Home >> Better Public Services: Background material
Better Public Services: Background material
Resource information
Published:
4 May 2012
Last updated: 17 September 2012
The better our public services, the more the public service can respond to the needs and expectations of New Zealanders.
The Better Public Services Programme was launched by Prime Minister John Key on 15 March 2012.
The Better Public Services Programme was informed by the Better Public Services Advisory Group report, which provided recommendations to Government in December 2011 on how the Public Service could work smarter.
Read the Better Public Services Advisory Group Report.
View Frequently Asked Questions about the Better Public Services programme.
Links to background papers and other material that has been approved for release are provided in the following tables.
Issues Papers
A set of issues papers was prepared by the joint central agencies Secretariat that supported the work of the Better Public Services Advisory Group in 2011. They set out the Secretariat’s thinking on some of the critical issues that were considered by the Advisory Group. These papers reflected officials’ thinking as it evolved and don’t necessarily reflect final views, nor do they represent the views of the Advisory Group.
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Results issues paper - November 2011
This draft paper sets out the Secretariat for State Sector Reform’s thinking on the issues associated with lifting public service performance through a greater focus on results.
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Leadership issues paper - November 2011
This draft paper sets out the Secretariat for State Sector Reform’s thinking on the issues associated with lifting public service performance through a greater focus on leadership.
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Decision-rights issues paper - November 2011
This draft paper sets out the Secretariat for State Sector Reform’s thinking on some of the important issues around how decisions are made in the state services, including offering some options for how the current system could be made more flexible and better able to cope with cross-agency decision-making.
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Organisational arrangements issues paper - November 2011
This draft paper sets out the Secretariat for State Sector Reform’s thinking on some of the issues associated with organising departments and agencies in sectors to focus on the more effective delivery of results that cross agency boundaries.
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Information issues paper – November 2011
This draft paper sets out the Secretariat for State Sector Reform’s thinking on the issues associated with using more open information and greater citizen participation to lift public service performance.
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Best-sourcing issues paper - November 2011
This draft paper sets out the State Sector Reform Secretariat’s current thinking on some of the critical issues associated with measures to further strengthen the delivery of public services. This includes an analysis of further options to progress the best-sourcing of goods and services that have traditionally been provided exclusively by Crown agencies, including places where citizens could be given greater choice in who provides the services paid for by the Government.
This is the November 2011 update to an earlier version of this paper published August 2011.
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Core elements issues paper - November 2011
This draft paper offers a guide to the core ideas or propositions underpinning the New Zealand public sector management model as it was articulated by Treasury officials in the late 1980s.
This is the November 2011 update to an earlier version of this paper published August 2011.
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Legislative Change Papers
Advice to Ministers, and other papers relating to proposed legislative changes to the Public Finance Act, the State Sector Act and the Crown Entities Act.
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The State Sector and Public Finance Reform Bill was introduced to the House on Thursday 30 August and is available at www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2012/0055/latest/versions.aspx. This Bill amends the State Sector Act 1988, the Public Finance Act 1989, and the Crown Entities Act 2004 to support delivering better public services. The pre-introduction briefing provided to Parliamentary parties outlining the proposed changes can be viewed at www.ssc.govt.nz/sites/all/files/ssrpf-pre-introduction-briefing.pdf.
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Background Papers
Secretariat Papers prepared for the Better Public Service Advisory Group in 2011
These papers were prepared by the joint central agencies Secretariat that supported the work of the Better Public Services Advisory Group in 2011. These papers reflected officials’ thinking as it evolved and don’t necessarily reflect final views, nor do they represent the views of the Advisory Group.
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Analysis of the UK Open Public Services White Paper – 19 July 2011
This report provides an analysis of the British Government’s “Open Public Services White Paper”, which outlines the intended direction for the UK public service.
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A Greenfields New Zealand State Sector –July 2011
This note draws from international and New Zealand experience to create a potential greenfields vision for New Zealand’s state sector.
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Comparing public management features – July 2011
A comparison of key public management features across a number of countries, with a possible direction of travel for New Zealand’s public management system.
