland. He also represents his

ideas to keep the programme fresh, alive and

The Cricket World Cup organisers were similarly

Ngāti Whātua people in Māori Health advisory

genuinely heartfelt.”

helpful in their cooperation, she says. “We

committees shaping Māori health strategies

needed to convince game-goers not to take

across Auckland. He recently submitted a PhD in

fruit in and out of Eden Park. The organisers

Medical Education, and he’s just now embarking

promoted this message through on-site screen

on a Fulbright Scholarship, to complete a Masters

signage, and supported our team on the ground

of Public Health at Harvard University.

with leaflets and the provision of bins.”

Dr Lyndon says developing the System Level The response team also thought outside the

Measures (SMLs) was an extremely rewarding

square, beyond print and radio, in terms of its

process.

campaign marketing placements. “We used ‘adshels’ at Eden Park transport hubs, ‘urban

“Often there’s a lot of information or data that’s

walkers’ (people with signs on their backs

quite siloed. The SLMs provide a snapshot,

handing out brochures), cinema advertising, and

or ‘dashboard’ of understanding at an

we towed a giant trailer sign around the fruit fly

organisational level across a range of health

zone.

focus areas, for example quality of care, access and efficiency, along with a lens on health

Excellence in Public Sector Engagement QUEENSLAND FRUIT FLY RESPONSE Ministry for Primary Industries

“Another key was getting our own people out

equity.”

there, on the ground; a communications adviser in the early stages, and field staff who could talk

From a personal perspective, the three-year

to people one-on-one in their homes and at local

research, development and benchmarking

events.”

project was a valuable mentoring process, he adds. “I had this rare opportunity as a young

Not only did an Australian pest insect sneak into

professional to work with different strands

Auckland, threatening New Zealand’s multi-

right across the organisation and to build

billion dollar horticulture industry, it picked a

relationships with senior leadership. The work

densely populated suburb and timed its entry

has also included wider experience with Ministry

right in the middle of the Cricket World Cup. With

of Health leaders and the publication of each

tens of thousands of cricket fans moving in and

project phase by leading research institutions, for

out of the ‘control zone’ each day, a massive

example Otago University. This has been a real

public campaign, along with swift containment

growth period for me.”

and eradication, was essential.

On his return from Harvard, Dr Lyndon intends to

The resulting, multi-faceted communications

continue his work for Māori health equity. “This

campaign run by the Ministry for Primary

is what drives me. I’m very much connected to

Industries (MPI), aimed at preventing the spread

Young Professional of the Year:

have had the support I’ve had and I want to see

of the Queensland fruit fly, could well have averted a national biosecurity crisis.

DR MATARORIA LYNDON,

many more rangatahi Māori have those same

SYSTEM LEVEL MEASURES

opportunities. Building a Māori health workforce is a key enabler to achieving Māori health equity.”

Sian Howard, MPI Manager Operational Communications, explains how a critical element of the crisis was that it occurred in a densely populated urban area. “There were quite onerous requirements made of residents in that area.

my whakapapa and heritage. I am very lucky to

Ko Awatea at Counties Manukau Health Dr Mataroria Lyndon (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Whātua, Waikato) is variously described as a Māori

15 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

FOCUS: DATA PROTECTION

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, CITIZEN Big Data and Surveillance Societies

William Webster University of Stirling

A major feature of the future public service will be increased use of digital data gathered in ever more sophisticated ways. It’s a brave new world – but it’s one that also raises concerns. Deputy editor MARGARET MCLACHLAN talked to an expert in the field of privacy and data protection to find out what we need to be thinking about now.

With the growth in the use of Big Data, questions

and to measure pollution levels. Technologically

download a cycling app, which provides real-

arise about how data is collected, and how it

mediated surveillance can also be used to

time information about congestion, pollution

will be used. Within society, the value of privacy

measure traffic flows and profile suspected

and the weather to help make cycling easier.

is often poorly understood and we readily

terrorists. In this respect, surveillance processes

It also maps users’ journeys and by doing so

give away our personal data without thinking.

can enhance public policy and services and

provides valuable information which can inform

Professor William Webster, of the University

create value for private companies.

the public policy process.

of Stirling, is the NZ-UK Link Foundation’s first visiting professor attached to the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington.

He is a recognised expert on the governance and regulation of privacy and data protection, and the implications and consequences of modern,

SMART CITIES Alongside the growth of Big Data has been the global emergence of the Smart City, where

Webster says public service organisations will have to decide how to manage and interpret data.

information flows are used by local government

technologically intensive surveillance societies.

and other agencies to provide better services to

Webster says we live in a surveillance society.

of NZTA’s Smart Motorway, where the number

“For example, games and apps like Pokemon

and speed of vehicles is monitored 24/7 and

Go are much more than a simple game, they

speed limits are altered when required to smooth

embody surveillance; they track users and collect

traffic flow and ease congestion.

device, either in real-time or retrospectively, and

they buy, and who they communicate with, etc.

