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At the Interface - e-bulletin February 2009

02/02/2009

Welcome to the latest edition of At the Interface – bringing you news, events and information about local and central government collaboration to achieve community outcomes.

Some of the documents below are in pdf format. You need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download a free version from the Adobe site.

In this edition

  • Central and Local Government Workshop - New thinking to solve complex problems

Systems Thinking for Policy Integration and Implementation

17 April 2009 - 9.00am-12.30pm
Duxton Hotel, Wellington

$45+gst per person

Please contact communityoutcomes@dia.govt.nz for registration details

Don't miss this opportunity to participate in an interactive session to improve your ability to understand and solve complex problems.

Led by internationally-renowned expert Professor Kambiz Maani, the workshop introduces the concept of systems thinking and its application as a tool for multi-dimensional, multi-stakeholder decision making for central and local government.

Part one - seminar

  • Systems thinking - what and why?
  • Systems thinking and complexity management
  • Systems thinking and policy integration
  • Case studies

Part two - workshop

  • Applying the lessons and language of systems thinking to improve integrated responses to complex problems from central and local government.

Who should attend?

Central and local government

  • policy makers
  • operational staff
  • strategic planners
  • decision makers
  • relationship managers
  • those involved in community outcomes

More information about the workshop

More information about systems thinking (pdf 38kb)

More information about Professor Kambiz Maani

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  • Quick Guide - regulatory policy involving local government

The Department of Internal Affairs has prepared guidelines to assist central government agencies identify and consider important issues when local authorities may be involved in regulatory policy implementation.

A Quick Guide has now been developed to make these guidelines easy to reference and use.

Quick Guide to policy development guidelines for regulatory functions involving local government (pdf 500kb)

For hard copies please contact communityoutcomes@dia.govt.nz

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  • The LTCCP and other mysteries central government should know about local government - presentations

A workshop explaining the mysterious world of local government for central government policy staff was held in Wellington in December.

The event was developed by the New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) and The Department of Internal Affairs. Over 120 policy advisors and analysts attended from 29 different government organisations.

Presentations

Attendees gained an insight into local government processes and finances, the way local authorities work with their communities to promote well-being, and the importance of strong central and local government relationships.

As local government is an essential part of New Zealand society, understanding the way local government works is a vital skill for all central government policy officials.

This event will be repeated regularly. Keep an eye on www.communityoutcomes.govt.nz for details about the next workshop.

Some feedback...

  • "I think all policy analysts should attend a similar event"
  • "Very useful to hear practical examples from people who are in the front line of community consultation. I will now make a point of searching out my Council’s LTCCP"
  • "Great to have the local authorities there and very knowledgeable speakers"

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  • Monitoring and reporting community outcomes

Monitoring and reporting is a critical part of the community outcomes process. Monitoring is more than just data collection, it involves establishing indicators, analysing trends, reporting results and informing decsison making.

Under the Local Government Act, local authorities monitor community outcomes and report results back to their communities at least every three years.

Community outcomes monitoring reports provide valuable analysis of communities and the progress they are making towards achieving their outcomes. The reports give an insight into how communities are changing - where things are improving, and where more emphasis is needed to achieve goals.

Monitoring reports are a useful tool for informing discussion and submissions on long-term plans for communities. Councils are currently in the final stages of producing their Long-term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs) for 2009-2019. Subsequently, several reports have recently been published.

Some recently released community outcomes monitoring reports

Further information

Further examples of monitoring reports are available on the community outcomes profiles section of www.communityoutcomes.govt.nz

These pages have information about the community outcomes for each local authority area, links to important council planning documents including the LTCCP, and more.

Resources for monitoring and reporting community outcomes

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  • "It's More Than Talk" - Building Better Government Engagement discussion paper

The Building Better Government Engagement (BBGE) project is working to improve government engagement with community and voluntary organisations and citizens in policy and service development processes.

"It's More Than Talk" is a discussion paper from the BBGE reference group. It discusses options for building knowledge, skills and values about effective community engagement within the public service.

