The refreshed 2025 Policy Quality Framework sets out the standards for quality policy advice: context, analysis, advice, and action.
The Framework and tools below can be used by:
- individual policy advisors developing advice or providing peer review
- policy managers commissioning or reviewing policy advice
- panels or others assessing the quality of a government agencies' written advice before or after it has been delivered.
The Policy Quality Framework and its suite of tools have been refreshed to improve accessibility and include more emphasis on delivery and implementation.
This new-look version of the Policy Quality Framework contains the standards that can help you assess and improve the quality of your agency's policy advice. The advice may be for a minister, Cabinet or other decision makers, and may be jointly provided with other agencies. Depending on the issue and the nature of advice the paper provides, sometimes not all standards will be applicable.
At the link above, you can also find:
- an A3 version that sets out the full Framework in a redesigned two-page format
- a summary version showing the 16 elements that make up the Framework's standards.
Developing advice
Commissioning worksheet for policy papers
This worksheet can help you to commission policy papers, guiding you to think about the context, aim, resources, deliverable, and deadline. It also includes tips for success.
Peer-review worksheet for policy papers
This electronically editable worksheet can help you assess how well a policy paper meets the four standards of quality policy advice. Use this worksheet to review policy advice as a part of your quality assurance process.
Assessing advice
A guide for panels assessing policy advice papers with the Policy Quality Framework
This guide provides advice on how to run a panel-based assessment of policy and other advice papers after their delivery. It includes advice on how to set up and run panels, and assess and score papers. It also includes a paper-scoring template and a checklist for panel administrators, which are both available as separate downloads at the link above.
This updated version of the guide clarifies that only papers written by the agency and reflecting the agency's advice should be selected for assessment. If you have any questions about the updated guidance, please email [email protected].
Independent Review of Papers
Policy Quality Framework: Independent Panel Review of Papers (October 2023)
An independent panel was set up in November 2022 to review policy papers across the Public Service. The panel checked for consistency in assessments and policy scoring by agency and NZIER panels. They reviewed 52 papers from 26 agencies randomly drawn from their 2021/22 policy advice assessments.
The review followed a decision by the Policy Profession Board in March 2022 to assess whether the Policy Quality Framework is fit for purpose and being applied consistently, and if not, to provide suggestions for improvements. Agencies have been using the Policy Quality Framework since 2019 to assess the quality of their policy advice.
The review found that the policy quality assessment process and the Policy Quality Framework are fit for purpose and that there was a high level of consistency in the scoring of policy papers across agencies. The panel did find, however, that some key characteristics of the Policy Quality Framework are often missing in some of the papers. You can read more about the panel’s findings in the above PDF of the October 2023 report.
The benefits of a universal quality framework
The benefits of adopting the Policy Quality Framework as the universal standard for policy advice across the New Zealand Public Service include that:
- most policy issues are of interest to and require input from a number of government agencies – making it sensible for them to have a common standard for quality advice.
- the Framework provides agencies with a learning tool that they can use to help improve their policy performance, by building it into their policy project planning and quality assurance processes.
- having New Zealand Public Service-wide standards for the quality of policy advice enables agencies to benchmark the quality of their advice over time, and relative to their peers.
- policy practitioners don’t need to relearn quality standards when they move from agency to agency – good practice as a policy professional remains the same
- the Framework incorporates up-to-date expectations for how policy advice will reflect the Māori Crown relationship and the Treaty of Waitangi.
Support in using the refreshed Policy Quality Framework
The Policy Project is available to run agency workshops on using the Policy Quality Framework. Please contact us at [email protected].
More information on the features of quality policy advice
You may also be interested in checking out our Policy advice themes page. There you will find information on aspects of producing great advice and how to apply them - including free and frank advice, evidence and evaluation, and innovation.