He laughs, “It is important not to become

my understanding is that it is relatively easy to

paranoid, but when you start to unpick the

reconstruct identities.”

“Surveillance is used in a range of technologies

service and the technology it relies on, you can

that are essential for modern life – mobile

find problems. How is the data being collected?

‘phones, supermarket loyalty cards, websites,

Does it rely on Bluetooth signals from mobile

and satellite navigation systems in a car. These

‘phones? If so, how much data is being gathered

technologies create a digital footprint as we

and who is it being shared with? Is the level

go about our day-to-day business and provide

of data capture appropriate for the service

valuable personal information that can be

provided? Frustratingly, for many citizens

used by government agencies and private

answers to such questions are difficult to find.”

information about them, their contacts, what

organisations for a variety of purposes.”

the public. Webster cites a Wellington example,

In Smart Cities there can be a blurring of

Use of the word “surveillance” can often have

information services from public and private

negative connotations. But Webster says

sources, for example, public service data and

surveillance systems are built for human

data generated from social media. Glasgow is

purposes and the technology can have

designated a Smart City and offers a range of

positive outcomes. For example, we rely on

services using clever technology (see: futurecity.

surveillance technology to predict the weather

glasgow.gov.uk). For example, citizens can

16 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

Again, Webster says this raises questions: “Are users of the app aware it is also a surveillance system? Individuals are anonymised but it’s relatively easy to use the system as a tracking despite an anonymisation process being in place

SURVEILLANCE CREEP He urges those responsible for the governance of big data to consider how it’s used. “We need to beware of surveillance creep; once you create the technology and information flows, it becomes irresistible to use it in other ways – and by definition all digital services have a latent surveillance capability.”

Webster says public service organisations will have to decide how to manage and interpret data. He has run courses on big data for managers; they have to be skilled enough to interpret data, to understand how it was collected, processed and presented.

Furthermore, they will increasingly have to

new century cameras can see, smell and hear,

time, recording images and conversations, as

challenge the degree to which the data is robust,

as well as make decisions about what they can

they’re worried about being assaulted – this

reliable and accurate.

detect.”

raises the question of what is an inappropriate

“We’re experimenting with the technological

This again raises questions of privacy and the

possibilities that arise from big data and other

development and use of appropriate policies

innovative information flows. We should also

for their use. From the perspective of the citizen

Webster says, “The use of body-worn cameras by

consider the privacy and governance issues,” he

it is very difficult to determine what sort of data

public officials is one thing, as public agencies

says.

processes are taking place behind the camera.

can reasonably be expected to be responsible

A CCTV SOCIETY?

CCTV cameras can be used in a privacy-friendly

held to account. But, what about citizens with

way. For example, systems can be designed to Another feature of modern society is the use

cameras on bikes, dash-cams on cars or mobile

blur people’s faces (which can be un-blurred if

of surveillance cameras, or CCTV cameras.

‘phone recording? Who determines what

required) or black out private residences in a

Webster is a leading authority on the policies

happens to that personal data?

mixed-use street, thereby protecting the privacy

and practices on the use of these cameras and

of private residences.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

CAMERAS EVERYWHERE – EVEN ON YOU

“It’s a bit like we have entered a brave new world,

level of surveillance in each public service context?”

guardians of personal data, as they can be

systems in public places. He makes a point of photographing the signage that’s used to notify

where technologies and information flows are

the public about the use of these cameras. This was why he was concerned to see a sign in a

An emerging technology is the use of body-

changing rapidly, creating new services and

national park on the North Island which simply

worn cameras. In the United Kingdom they

possibilities, some of which were previously

stated “Surveillance camera may be operating.”

are increasingly being used by the police and

inconceivable. It’s all very exciting and it is

have become compulsory in certain situations,

easy to get caught up in the wonders of new

For Webster this sign raised a lot of unanswered

for example when an armed officer attends an

technology. For years everyone’s been talking

questions “Who’s operating it? Is it working or

incident or when a non-armed officer attends

about the information society, the digital age

not? What is it there for? And, where is it (no

a domestic violence callout. Beyond the police

or the surveillance revolution, now we’re at

camera was visible)? There was no reliable

they are also being used by traffic wardens, ticket

the coalface of it. It’s affecting everyone all of

information on the sign and poor signage is

inspectors on trains and community wardens. In

the time, determining our life chances and our

often symptomatic of poor systems and poor

a recent study of their use in Scotland, Webster

relationships. Yet at the same time much of

governance arrangements.”

found that body-worn cameras were used in a

the data processes and the ways in which our

variety of public service environments and that Professor Webster says surveillance cameras are

personal data is used are opaque and hidden

they were used completely differently depending

becoming smart surveillance systems.

from view; they’re difficult for us to understand.

on the public service concerned.

