Formats
Chief Executive's overview#
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) works to support the government of the day. We do so by advising, leading, supporting and coordinating activities across the public sector, as well as providing specific advice and support to the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and Ministers.
Our core business is enabling effective executive government. This means providing, on a daily basis, advice and support to the Prime Minister, Cabinet, and the Governor-General. We provide decision-makers with a key advantage - expert advice on policy and process - and help translate government priorities into action. We also advise and support key figures in our constitutional arrangements to carry out their roles.
In addition, our role has grown over the last few years, and we now serve Ministers with responsibilities relating to national security, risk and resilience, and the regeneration of greater Christchurch.
Despite this change, our purpose remains the same: advancing a confident, well-governed, and secure New Zealand. It is how we deliver this that is changing, as we take on new responsibilities, set ambitious goals and exercise active leadership, coordination, and stewardship in partnership with our key stakeholders.
In the course of developing our 2017 - 2021 Four Year Plan, we have undertaken a comprehensive refresh of our Strategic Intentions. These Strategic Intentions provide a high level overview of the purpose and functions of the Department, how it fits within the wider state sector and other strategic objectives. Five high-level ‘Challenges’ for DPMC summarise the five medium term strategic priorities that we are aiming to achieve through to the end of the 2020/21 financial year.
The five Challenges include: Increasing support for the Government of the day to set and achieve its priorities; ensuring our system of Cabinet government remains world-leading in the 21st century; enhancing our collective sense of national identity; shaping a National Security System that makes New Zealand more resilient; and, supporting the transition to local leadership of greater Christchurch regeneration.
This version of our Strategic Intentions follows the previous version of our Strategic Intentions which was developed in response to the establishment of an additional unit within the Department. This new unit - the Greater Christchurch Group (GCG) - is responsible for coordinating central government's role in regeneration, including advice to Ministers, administering the new legislation, monitoring and reporting on the overall progress of regeneration, part funding and joint governance of horizontal infrastructure repairs and leading the Recovery Learning and Legacy programme that shares lessons from recovery.
Looking ahead, 2017 is an election year and the Cabinet Office is ready to provide constitutional advice and support. Our strengthened capabilities will ensure we are best prepared to support the priorities of the government of the day.
We will also continue to play a key role responding to the 14 November Kaikoura earthquake. I would like to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly to lead our National Security System and coordinate the initial response and transition to recovery. What this event means for us in the medium-term is still uncertain, but I am confident we are ready to take on the roles required.
Ultimately, the continued success of DPMC will be the result of the hard work done every day by our staff. I am indebted to them for their efforts, as I am to their families and others who provide support to them.
Chief Executive's Statement of Responsibility#
In signing this information, I acknowledge that I am responsible for the information on strategic intentions for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. This information has been prepared in accordance with the Public Finance Act 1989 (sections 38 and 40).
Andrew Kibblewhite
Chief Executive
November 2016
Ministerial Statement of Responsibility#
I am satisfied that the information on strategic intentions prepared by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is consistent with the policies and performance expectations of the Government.
Rt Hon John Key
Prime Minister
November 2016
Part A - Our purpose#
In this section we summarise our role, how we work, and the value we bring.
We outline the unique role we play within the State sector, providing advice, leadership, support, and coordination on activities that impact across the public service.
Who we are and what we are here for#
DPMC is now a mid-sized agency of seven Business Groups, with approximately 250 staff in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. We have a unique role as the trusted advisor, leader, and steward of our system of executive government.
We are unified by an overarching purpose: to advance a confident, well-governed, and secure New Zealand.
A confident New Zealand has a strong sense of nationhood, and can rely upon key institutions and systems to work together in the public interest.
Well-governed means Cabinet decision-making supported by the best available advice and evidence, and a Governor-General ably supported in her constitutional, ceremonial, community, and international roles.
A secure New Zealand is able to respond to and recover from shocks and stressors in a timely and effective way. It proactively builds resilience with a risk-based, reliable, and integrated National Security System.