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State Services Leadership –September 2011
An overview of State Services leadership issues and ways to lift leadership quality and performance.
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Continuous improvement jigsaw - 29 June 2011
A system view of the key components needed to drive continuous improvement.
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Public Sector Innovation – Barriers and Buttons –August 2011
An analysis of public sector innovation, including the barriers and buttons to assist in creating the environment for greater innovation.
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Better Public Services Advisory Group Minutes
Minutes of the Better Public Services Advisory Group established in May 2011 to advise the Government on State sector reform.
Advice to Ministers on State Sector Reform prior to establishment of the Better Public Services Advisory Group in 2011
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A report from joint agency officials to the State Sector Ministerial Group.
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A Modern Business Model for Government – October 2010
A discussion paper prepared for Ministers in October 2010, which outlined a possible set of principles for creating a more dynamic and responsive state sector.
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Related Papers
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Contemporary Microeconomic Foundations for the Structure and Management of the Public Sector – April 2012
This working paper, prepared for the Treasury, outlines a modern approach to contractual incompleteness, and issues related to the scope, structure and management of the public sector in the 21st century.
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Experience Better Public Services
There are many examples of where the public sector has thought about things very differently and found innovative solutions to today's challenges, improving results for New Zealanders across a broad range of areas.
The Christchurch Innovations project profiles innovations in public service delivery developed in response to the Canterbury earthquakes.
See also the following case studies, which are intended to provoke thinking on how the benefits of innovation could be harnessed across the wider public service.
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Case study #1: ROCKON gets results - but it's not rocket science
A highly successful inter-agency tactic for tackling truancy is "not rocket science, it's simple. Just get the right people together at the right time for the right purpose." |
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Case study #2: Services pull together at The Pulse
The Pulse, a one-stop-shop for Whangarei's young people and families, has attracted international attention as an innovative multi-agency response to community needs. |
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Case study #3: Kia Wharite: a multi-agency environmental project
Iwi, landowners, the rural unemployed, tourists, and the North Island brown kiwi are among those who stand to gain from a unique partnership between the Department of Conservation and Horizons Regional Council in the Whanganui National Park. |
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Case study #4: Inter-CAD mobilises multi-agency response
Successfully building an electronic bridge between New Zealand's emergency services was a complex challenge that owed as much to inter-agency collaboration as it did to technical innovation. |
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Case study #5: NZ Police partners with the Deaf community
New Zealand Police broke new ground when it unveiled its 111 texting service for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired in 2010. |
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Case study #6: Court processes move beyond the courtroom
Hearings are moving through the country’s courts faster and more efficiently thanks to the Ministry of Justice's new approach to recording and transcribing evidence. It's also made the courtroom experience more positive for witnesses, victims and those working in the justice system. |
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Case study #7: NZ Defence Force prizes innovation
From soldiers serving in the Sinai to clerical staff at Wellington’s Defence House, defence force personnel are using an online innovation forum to directly shape the way the military works. |
Literature and Resources
Local and international information and resources about state sector reform:
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Performance.gov shows progress on the United States administration's efforts to create a government that is more effective, efficient, innovative, and responsive.
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The British government's Open Public Services White Paper (July 2011) outlines the intended direction for the UK public service. The Civil Service Reform Plan (June 2012) provides further details on the reform programme.
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The Scottish government's report on the Future Delivery of Public Services (June 2011).
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Scotland Performs measures and reports on progress of government in Scotland in creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all to flourish through increasing sustainable economic growth.
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Singapore PS21 encourages a Public Service that is responsive, flexible and innovative.
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Australian Capital Territories (ACT) review of the state's public services (September 2010).
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Victoria University's Institute of Policy Studies work on identifying the longer-term public policy challenges facing New Zealand, and directions for reform of the public management system to support new ways of working in response to the challenges. (2010-2011)
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Latest updates on the Australian Public Service reform program and the projects it encompasses.
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The Accenture Institute for Health & Public Service Value has published a range of reports on how the public sector can deliver better value to customers.
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The Work Foundation’s research on Public Value conducted between 2006 and 2008 in the UK.