“In the past they were analogue cameras just

“The police have very strict protocols, including

recording visual images, but today most are

smart cities and surveillance is complicated.

being required to say when they were switching

now digital systems, some of which are able to

How can an ordinary person understand and

the cameras on, but other providers are less

recognise faces, track people and cars, as well as

make sense of it and at what point does the data

cautious. Traffic wardens have them on all the

decide?

undertake noise and behavioural analysis. These

“The world of digital technologies, big data,

“I’m aware that I don’t have the answers, only lots of questions. But it’s important to consider the implications of surveillance because it shapes our lives and affects us all. The more we talk about and understand surveillance the easier it will be for us, as a society, to determine what types and levels of surveillance are acceptable and what types and levels are not.”

Professor Webster is visiting New Zealand courtesy of the NZ-UK Link Foundation (www. nzuklinkfoundation.org.uk/). He is Director of the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP) (www.crisp-surveillance.com) Email: william.webster@vuw.ac.nz

17 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

Q&A

Leading from the Front A conversation with Peter Hughes

Peter Hughes State Services Commissioner

He’s been called the most outstanding public servant of his generation, won Chief Executive of the Year multiple times plus a raft of other leadership awards.

Public Sector’s ROSE NORTHCOTT talked with Peter Hughes, the new boss of the State Services Commission.

At the time of appointing Hughes to the job, Prime Minister John Key said the State Services Commissioner is a vital role, responsible for leading and overseeing the performance and integrity of the State Service, employing most public service CEs, plus driving ongoing improvements in the sector and how it operates.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PUBLIC SECTOR LEADER? There are three big things that make a difference – clarity of purpose, leadership and teamwork. The three go together. Leadership is a whole bunch of things but at the end of the day I talk about it as followership – not following the person or leader, but the direction of travel, what you are trying to achieve.

HOW HAVE YOU PUT THAT INTO PRACTICE IN THIS NEW JOB? In the first week I got everyone in the same room for an open forum discussion with me and asked what do you want to talk about? We filled the whiteboard. But it wasn’t about me answering questions.

The point was that 100 people were looking at me, checking me out, thinking what is he about, is he listening, does he care, will I follow him? People and communication – that’s critical to leadership. I often say communication is the oxygen of leadership.

WHY DID YOU JOIN THE PUBLIC SECTOR? I was doing a BA in English Lit. and French language at Victoria University and was also enrolled in a law degree. I had a great Christmas holiday job at the local Department of Social Welfare office.

I was at the bottom of the food chain, on the front-line working with people on the unemployment benefit and with sole parents. I loved it. I finished the BA and had about two years to go to finish law and I thought I don’t want to do conveyancing. I want to work with people. I went on DSW’s permanent staff and dropped out of law.

I was a basic grade clerk in the benefits division of the Wellington district office – we were called basics for short. I was 0007.101 and

18 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

reported to the 0007.102 section clerk who reported to 0007.103 senior section clerk and so on – it was like Gliding On, an old fashioned bureaucracy - but I loved the work.

WHAT ROLE HAS EDUCATION PLAYED IN YOUR CAREER? I come from a working family and I’m the only person in my extended family who’s got a university degree. Education has the power to change your life. It certainly changed mine.

While working at DSW I did a post-grad Diploma in Business & Administration through Massey. Later on, I helped a chap called Andy Kirkland do a reorganisation of DSW. It was the time of the 1990s Labour Government reforms and we took a big, old, lumbering department and turned it into a set of business units. At the end of that Andy asked what job I wanted. I was only in my early 30s and a colleague said you’re too young to do one of those jobs. You need to get rounded out, you need to go to university and do a Masters. I thought, she’s right.

I applied for a Harkness Fellowship. I rocked up to the interview panel of sirs and dames and they gave me a real hard time. They said you’re working at welfare, what does that contribute to the economy?

I lost my rag a bit and said two thirds of government spending goes on people on welfare, it’s time someone started caring about that.

They sent me on the fellowship, paid for me to go to Harvard to get a Masters Degree in Public Admin. It was an incredible experience.

YOU CALLED YOUR PREVIOUS JOB AS CE OF MINISTRY OF EDUCATION THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD. SO WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE SSC ROLE? I think education was certainly the best CE job I’ve done. It’s the right end of the pipeline. I’ve spent a lot of time in welfare dealing with hard stuff – domestic violence, child abuse, neglect. In a way I wish I’d got into education earlier in my career. It’s the end of the system where you can make a big impact.