Our functions
To deliver our purpose, we perform four core functions:
- Executive government advice and support - serving the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
- Constitution and nationhood - supporting well-conducted government.
- National Security - Risk and Resilience – leading an effective National Security System, including cross-government arrangements across the ‘4Rs’ of risk management: reduction, readiness, response, and recovery.
- Greater Christchurch regeneration - providing leadership and coordination of the Crown's regeneration effort.
Who we're here for
Ensuring that executive government functions well requires us to maintain close relationships of trust and confidence with the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, and Cabinet.
As our role and functions grow, so have the number of Ministerial portfolios we have responsibilities within.
To deliver we need to work more broadly across the department with our increasingly diverse external stakeholders. These include the public service, emergency services, local government, iwi, lifeline utilities, NGOs, the private sector, and outreach to the wider community.
What we stand for
Our spirit characteristics underpin everything we do.
They are what we're about and the values we bring to work every day: principled, vigilant, farsighted, courageous, agile, savvy, resilient.
DPMC people are committed to serve and; willing to lead.
How we deliver our functions#
The following section describes our core functions, how we are organised to deliver them, and how we measure and annually report our service performance.
1. Executive government advice and support
We provide services to support the effective conduct of executive government, including expert advice on policy and process.
How we deliver this
Our Policy Advisory Group (PAG) provides free and frank advice to the Prime Minister, and on occasion to other Ministers, and leads policy initiatives if needed.
Coordinating across departments, PAG looks for emerging opportunities and risks, and exercises influence as a ‘critical friend’ to shape advice to the Prime Minister so that it is coherent, high quality, and impartial.
PAG currently hosts a dedicated Policy Project that supports the Chief Executive of DPMC in his stewardship role as Head of the Policy Profession. The Project is focused on building a high performing policy system that supports and enables good government decision-making.
PAG also provides a point of liaison with the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor.
The Cabinet Office acts as 'Government secretariat', providing impartial services to the Executive Council, Cabinet, and Cabinet committees. This includes processing submissions, preparing summaries, managing agendas, and recording the decisions.
It advises on constitutional, policy and procedural matters, including relationships between the Executive, Governor-General, and Parliament; the appointment of Ministers and making of statutory appointments; and assisting the coordination of the legislation programme.
Who we work with
In addition to those named above, our coordination and stewardship roles require us to work across the public service and with other key stakeholders.
How we measure annual service performance
The quality of our advice and support is assessed by satisfaction surveying of the Governor-General and the Prime Minister, with the cost of producing policy used to measure value for money.
Outputs from the Cabinet Office are tracked using a range of indicators (e.g., timeliness, accuracy).
2. Constitution and nationhood
We advise and support key figures in our constitutional arrangements to carry out their roles, including ceremonial ones that build a sense of nationhood.
How we deliver this
The Cabinet Office acts as a channel of communication between the Governor-General and government. It provides advice and support to the government (including any period of caretaker government) over the election and government formation period.
The Honours Unit sits within the Cabinet Office, administering and providing policy advice on the New Zealand Royal Honours System.
Government House in turn provides administrative and support services for the Governor-General, and maintains the official residences and grounds.
Who we work with
As well as advising Ministers, the Cabinet Office is involved in nationhood issues cutting across the public service.
Government House connects the Office of the Governor-General to the wider community and enables more than 20,000 yearly visitors to Government House, Wellington.
How we measure annual service performance
The performance of the Cabinet Office and Government House are assessed through satisfaction surveying of the Governor-General and the Prime Minister.
Statistics on public engagement with the Office of the Governor-General (e.g., visits to Government House, Wellington) are also collected.
3. National security - risk and resilience
The Government has a responsibility to protect national security and advance national interests.
This responsibility is discharged through the National Security System, which DPMC leads with an all hazards/all risks approach. The scope is extensive, including geological, infrastructure failure, drought, biosecurity, pandemics, oil spills, regional instability, counter terrorism, cyber security, and other threats to New Zealand's security integrity.
