Related resources for building government capability

As part of the Building Better Government Engagement (BBGE) project, a stocktake of current resources and activities that support or illustrate effective engagement practices in New Zealand was compiled.  NZ, 2009.

In 2009, the White House's Office of Management and Budget sent a directive to the head of every federal department and agency instructing them to take specific actions to open their operations to the public. The three principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration are at the heart of this directive.

• Transparency promotes accountability.
• Participation allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise to government initiatives.
• Collaboration improves the effectiveness of government by encouraging partnerships and co-operation.

The directive includes deadlines for action (some within 45 days), and is part of the US Open Government Initiative, which started as a result of President Obama's Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government

In August 2009, Cabinet agreed to a work programme of activities to strengthen community-government relationships, in response to the paper Government Commitment to Building Strong Community Relationships [SOC Min (09) 31/ 5A refers]. The paper was a response to reports by the Association of Non- Governmental Organisations of Aotearoa (ANGOA) and the Building Better Government Engagement reference group. The table outlines progress with actions outlined in SOC Min (09) 31/5A. This was circulated to Cabinet Social Policy Committee members by the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector in January 2011.

This paper discusses the current status and trends of public participation in Australia and New Zealand based on a survey of practitioners, managers, academics and informed observers. 1999.

This report gives anecdotal and empirical evidence to suggest outcomes are improved when public services and civil society work hand in hand. It develops five new ways to do just that - from community entrepreneurs to asset sharing, new performance measures to community dividends. Young Foundation, United Kingdom, 2010.

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is an active network and community of practice centred around conflict resolution and public engagement practices. Its more than 1,300 members help people work together across partisan, ethnic and other divides to address today’s toughest problems. NCDD provides much-needed support, connections, and resources. This guide features some of the best resources developed collaboratively by the NCDD community, and guides you to many others. USA, 2010.

This article explores the prospects for change in the ways British local government practices public participation. V Lowndes, L Pratchett, G Stoker, published in Public Administration Vol. 79(2), pages 205-222, United Kingdom, 2002.

This article investigates the views of British citizens about public participation. It presents findings on why citizens participate and why, more often, they do not.V Lowndes, L Pratchett, G Stoker, published in Public Administration 79(2), pages 445-455, United Kingdom, 2002.

Different approaches to establishing whole-of-government consistency have been used around the world, but in 2009/2010 there does seem to be a greater focus on openness and transparency appearing across a range of countries.  See what is happening in USA, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

The aim of this project was to help the Department of Conservation improve the way in which it plans for and seeks public input into the review of statutory management plans, by modelling best professional practice and using critical reflection. This included a cycle of action, reflection and assessment of the way in which the Department plans for and enables public involvement in the statutory review of Conservation Management Strategies. New Zealand, 2010.

This toolkit is designed to assist primary health organisation boards, staff, member organisations and communities to review their levels of participation and record their progress. It is intended to be of practical use to people at all levels of the health sector. The toolkit is available for $25 from the Department of Public Health, University of Otago Wellington, PO Box 7343, Wellington South. By P Neuwelt, Steele Roberts Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand, 2007.

This brochure from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs gives advice on consultation and ensuring consumer representation.

The chairperson's management style is pivotal to the consumer representatives’ effectiveness. These guidelines, from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, aim to assist those people chairing consumer consultation meetings.  New Zealand.

This Ministry of Consumer Affairs booklet is designed to help government agencies set up effective consultation with consumers through consumer representatives. It talks about when to consult, how to consult, the costs of consultation, and, most particularly, how to locate consumer representatives who can give the quality of advice needed.  New Zealand.

Produced by the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD), these Core Principles came out of the Public Engagement Principles (PEP) Project. The project was launched in February 2009 to provide clarity about the fundamental components of quality public engagement, and to support US president Barack Obama’s memorandum on transparency and open government.  The following principles were developed collaboratively by members and leaders of NCDD, IAP2 (the International Association of Public Participation), the Co-Intelligence Institute, and many others.  The seven principles are Careful planning and preparation, Inclusion and demographic diversity, Collaboration and shared purpose, Openness and learning, Transparency and trust, Impact and action, Sustained engagement and participatory culture.  USA, 2009.

This document is made up of two papers – Engagement and the Policy-making Process and Engagement and the Civil Service. The first paper looks at how engagement with the public has impacted on the policy process while the second paper looks at the willingness of those working in central and local government to engage with the public.  There is general discussion on how public engagement activities can be built into the policy process and suggests some methods for doing this.  While this report focuses on climate change the ideology can be adapted to all types of policy making and public engagement. S Creasy, K Gavelin, H Fisher, L Holmes, and M Desai. Involve, United Kingdom, 2007.