This job is different. It’s a whole-of-system-level role. In this role I get to think about the public service and state sector as a whole. To make a difference, that’s the challenge of it.

If you go right back to the beginning of my career, I really do believe in public service; I believe it’s a good thing to do in your life. I think we ought to be more positive and supporting of people who do it. Public service often gets quite a bad rap – talk about bureaucrats, often the

money side of things as if that’s why people do it. In my experience, people do public service because they care and want to make a difference.

On my watch I want to reveal some of the contributions public servants make in our country. Since being in the job I’ve given a few speeches and I always start with that and I get a really strong positive response from people. I’ve been wandering around meeting all the public sector CEs at their place talking about what they want to see from me and the Commission, and it’s absolutely fascinating to see the public service at work in its full diversity. I want public servants to celebrate and be proud of the difference they make.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE JOB? At this stage I’ve got four things: 1.

Public service and the ideal of public service, getting some positive recognition for that.

2.

We are part-way through a reform of the public sector system in New Zealand that’s got two aspects. It’s around better service, and more joined-up service. Putting the customer at the centre and achieving better outcomes for people. There’s still more work to be done there.

3.

I’m really interested in developing leadership in the public service and identifying leadership talent and bringing that through because that is our future. Leadership does make a difference.

4.

I think the public service also has a role in leading on diversity and inclusion – it’s doing well in a number of areas, but we could do better!

A LOT OF YOUR ROLES (MSD, EDUCATION) HAVE BEEN AROUND LEADING AND MANAGING CHANGE IN THE PUBLIC STATE SECTOR ORGANISATIONS. WHAT INSIGHTS DO YOU HAVE? I always start with the people. There are far too many people fiddling around with structures and systems and treating organisations like Meccano sets you can bolt together in the perfect way and then expect them to fly off into the sunset. What is really important is about clarifying what you are there to achieve, getting strong leadership and relationships and good teamwork. Really look after the people at the front of the organisation – they make the biggest difference. I put a lot of focus on culture building and leadership that empowers people to get on and take responsibility.

As CE I’ve always tried to clear a way for the people to get on and try stuff and take risks - it’s the job of the leaders to make that possible. To do that, you have to look for incoming missiles and icebergs without making your organisation risk averse. We need to be risk aware, not risk averse.

YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS AS CE OF MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ARE WELL DOCUMENTED. WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR EARLIER ACHIEVEMENTS?

It was a huge learning curve. It was really old fashioned with 12 district managers, all men, no women to start with. They sent George an open letter saying we don’t need Peter Hughes with his fancy Harvard degree; we can self-manage. It was all passive aggressive. I just worked with it. At that stage it was the worst performing region in the country and we turned it into the best performing one.

What I learned was the importance of clarity of purpose, leadership and teamwork, innovating and trying out stuff, identifying the best of it and sharing it around. I knew about the power of the frontline because I’d been on the front line and I have never forgotten what that’s like.

I freed up some of those front-line staff and used their skills and knowledge and that got us the distance. When we did succeed I gave everyone a prize to celebrate – a day off, which ended up in the media and just about cost me my job!

From there I went to health. I ended up as CE of the Health Funding Authority, a Crown Entity. I was charged with disestablishing it. I managed to protect and preserve a lot of the IP and capability that had been built up in all the key people. I did it in a constructive and respectful way.

WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNG PUBLIC SECTOR PROFESSIONALS? The public sector needs people who care and want to make a difference. Go where you can do that, where you are going to be passionate and where you want to make a difference. If you get that right early on, everything else will follow.

Recent career path: 1999

Chief Executive, Health Funding Authority

2000

Secretary for Internal Affairs, Department of Internal Affairs

2001

Chief Executive, Ministry of Social Development

2012

Professor of Public Management and Head of School of Government, Victoria University

2013

Secretary for Education, Ministry of Education

2016

State Services Commissioner, SSC

Q

&

A

When I came back from Harvard, George Hickton was running NZ Income Support Service and put me in charge of the southern region – the whole of the South Island. I’d never run anything that big before.

19 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

FOCUS: SOCIAL INVESTMENT

INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE Social investment – it’s an idea that has gained big currency in recent years.

How might it affect the public service in future? Adithi Pandit of Deloitte explains.

Adithi Pandit Consulting Partner & Social Impact Practice Lead, Deloitte

In May, together with NZIER, Deloitte released State of the State New Zealand 2016 – Social investment for our future. Our report covers the thinking behind social investment in New Zealand and challenges to its wider application.

In it we suggested that the practice of social investment should become a mainstream way of working for New Zealand’s public sector and proposed a set of reforms in support of this goal.