How we deliver this
Our Chief Executive chairs the Officials' Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC), and is the ‘lead official' in the National Security System. The ODESC system has three Chief Executive-level leadership boards: ODESC-G (overall governance), and the Security and Intelligence and Hazard Risk Boards.
DPMC stewards the National Security System and leads cross-government responses to events via our Security and Intelligence Group (SIG). It ensures the National Security System is alert, coordinated, delivers high-quality decisions across complex issues, and communicates effectively with its stakeholders.
SIG also exercises a collaborative leadership role within the New Zealand Intelligence Community (NZIC), and its policy teams provide advice on intelligence, cyber security, and CDEM policy issues. Intelligence and Assessments (which includes the National Assessments Bureau) coordinates all-source assessments for decision-makers.
The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM) contributes as a member of the Hazard Risk Board, as the lead agency for geological and meteorological hazards and infrastructure failure, and by providing support to other lead agencies.
MCDEM leads across the '4 Rs' of comprehensive emergency management, stewards the CDEM Act 2002 and maintains the CDEM strategic framework.
It supports CDEM guidance, planning, and operations; builds the CDEM capability of organisations and individuals; supports the resilience of communities and the public by educating and informing; and manages the central government response to large-scale emergencies.
Who we work with
The National Security System includes many public and private actors with responsibilities for hazard and intelligence-related risks.
We work with each of the government agencies that protect New Zealand as part of their core business (e.g., the NZIC, NZ Customs and the Ministry of Health), and across groups of agencies acting together to respond to an emerging threat or emergency.
MCDEM maintains diverse relationships - 70 agencies have responsibilities in the National CDEM Plan, including departments, emergency services, local government, lifeline utilities, NGOs, and the private sector.
It is an operational principle of CDEM that risks and emergencies are best managed on the basis of act locally, coordinate regionally (in the form of 'CDEM Groups'), and support nationally.
How we measure annual service performance
The quality of assessments, advice, and guidance is measured using surveys of key stakeholders - Ministers, senior officials and other users of this information.
MCDEM collects a range of performance indicators and statistics relating to:
- Community awareness and readiness (including public surveying).
- Emergency management support and development (including both measures of output and stakeholder satisfaction surveying).
- Operational performance measures (e.g., timeliness of the issuing of national warnings).
4. Greater Christchurch regeneration
185 lives were lost in the Canterbury earthquakes and countless homes, businesses, and lives were changed forever. Almost six years on, greater Christchurch is entering a new phase, moving from recovery to regeneration.
DPMC provides leadership and coordination across government agencies, engages with local leadership and the community, and supports the transition of leadership of greater Christchurch regeneration to local institutions.
How we deliver this
For the period of transition to locally-led regeneration our Greater Christchurch Group (GCG) will provide policy and planning advice, including the future uses of the residential red zones, and administer part-funding and joint governance of horizontal infrastructure repairs through to completion.
We will work across government, and with Otakaro Limited and Regenerate Christchurch, so Ministers receive consistent and connected advice. We will work to ensure learning and insights from the recovery and regeneration are collated, embedded, and put into action to ensure New Zealand is more resilient.
Once the transition to local leadership is complete, it is anticipated that GCG will be disestablished as a separate Business Group, and its residual policy and monitoring functions incorporated elsewhere in DPMC.
Who we work with
The regeneration of greater Christchurch is a collaborative effort between central and local government, business, insurers, iwi, NGOs, and the wider community.
Key strategic partners are the Christchurch City Council, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahi, Selwyn District Council, Waimakariri District Council and Environment Canterbury.
How we measure annual service performance
Our performance is assessed through satisfaction surveying of the Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration, external reviews of the quality of policy advice, and the timeliness of delivery of key milestones.
Our role in the Central Agencies
The Department works closely with the State Services Commission and the Treasury (the Central Agencies) to lead the public service to deliver outstanding results for New Zealanders.
We are collectively responsible for enabling performance to improve across the State sector. We contribute to this by monitoring progress, and promoting and modelling change.