This State Services Commission framework helps agencies plan co-ordinated activities. It groups nine success factors according to three dimensions: Mandate, Systems and Behaviours. Ensuring these factors are in place over time will help agencies co-ordinate more effectively and achieve success together. Many of the principles are applicable to any co-ordinated or collaborative activity, including those with the community and voluntary sector.  SSC, New Zealand.

This paper from the Community Economic Development Action Research (CEDAR) Project covers processes for engaging with communities, key challenges in building a meaningful relationship with communities/community groups and emergent principles of engagement that can be considered in future work. The paper suggests some of the questions people planning engagement should consider. These include: What are the values that are driving the engagement effort?, What is the intent of the agency in initiating engagement with communities and how is this reflected in their strategy?, On what terms do we engage communities?, Does the organisation have existing collaborations that can be leveraged?, What are the resources and expertise available within the agency to support and invest in the engagement effort?, Are there existing mechanisms or will new ones be in place to ensure relevant data on community needs will be used?, Is there flexibility to work with issues that are beyond the boundary of a particular government agency?, What mechanisms can or need to be set up and what relationships need to be built if this is to happen?. Produced by the Department of Labour, New Zealand, 2002-03.

These 2003 Ministry of Consumer Affairs guidelines aim to assist officials to locate a diverse and appropriate range of consumer representatives and laypersons; encourage criteria-based decisions regarding the involvement of consumer representatives on boards, advisory bodies, departmental working parties, and committees; provide Ministers, officials, and all those involved in the nomination, selection, and appointment process with better information to support decision-making; increase the effectiveness and job satisfaction of consumer representatives and; encourage the development of a participatory working environment in boards, advisory bodies, departmental working parties, and committees.

The People and Participation Process Planner is an interactive tool to help those seeking to engage with the public. The Process Planner can help you select participatory methods based on your specific circumstances (eg: objectives, budget, timeframes, etc). The interactive tool is supported by the broader website, which provides a comprehensive methods database, covering traditional and innovative approaches to public participation from around the world and a selection of case studies,enabling site users to post their own stories to inspire others. United Kingdom.

This State Services Commission guidance outlines the expectations of departments in adopting a more strategic and outcomes-focused approach to management and reporting.  New Zealand.

A suite of policies outlines the various ways in which the Board and the community work together. An overarching Community Involvement policy outlines how NMDHB: keeps the community informed, promotes interest in its activities, facilitates participation in planning and funding decisions.

This is a guide to central government decision-making for Ministers, their offices, and those working within government. It is a primary source of information on New Zealand's constitutional arrangements, as seen through the lens of the executive branch of government. New Zealand.

These guiding principles from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are designed to help governments strengthen open and inclusive policy making as a means to improving their policy performance and service

This site is mainly aimed at people who are directly involved in planning, running or commissioning public participation activities. It aims to offer assistance to people who work in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and who need to involve a wider group of people in their work. The site provides information, advice, case studies and opportunities to share experiences with others. United Kingdom.

This toolkit on New Zeland's Public Sector Intranet provides brief guidance on the policy development stages (problem definition, identifying options, etc) and then provides links to guidance that contains more detail on these topics or and other specific topics.

This report documents a spectrum of tools and techniques developed largely in the non-profit world in recent years to increase citizens’ involvement in their communities and government. It also highlights ways in which public managers can develop an active approach to increasing citizens’ involvement in government at all levels. CJ Lukensmeyer and L H Torres, IBM Centre for the Business of Government, United States of America, 2006.

The report analyses the experiences of public officials interacting with the community.  It focuses on community engagement from the public official’s viewpoint and highlights what enables community engagement and problems encountered. K Ray, M Hudson, V Campbell-Barr and I Shutes, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, United Kingdom, 2008.

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is an active network and community of practice centred around conflict resolution and public engagement practices. The NCDD compiled this guide as a companion to a 2010 series of events designed to connect practitioners, public managers and community leaders to build local capacity in quality public engagement. Showcasing NCDD's best work (like the Core Principles for Public Engagement and the Engagement Streams Framework), the guide also recognises a lot of the great work done by others in this field. The guide shares stories and resources with the dialogue and deliberation community, public managers, and anyone else with an interest in public engagement. USA, 2010.

Stakeholder analysis is the identification of a project’s key stakeholders, an assessment of their interests, and the ways in which those interests affect project riskiness and viability. It contributes to project design by identifying the goals and roles of different groups, and by helping to formulate appropriate forms of engagement with these groups. This Landcare Research link provides an introduction to this topic. New Zealand, 2010.

This is an example of policy formulation resulting from collaboration with NGO’s.  It sets out a framework for collaborating on policy design and implementation. NZAID and Council for International Development, 2003.