A few weeks after we published the report, Budget 2016 included the announcement of $650 million over the next four years for upping the ante in applying social investment to help at-risk New Zealanders. Government’s announcement included more support for vulnerable children, as well as initiatives in corrections, education and health – great news for a way of working we think should be encouraged.

But if social investment becomes mainstream, including in policy areas outside the social sector, what will this mean for the future of the public service?

Put simply, social investment is a cost-benefit business case approach to making funding decisions for social programmes, and tracking their effectiveness.

Let’s take homelessness as an example. If you look at the financial costs of addressing homelessness, you might identify the cost of temporary accommodation. But the benefits of addressing homelessness lie in avoiding a series of long-term costs relating to mental health and hospital services, welfare, justice, policing and so on. And if you take a lifetime view, these costs really add up.

programmes now to improve lives and reduce homelessness, so avoiding these future costs to government.

A social investment approach is evidence driven.

You would need plenty of actuarial smarts to properly extrapolate costs over lifetimes, and this would require data on the current costs and projected occurrence of problems over health, education, justice, policing and social welfare systems to name a few.

You would need to continue to monitor the programmes you’ve put in place to check whether they are all working and drop or modify the parts that aren’t performing. And then you would need to keep monitoring – sometimes for years - to check that interventions haven’t been temporary, and to ensure the return on the original investment was warranted. You would need to collect evidence on the effectiveness of programmes, the long-term outcomes for individuals, and increase confidence in linking the two.

Social investment is all about outcomes and it can be hard-edged at times. Programmes or service providers that don’t work may need to get scaled back, or dropped. But those programmes that really help the homeless off the street, not just for a night or two but forever, would be encouraged, enhanced and scaled up.

And that’s why we’re so keen on social investment. It rigorously chases “what works” for the recipients of social services on the basis of evidence and data, rather than pursuing what sounds appealing to the public, Ministers, bureaucrats or the service system.

AVOIDING FUTURE COSTS

CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTATION

A social investment business case counts up all these costs, and makes a case for spending on

This all sounds alluring in theory but as our research shows, there are a number of challenges

20 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

to implementing social investment – ranging from the siloed nature of the public sector, to the proliferation of disconnected outcomes frameworks across government, to a still nascent data analytics capacity.

To address these challenges, we proposed a package of reforms which could be used as a model to underpin the more mainstream practice of social investment.

These recommendations included the release, every four years, of a government-wide statement to define the outcomes and targets for at-risk New Zealanders; the establishment of a new agency to commission specialist social services for people at risk of poor life outcomes; the embedding of the social investment approach to funding quality and sustainability in the new agency’s operating model; and enabling access to data and detailed performance and evaluation information by all service providers to assist in reducing costs and improving impact FOUR SIGNS OF SUCCESS If we develop these recommendations to their full conclusion and place ourselves in the future, say a decade from now, there are four things we may hope to see underpinning success in the sector.

Empowerment: In the future, rather than treating clients as ‘service recipients’ outside of the system, we would see a public sector system that is even more deeply connected with the communities it serves, and focused on building capabilities within those communities to sustainably serve themselves. Too often we revert to requiring “more research” when what is really required is “more empowerment.”

Evidence: We proposed a government-wide statement of outcomes and targets for vulnerable people. Having accountability for outcomes is

only effective when we can measure results, often over very long time scales and with courage. This requires transparency of performance of social service providers, whoever they may be (core public sector agencies, not-for-profits, social entrepreneurs). And it needs a willingness to make hard choices when we see that results are not being achieved. We need to see much more rigour in impact measurement methodology – combining quantitative, qualitative and empirical evidence, and sharing across agencies to advance practices.

A MODEL FOR SOCIAL INVESTMENT

Collaboration: We proposed an agency for vulnerable people – in the further future, we would see an ecosystem of partners, including employers, iwi, communities and entrepreneurs, with shared governance, funding and targets.

Radical collaboration is not optional, and does not respect boundaries. It will require respecting the commercial motivations and drivers of the private sector, recognising the long-term aspirations of communities, and finding ways to work together for mutual success and mutual benefit. The infrastructure, accountabilities and measures need to be cross-cutting and oriented around outcomes.

Forgiveness: We know we need a learning system – but a learning system doesn’t work when we cannot be forgiving of failure. This is a very brave step and the stigma around failure needs to be addressed. Currently our aversion to failure is probably the major barrier to embracing outcome measurement. It is a reflection on all levels of society, and we need to change these attitudes and behaviours so we can learn from failure to achieve success. This doesn’t mean that failure is without consequence. We know that public sector organisations face a high price of failure, both human and reputational.