Corporate support and services
Our Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) supports the Department to achieve its strategic priorities and manage risk through sound strategy, effective governance, and efficient organisational systems and processes.
The Central Agencies Shared Services (CASS) provides corporate shared services (HR, Finance, IT, Information Management and Publishing) to DPMC. The service is provided by the Treasury, with DPMC’s share of costs funded through an annual CASS charge.
Summarising the value we deliver to our key stakeholders#
| Our Business Groups |
Executive government The Governor-General The Prime Minister and Cabinet |
The public service Departments and other state sector agencies |
The wider community Individuals, NGOs, businesses, iwi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy Advisory Group |
We provide free and frank advice to the Prime Minister (and other Ministers when required) and lead special projects. We coordinate advice from different agencies to ensure decision-makers receive integrated, high quality advice. |
We contribute to policy development across complex or cross-cutting issues. We host the Policy Project, exercising stewardship to lift the quality of the policy system. |
We engage with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure policy reflects the perspectives and expertise of an increasingly diverse New Zealand. |
| Cabinet Office | We provide secretariat services and constitutional, policy, and procedural advice so that Executive government continues to function effectively. | We are involved with issues of nationhood, when these cut across agencies and the State sector, and provide expert advice and support. | We provide information about and access to the New Zealand Royal Honours system. |
| Government House | We provide advice, administrative and support services so the Governor-General can perform her roles and duties effectively. | We provide agencies with advice and support about engagement with the Office of the Governor-General. | We support community access to and identification with the Office of the Governor-General. |
| Security & Intelligence Group | We provide integrated, all-source advice and assessments on events and developments affecting New Zealand's security interests. |
We lead the National Security System to ensure that it is risk-based, community-focused, and integrated. We coordinate across a very broad range of agencies with a role in maintaining New Zealand's national security, and have specific leadership responsibilities in two sectors: the New Zealand Intelligence Community (via SIG) and Civil Defence Emergency Management (via MCDEM). |
We partner with the community on issues of security (e.g., cyber-crime). We provide communications to build public trust and confidence in the National Security System. |
| Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management | We provide advice on civil defence emergency management. | We support access to information, provide public education and seek community participation in building resilience across the '4Rs' of risk management: reduction, readiness, response, and recovery. | |
| Greater Christchurch Group | We provide advice on the progress of the regeneration of greater Christchurch, and to support decision-making on interventions and administration of the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act. | We lead central government's contribution to the regeneration of greater Christchurch. | We support local leaders and institutions to lead regeneration over time. |
Part B - Our strategic intentions#
Here we describe context in which we operate and the five Challenges that will focus our work for the next four years.
We also summarise the goals and key milestones we will be using to track our progress.
What drives our work#
The Government's priorities
To make sure investment is directed to where it is needed most, the Government currently has four priorities to which we make a significant contribution.
Build better public services that all New Zealanders can rely on
The Better Public Services (BPS) programme aims to meet increasing expectations for the State sector.
The key lies in productivity, collaboration, innovation, and increased agility to provide services. As a Central Agency we need to strive to model this vision of excellence, and work to bed-in the BPS changes, and provide assurance on the BPS result areas.
We lead the National Security System with the intention that it model this new way of working - a diverse sector coming together to be greater than the sum of its parts. Similarly, our policy stewardship role needs to lift the capabilities of the public service to deliver high quality advice that helps shape government priorities.
Build a more competitive and productive economy
The Government's Business Growth Agenda is intended to create jobs and improve New Zealanders' standard of living through economic growth.
As well as contributing through our Central Agency role, our focus on resilience strengthens the institutions needed for sustained economic growth.
By enabling New Zealanders to better manage and reduce their exposure to risk - including external threats, natural hazards, and cybercrime - we will need to provide confidence and security for business to grow, and reinforce our reputation for transparency, integrity, and as a place to do business.
Responsibly manage the Government's finances
We have a value for money focus, looking for ways to meet our cost pressures by being more efficient.
For example, we aim to take a whole of department approach, moving funding across work programmes as priorities change, and actively managing personnel costs.