Guidelines on setting a strategic framework for decision-making and consultation.  Particular focus is given to working with Maori, other local authorities and central government departments. Office of the Controller and Auditor General, Wellington, New Zealand, 2007.

This report analyses the community planning process used to resolve environmental issues in the town of Whangamata. It also provides guidelines on how to make the planning process work.  New Zealand.

This Australian guide is designed to assist government agencies in scoping and planning projects that involve community and stakeholder input. It highlights the importance of incorporating their views early in the scoping and mapping stages and gives valuable advice for every step of the participation process, through to the evaluation of a programme. Australia.

This strategy was developed to improve the ability of the Department of Conservation to work with communities to achieve conservation outcomes. New Zealand.

This discussion of the factors that assist government and the community sector to engage in more effective dialogue is based on a literature review of dialogic theory and interviews with officials and community sector representatives. Available on interloan from Victoria University Library. J Le Harivel, unpublished Master of Public Policy Management research paper, Victoria University, Wellington, 2001.

The purpose of the Consulting with Canadians site is to enhance public awareness of government consultation activities, provide opportunities for Canadians to participate in government consultations, both online and offline and to develop the government's capacity for engaging Canadians online as well as improving management of government consultations across departments.  There are links on the home page to consultations currently being undertaken as well as details of archived consultations. Canada.

This is a series of three booklets covering effective engagement.  It includes a planning workbook and an engagement toolkit. It is intended as a resource for facilitators of projects involving community and other stakeholders. It is aimed at better project outcomes, improved community relationships and better understanding of community issues. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne, State of Victoria, Australia, 2005.

This booklet sets out the Queensland government's approach to community engagement.  It includes a discussion on the future direction for the public sector in Queensland. Department of Communities, Queensland Government, Australia, 2004.

This publication is for Queensland Government public officials and offers practical guidance on improving community engagement in policy development and planning.  It also examines the organisational and cultural changes required to achieve sustainable improvements in community engagement. Department of Communities, Queensland Government, Queensland, Australia, 2005.

In mid-2009, the Building Better Government Engagement (BBGE) reference group produced this report for the OCVS and Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector. The report is follow-up to the BBGE group’s discussion document It’s More than Talk, which explored options for building engagement skills, knowledge and values in the public service. The report states that active engaged citizens are core to addressing societal issues, and the benefits of effective engagement will include strengthened public trust in government, greater government transparency, enhanced civic capacity to contribute to decision-making, and polices based on better information and wider consensus. A third report, Talkback, summarises feedback from the consultation process. New Zealand, 2009.

Mosaics is a Ministry of Social Development resource to help improve the delivery of public services by offering practical advice on how multiple government and community agencies can better work together. It is a toolkit for central government, local authorities, businesses and communities on the best ways of working together to achieve common goals.  Free printed copies of this guide are available by e-mailing ocvs@msd.govt.nz. New Zealand, 2004

This short summary from the UK Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability links to contemporary policy debates on how citizen participation and engagement can contribute to development, strengthen democratic and responsive states, and help to realise human rights. This policy-makers' guide pulls together key findings from research on participation carried out over the last 10 years.

This 2001 document outlined the government’s commitment to building strong and respectful relationships with the community and voluntary sector. In August 2011, the Government committed to a new expression of commitment to strong community relationships by signing the Kia Tūtahi Relationship Accord.

Understanding the motivations, triggers, barriers and impacts of participation is critical to designing appropriate policies and mechanisms to encourage and sustain citizen involvement. This UK Pathways through Participation project report outlines some of the emerging issues to contribute to current policy debates, and raises a number of questions that will be further explored in the next stages of the project. It highlights 10 key features of participation from the perspective of the individuals participating, and is intended to give plenty of food for thought to current UK debates on the Big Society.

In the wake of Christchurch’s February 2011 earthquake, the University of Canterbury started developing a new 15-point community engagement course. It is based on a well-researched body of knowledge about community engagement techniques and practices that are more likely to be effective, whether you are supporting a traumatised community, building consensus about medium-term plans or supporting established organisations. The academic component of the course will be delivered online. New Zealand, 2011.

This website contains on-line information regarding the Managing Community Engagement programme, which supports the professional development of Queensland public sector managers and others in the field of Community Engagement.  It is a useful reference tool when comparing similar programmes available in New Zealand.  Department of Communities, Queensland Government, Australia, 2004.

Produced to support the Department of Conservation's volunteer programme, this manual covers planning a project, working well as a group, checking progress and taking stock.  You can access the manual from the DOC case study on this website. New Zealand, 2008.

The Government Policy on Volunteering recognised that volunteers make a vital contribution to social development, the economy and the environment and is committed to valuing that contribution and supporting volunteers. New Zealand, 2002.