But we need to recognise the risk of inaction, the level of failure we live with now, and create the infrastructure of safety nets that mitigate the impacts of failure.

RESILIENCE THE ULTIMATE MEASURE Finally, how could we measure success on this journey? For us, resilience is the ultimate measure – how often and how well are individuals succeeding despite tough circumstances because this measure counts not only the impact of the state, but also of peers, their economic and physical environment, and the strength of our social fabric.

When all our energies align to help people succeed despite their circumstances we will know the social sector, and perhaps society more generally, is working.

To read the entire “State of the State New Zealand 2016 – Social investment for our future” report go to www.deloitte.co.nz/stateofthestate.

21 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

NEW PROFESSIONALS

Looking Ahead

Luke Aki

The world is changing. It is always changing. “The only thing that is constant about the world is change” (a “quote” often misattributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus). Many schools of thought think the world is changing faster than ever before.

It is easy to see why, given all the technological and scientific progress that has been made in the last three decades. So what will the public service and the wider public sector be like in 2025? What will it look like for current and future new professionals – people in the first 10 years of their public sector careers?

LOOKING BACK TO GO FORWARD To look ahead at the future, it can be useful to look at the past and see how we got where we are, if only as a way to provide context that may help inform the direction we take going forward.

A little over a decade ago, back in May 2005, a little website came along called YouTube that allowed you to share videos online. A novel idea at a time when 2 megabit broadband in homes was only just launching (that’s right, it’s not a typo: two megabits per second, almost 100 times slower than what you can get now). Go back ten years before that to 1995 and broadband internet did not even exist. 2005 was also the year that saw Microsoft releasing the Xbox 360, Rupert Murdoch paid $580m for MySpace because it was still a thing, the iPhone wasn’t in the public consciousness yet, and you could probably still The challenge for the future public service is to simplify government and remove complexity.

22 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

Jennifer Young

use floppy disks in most computers if you wanted to, or if you didn’t trust these flashy new USB sticks the shops were trying to sell you. If you were not working for the public service yet at the turn of the century, it is worth asking older colleagues what work was like at the time. Punch cards and computer lab booking sheets anyone?

Now these things are just a few of many events we have experienced that got us to the present reality we are familiar with. We would find it difficult to imagine a world where many of these things don’t exist, so ingrained are they in our everyday lives. But back in 1995, could anyone have even come close to imagining the 2005 to come, or the world as we know it today? Some individual predictions came close, others were wildly off. Back to the Future II eerily got a lot of things right 30 years ahead of its time, but there are still no hover boards (without wheels) or flying cars powered by banana peels. The point is, predicting the future as a whole is difficult as one will never have enough information to be able to do so, but one can certainly be prepared for it. Some things, though, can be predicted with some certainty, especially in the short term, and keeping these in mind can help inform us about how to be prepared for the future.

LOOKING AHEAD Advancements in science and technology in the last three decades have been phenomenal.

This has driven progress in every area of human civilisation, opening up opportunities never imagined even a mere 30 years ago. The internet alone has revolutionised modern democracy and free speech, enabled any citizen to access unprecedented volumes of human knowledge and broadcast their news and ideas to anyone willing to listen. It has changed age-old models of commerce and how businesses function. The way the public sector works has changed as a result, as has the efficiency and methods with

which it can achieve its objectives and deliver public services to citizens.

So, what does the future hold? Ten years from now, what will the public sector be like? It is a certainty that things will change, although no one can tell what with absolute certainty. 2025 will certainly be quite different from the world we know today. The public service will have evolved – possibly with new jobs, new ways of working, improved services delivered differently and integrating technology like never before.

Predictions include the growth of public sector outsourcing, integrated and personalised public services, and an increasingly complex and demanding working environment compared to the siloed, departmental approach of old. An emerging trend is the use of the project-team model, establishing a new team for the lifetime of a project and shifting people and resources on to the next task when complete. The public sector will certainly be more effective and efficient than ever before, but it will also be more complex and demanding for those who work within it, whether they are new professionals or not.

The themes of the moment are big data, the investment approach, digital services, customerfocused design thinking, moving from a focus on efficiency to a focus on productivity, and replacing standardised public services with personalised ones. There is increasing demand being placed on the delivery of public services, and on public service workforce competencies and capabilities. The solutions are becoming more sophisticated and complex, while the demand from customers is for simplified services and interactions. All this is shaping how the public sector is evolving. Colin MacDonald, Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs, while speaking at the IPANZ New Professionals 2016 Conference, said that the challenge for the future public service is to simplify government and remove complexity.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR NEW

merit a good induction process, and

of Carol Dweck on this subject). One must

PROFESSIONALS?

good people leaders to build and drive

always be thinking “what can I learn from

improvements in competencies and skills

this situation?”