It’s More Than Talk (pdf 404kb)

The BBGE reference group is encouraging input from communities and public servants to supplement the report. The group is inviting feedback until 31 March 2009.

Further details, including specific questions, are available on the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector website.

Find out more about the Building Better Government Engagement Project

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  • Analysis of development and financial contributions in 2007/08

The Department of Internal Affairs has commissioned research into the levels of development and financial contributions used by local authorities in New Zealand.

Analysis of 2007/08 Development Contributions (pdf 1.05mb)

Analysis of 2007/08 Financial Contributions (pdf 500kb)

44 out of 73 territorial authorities have a working development contributions policy. This research provides a summary of the levels of charges set and the range of council activities these charges have been used to fund.

Introduced under the Local Government Act 2002, development contributions allow territorial authorities to collect revenue to recover costs associated with development. Financial contributions are set under the Resource Management Act 1991 and recover costs related to the impact of development on the environment.

These charges help to ensure that the costs accompanying development are shared across the community.

More information is available at www.localcouncils.govt.nz.

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  • Solving problems through partnerships – the National Community Policing Group S.A.R.A model

The S.A.R.A model is a problem-solving tool used by Community Constables to tackle complex issues in their community.

S.A.R.A stands for

  • Scanning
  • Analysis
  • Response
  • Assessment

Download the S.A.R.A template in word format (Word 45kb)

The model is used by the National Community Policing Group to help Community Constables identify and address problems in their community.

With its emphasises on looking for partnerships with other community groups, the model is being successfully used to instigate collaborative work with local authorities to improve community well-being.

The model provides a useful insight for other organisations into how Community Constables approach complex community issues. It is also a potentially useful tool for organisations grappling with how to approach complex issues in their community, and how to involve other organisations in addressing and solving problems.

Continue reading about how the S.A.R.A model is used, and how the model provides opportunities for Police and local authorities to work in partnership to improve community well-being.

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  • Smarter Partnerships - making the most of partnership working

Improving the effectiveness of partnerships and collaboration across organisations is crucial to ensure efficient services for citizens.

Smarter Partnerships - making the most of partnership working - Employers' Organisation for Local Government (England).

This website is a useful tool for quickly and easily assessing the performance of your partnerships, and identifying areas where improvements could be made. There are suggestions and resources for learning and developing skills to strengthen partnerships.

Resources include

  • a quick health check for your partnerships
  • an interactive tool to analyse how your partnerships are working and how to make improvements
  • checklists for assessing personal or team learning needs for improving partnerships
  • case studies
  • partnership tools focussing on leadership, trust, learning, and managing performance.

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  • New website for Tomorrow's Manukau

Tomorrow's Manukau Manukau Āpōpō has launched its new website.

www.tomorrowsmanukau.co.nz

This website has information about

  • Manukau's community outcomes
  • the groups working together to achieve the outcomes
  • Tomorrow's Manukau projects
  • how to participate

Tomorrow’s Manukau is a 10-year framework to help achieve community outcomes for the people of Manuakau, and is guided by a group of leaders from some of the city’s most influential organisations. Over 70 Manukau organisations contribute to achieving the vision of a city that is "progressive, proud and prosperous".

More information about Manukau City's community outcomes

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  • Can we have two minutes of your time?

At the Interface e-bulletin - Reader Survey

We are conducting a short survey about what our readers want to see from the At the Interface e-bulletin.

The survey will only take two minute of your time and will help us to make sure we bring you information that is valuable to your work.

At the Interface e-bulletin - Reader Survey

The survey is open until 27 February 2009. Thanks to everyone who has already provided feedback - your comments are much appreciated.

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  • Contact us

At the Interface is the newsletter of The Department of Internal Affairs' Interface Facilitation Team. Please email communityoutcomes@dia.govt.nz with any questions or for further information.

You can find contact details and further information about the Interface Facilitation Team here.

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