Related resources for building government capability

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. 

Lowndes, V, Pratchett, L, Stoker, G (2001). In Public Administration 79(2), pages 445-455. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This paper from the Community Economic Development Action Research 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.

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

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.

This toolkit 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 that covers specific topics

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.

This Australian guide is designed to assist government agency 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.

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

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. Le Harivel, J (2001). Unpublished Master of Public Policy Management research paper. Wellington: Victoria University.

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.

The Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship was signed in 2001. Government agencies can test their strategic direction against the commitments contained within the Statement.

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 site. New Zealand, 2008

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

The People and Organisation Development Network on the Public Sector Intranet can assist government agencies 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. Learning State is also part of the People Capability Branch of the State Services Commission. 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 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. Isaacs, W (1999). New York: Doubleday.

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. Kegan, R (1994). Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

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.

Building on An Accord Between the Government of Canada and the Voluntary Sector, this Code of Good Practice on Policy Dialogue has been developed by the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector. The Code is 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.

This handbook produced by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance provides decision-makers, dialogue promoters and practitioners with a practical guide on how to organise, facilitate and assess dialogue processes. It combines conceptual and practical knowledge, while providing practitioners with tools and approaches adapted to the issue, the local context and the stakeholders involved.

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.

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.

People and Participation online is an interactive tool to help those seeking to engage with the public. The Process Planner can help to select participatory methods based on your specific circumstances. This UK site 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.

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.