Whatever predictions can be made

through structured continuous professional

(demographic, economic, social, technological

development. They should also receive

or otherwise) and regardless of their level of

early exposure to leadership training

As we move forward, the people who will make up the workforce of the future (whether

sooner rather than later.

current, former, or future new professionals)

Digby Scott and other researchers on

provides opportunities to engage in challenging,

need support to navigate this complexity early

the types of work skills required for 2020

meaningful and rewarding work serving New

on in their careers, now more than ever. They will

and beyond concluded that “we need to

Zealanders, with appropriate autonomy and

also need to step up and own their continuous

shift from a world that values Conformity,

enough resources in a supportive environment to

professional development, or risk failing to

Competencies and Certainty to one that

get the job done. They would like to see a future

realise their potential. What do we know now

champions Curiosity, Connectedness

public sector with many opportunities to learn

about what is needed?

and Courage” (go to: https://digbyscott.

and grow, with inspirational leaders who, rather

com/2016/07/28/how-to-play-with-fire/). To

than control with authority, choose to lead by

achieve this requires a change from current

example.

accuracy, some things remain certain. It is guaranteed that the world is going to become more complex. New professionals will therefore

•

•

What is required of people is that they have the capacity to handle the complexity of

leaders in their approach in terms of how future leaders are developed.

There is a reciprocal expectation on new

The ideas about leadership need to change.

to actively engaging in continuous life-

understand the concept of the corporate

Leaders are no longer solely those that are

long learning, to adapt to and harness new

athlete - that a career is a marathon, not

at the top of the organisational hierarchy.

technology, and to plan ahead and be well

a sprint, and that one cannot perform at

Everyone is a leader when they take

prepared for future demands. New professionals

100% all day every day. Regular ‘training’

leadership on issues and bring solutions,

will also need to change how they measure

is required to maintain and improve

such as taking the lead on providing free

success in this brave new world. At present,

performance.

and frank advice within their role. This will

new professionals rotate in and out of roles for

require courage and an appreciation of

professional development reasons, learning a

why doing so is important. They do not

lot along the way but often not remaining long

need to be responsible for a team to be a

enough to see the long-term effects of their

leader – everyone leads on what they do.

decisions or evaluate the success of projects

The change from having managers who

they have worked on. In the public sector of the

manage and control, to the concept of

future, as solutions grow more complex and the

people leaders who lead and inspire, is also

structure of teams more flexible, the potential

a critical shift in thinking.

exists for the loss of institutional knowledge

the operating environment. To develop this capacity (resilience, “getting up, dressing up, showing up” every day), we all need to

•

They would like to see a future public sector with many opportunities to learn and grow, with inspirational leaders who, rather than control with authority, choose to lead by example.

•

have a desire to work within a public sector that

New professionals, whether as graduates

•

leaders’, organisations should consider

or early in career, need to be invested in

investing in everyone, and take a holistic

at an earlier rate. As more is demanded of

approach to this investment – what lifts one

workers, it is no longer enough to arm them

person lifts us all.

with a higher education qualification and send them out into the workforce as if they are fully prepared. All new professionals

Rather than invest solely in the ‘emerging

•

A “growth mindset” is needed (see the work

professionals to adjust as well, to commit

and misjudging true success as people move on quickly. New professionals need to consider this in how they evaluate success, even as they prepare for the next role.

As Malcolm X said, “the future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

23 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

POINT OF VIEW

A CRYSTAL BALL and Some Scotch What might the public sector look like in 2025?

Comedian and writer JAMES NOKISE makes some out-there predictions...

One of my favourite quotes comes from former

Statistics New Zealand’s head office will also be

Development and Youth Affairs. These three will

New Zealand Chief Parliamentary Counsel, George

restructured completely, into an Android app.

eventually be merged into the Ministry of Ted Talks.

Language integration is also important, and a

The State Services Commission, in an attempt to

dangerous ground for political incorrectness. In

make government work appear “relevant”, will

New Zealand this will be fixed by the creation of a

begin hiring bloggers as independent reviewers.

It speaks to the elitism that had seemed prevalent

Ministry of Talk Back Radio, where those who refuse

This service will eventually become privatised

in the public sector at the time. The idea of political

to learn Te Reo in the public sector for reasons like

and leased to Stuff.co.nz, where departments

elitism, though, doesn’t really work with New

“I’m a real Kiwi and I speak English” can write angry

will be able to find their player ratings after every

Zealand’s casual “yeah nah yeah” persona - or at

emails all day complaining to (in no particular

weekend.

least with the one we enjoy presenting. I imagine

order) the Ministry of Māori Development, Ministry

the famous duck metaphor (calm on the top,

for Pacific Peoples, Ministry for Women and of

furiously kicking underwater) applies to how we

course Immigration New Zealand.