The People and Organisation Development Network on the Public Sector Intranet can assist government agencies to build the relationship-management or facilitation skills of staff who work with community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations.

Learning State (the Public Sector Training Organisation) is the State Sector's industry training organisation. Its job is to develop excellent public servants and to make sure the State sector is an employer of choice for all New Zealanders.

This training provider guides good learning practice within an organisation. It aims to integrate formal and informal learning so that it becomes a continuous activity.

The Training Network is an agency that resources, manages and administers learning and development projects for organisations.

This guide has been written for United Nations Development Programme staff engaged in promoting participation in the UNDP programmes. While it is not written as an academic text, it contains valuable information on the various dimensions of participation. United Nations Development Programme, 1997.

This State Services Commission resource kit assists managers of service, operational, administration, technical or policy units to work with their staff to better recognise and manage conflicts of interest. The kit covers issues from raising awareness of conflicts of interest to active decision-making and leadership.

This project aims to get more people and organisations enjoying the benefits of work-life balance. Research suggests that improving the balance between our working lives and lives outside work can bring gains for employers and employees. It can help build successful communities and productive businesses.

This book discusses four ways of enhancing civic dialogue: listening, respecting, suspending, and voicing. W Isaacs, Doubleday, New York, USA, 1999.

This discussion on ways to improve civic communication is based on the author's view that modern life (in North America) is more complex and requires a different set of skills than more traditional societies. He suggests an approach that is based on recognising the other person's view of the world as a way to transform the relationship. R Kegan, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass, USA, 1994.

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) is an association of members who seek to promote and improve the practice of public participation in relation to individuals, governments, institutions, and other entities that affect the public interest. An Australasian chapter exists, with a New Zealand branch now emerging.  IAP2 runs a number of courses and events that can help people to upskill in this area.

This Code was developed by the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector as a tool for deepening the dialogue between the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector at the various stages of the public policy process in order to achieve better policies for Canadians.

RACI consists of non-governmental, non-partisan, and non-profit organisations that seek to transform the social reality of Argentina through collective action. It is a group of Argentine civil society organisations (CSOs) that promotes and encourages international co-operation in its three levels: state to state, foreign state to local CSOs, and foreign CSOs to local CSOs. The objective is to promote human, economic, social, and political development and the environmental care of the country.

This organisation seeks to promote the highest standards of public, stakeholder and employee consultation by initiating research, publications and specialist events in order to disseminate best practice and improve subsequent decision making.  The website contains a number of useful resources and it is also possible to sign up for an e-letter. USA.

This handbook is intended for people who are involved in organising, facilitating or promoting dialogue work.  It is designed to inform thinking about how to address particular problems and/or when dialogue might be needed.  It documents participatory processes that have produced results.  It is written in such a way that it can be used by experienced practitioners and those new to participatory democracy. B Pruitt and P Thomas, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), International Idea, the Organisation of American States (OAS), the General Secretariat of the OAS (GS/OAS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2004.

This Victorian Government web resource is for facilitators of projects involving community and other stakeholders. It is aimed at better project outcomes, improved community relationships and better understanding of community issues. There is an Effective Engagement Toolkit and Planning Tool to download. Australia.

This publication is an introduction to the various traditional and innovative techniques that can be employed when planning citizen engagement.  It has been designed as a guide for decision makers at all levels who want to choose the most appropriate community engagement process. Department of Communities, State of Queensland, Australia, 2005.

This website provides resources for community groups who want to take environmental action in their area, but the tools and suggestions could be applied to any area.  It includes games to show “what is already being achieved” and an evaluation tool for measuring future progress.  The lead agency is the Community Development Foundation, which is a non-departmental public body and a registered charity supported by Communities and Local Government (CLG) UK.

Joint working can help to improve the delivery of public services, many of which require Departments to work across organisational boundaries. This report assesses how five government departments in Britain sought to work together to deliver one or more joint targets. It looks at the extent to which they developed shared objectives, planned their approach, determined resource allocations and worked together to implement, monitor and report progress. United Kingdom.

This article outlines the steps necessary for a nationwide discussion on a topic of substantial interest to a large number of citizens such as inadequate housing or climate change. It covers the three critical stages of framing the issue, convening the national discussion and presenting the findings to the decision-makers. J Goldman, United States of America, 2004.

This report documents a spectrum of tools and techniques developed largely in the non-profit world in recent years to increase citizens’ involvement in their communities and government. It also highlights ways in which public managers can develop an active approach to increasing citizens’ involvement in govern­ment at all levels.

Together We Can is a UK campaign to bring government and people closer together, encouraging public bodies to do more to enable people to influence local decisions. It is led by Communities and Local Government and is closely linked to the Local Government White Paper's aim of giving local people and local communities more influence and power to improve their lives. United Kingdom.