Tanner: “A state in which people cannot plainly understand the laws might as well be a lawless state.”

want our public servants to be.

Finally, in a controversial but highly effective measure, the New Zealand Blood Service and IRD will announce a joint task-force to deal with

Due to dropping standards in workplace nutrition,

Student Loans. This ‘harsh but fair’ measure will

The only two things I really know about the

The Ministry of Food restaurant will become

be championed by those thinking the public sector

public sector is that nothing has changed, and

an actual Ministry and be accompanied by the

pays employees too much, while being derided by

everything is always changing. These are the kind

Ministry of Craft Beer, whose offices will most likely

the entire public sector, except those working at

of statements that used to make my Public Policy

be based in a garage, in a small valley, in an old

IRD and the New Zealand Blood Service.

lecturer reach for the scotch, and in that spirit (pun

suburb, covered in scarfs.

totally intended), I’d like to offer up a few musings on where New Zealand’s public sector is heading.

Some will sound ludicrous, some may be true, but hear me now – in 2025 we’ll all be working for Prime Minister Richie McCaw.

Statistics New Zealand’s head office will also be restructured completely, into an Android app.

so maybe it’s more realistic to say this: 90% of

will be created. Staff at the Ministry of Water will be

the sector will still be grossly underpaid for hours

given specific workshops on the consumption and

and stress. Seventy percent of that stress will be

production of water, and most importantly; on how

caused by unnecessary enquiries. Fifty percent

to avoid sentences like “nobody owns the water”.

will be working in a department where they do not

They will of course work closely with the Ministry of

know who is the Chief Executive. Thirty percent will

Talk Back Radio.

think someone else’s Chief Executive is theirs. Ten

Due to limited funds, the Children’s Commissioner will be replaced by the Minister of Vulnerable

While it’s tempting to think PM McCaw would open

This a slightly draconian ending to my predictions,

Due to growing negligence, the Ministry of Water

Children, who will also be the Minister of Social

percent will look to remain for their entire career.

And 1% will remember to negotiate a carpark into their contract. Pass the scotch please.

the Ministry of Sport, in fact I expect his first order of business to be the simplification of the public sector into 15 manageable departments under a “grass roots” policy. Policy for the everyman, especially the everyman who’s had seven concussions.

Technology is an ever-growing sack of manure that fertilises government while constantly making public sector employees break out in hives.

ROCK CLOCK MEETS BLACKBERRY To reduce stress levels, Ministerial agendas will now use a Pokemon Go system, where office workers can wander around freely with their ‘phones, trying to catch small animated versions of their Minister, each one giving a different interpretation of the same core statement. This will be on a strict timer system that will vary according to the Minister’s routine. Think Rock Clock meets Blackberry. At any point your ‘phone could go off, and you’ll be walking away the stress before you know it.

Hubbard, James, 1949 - : “NZ, I give you the new slimmed down, lean and mean public service”.

Setford News Photo Agency. 4 October 2012. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

24 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

MAKE A DATE WITH IPANZ IN

Parliament in Practice • 4 October Learn about the operations of Parliament, from those working within Parliament walls, and who are tasked with supporting Parliament.

Includes a tour of Parliament.

Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2016 series Hear some of the category winners share insights into what made their projects successful: •

Inland Revenue Department, Making a Difference - doing the right things right • 12 October

•

Ministry of Education and Tertiary Education Commission, Working together gives kids better career choices and real results • 26 October

•

Department of Internal Affairs, Birth Registrations Online • 2 November.

IPANZ events are a great way to learn about emerging issues in the public sector, to develop professionally, and to network with colleagues.

Look out for IPANZ emails or see: www.ipanz.org.nz

25 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016

TEACHING IN AUCKLAND FROM 2016

BUILD PUBLIC SECTOR CAPABILITY IN AUCKLAND

In 2016, Victoria University’s School of Government is offering Public Policy and Public Management Master’s level courses for working professionals in Auckland. Courses will be taught in block modular mode out of our Auckland premises in Kitchener Street, and include:

Study at one of the world’s leading business schools Victoria Business School is among just 72 business schools worldwide that hold the triple crown of international accreditations: EQUIS (European Quality Improved System); AACSB (the Association to Advance Schools of Business) and AMBA (Association of MBAs).

• Policy Analysis and Advising • Managing for Results • Local Government • Policy Methods and Practice • Leading Change in Public and Community Organisations.

Find out more at www.victoria.ac.nz/sog

APPLY NOW TO ACCELERATE YOUR BUSINESS FUTURE FC0301

victoria.ac.nz/business | sog@vuw.ac.nz

26 PUBLIC SECTOR September 2016