Rebuild greater Christchurch
With the disestablishment of CERA, we have taken on responsibility for coordination of the Crown's regeneration effort, partnering with central and local agencies to support the transfer of responsibility for leading regeneration back to local entities.
We also monitor the overall progress of regeneration and complete critical short-term recovery functions.
The changing needs of our stakeholders
Given our role at the centre of executive government, and the increasing significance of our system roles, the number and needs of key stakeholders and customers we serve has continued to grow and change.
We now have responsibilities to seven Ministers, and a wide range of individuals, NGOs, businesses, and Iwi. Properly executing these responsibilities requires us to better manage our relationships, exercise influence and system stewardship, and increase our ability to broker solutions and manage change.
The world we operate in
A number of environmental factors can shape, influence, and change our priorities.
Elections and the Government's priorities
The Government has set priorities, but as governments and circumstances change these priorities will change as well.
Unpredictable hazards and risks
As events over the past six years have shown, emergencies and other unforeseen shocks do occur.
DPMC plays an important role in ensuring the response and recovery is well coordinated. This means we need to ensure the resilience of DPMC's staff, systems, and arrangements.
Increasingly complex, interdependent security and policy issues
The globalised world is based on interconnected networks - physical, social, and economic. These provide opportunities, but also risks and complex problems that we must monitor and prepare to respond to.
Cyber security demonstrates this. Those meaning harm may be states, criminal organisations, or individuals. Attribution is difficult, and cyber threats have the potential to affect any New Zealander. It activates forces within the border without a physical presence in New Zealand, challenging how we view protective security.
As the leader of the National Security System, we need to continue to more effectively work across government to identify, reduce, and prepare for shocks and stressors. We will also face pressure to grow our capability to provide decision-advantage through integrated, all-source assessments that take a longer-term view.
Fiscal restraint
A more efficient public service that achieves better results through collaboration remains a top priority for government.
We will continue to work with the Treasury and SSC to seek savings through our CASS partnership, and will be reviewing our ongoing internal corporate service needs as we right-size over the next four years.
Diversity
New Zealand's demographic landscape is changing - we are becoming more ethnically diverse, the average age is increasing, and technology is changing how we interact. Diverse perspectives - including ethnic, gender, and experiential differences - cultivate different ways of thinking which help address complex issues.
While the diversity of DPMC's workforce has increased over time, there is still room to improve. Our recruitment practices and organisational culture need to support diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches.
Our Challenges and business plan
How we are responding to these drivers - the Government's priorities, the needs of our stakeholders, and our operating environment - is summarised in our Challenges - the five medium term strategic priorities that we aim to achieve through to the end of the 2020/21 financial year.
Underlying the Challenges are 14 goals that frame the work programme and help to focus our efforts on what really matters. The remainder of Part B summarises each of these goals.
Delivery of these strategic intentions is supported by the objectives in our business plan, described in 'Managing our functions - Organisational Health and Capability.'
DPMC's Challenges
| Challenges | Our goals, and links to Government Priorities | Progress indicators | |
|
Challenge One The public service understands, delivers, and helps shape the Government's priorities |
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How satisfied our key stakeholders are. The progress of the Better Public Services result areas. Broad trends in the quality of policy advice. |
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Challenge Two Governance for the 21st Century |
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Satisfaction with CabNet. Feedback from new Ministers about the support provided. Completion of the revised Cabinet Manual. |
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Challenge Three New Zealanders understand and celebrate the institutions and processes that contribute to a strong, shared, sense of national identity |
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Tracking comments in the General Social Survey, and other surveys. Monitoring media coverage of Honours Lists as they are published. Monitoring the gender balance of the Honours Lists over time. |
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Challenge Four Increase New Zealand's resilience through leading and building a risk-based, community-focused, and integrated national security system |
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Aggregate national risk levels and profiles. National preparedness and practices. How well we are working with our priority partners. |
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Challenge Five Leaving residents and agencies confident in the future of greater Christchurch |
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Plans for Christchurch's regeneration are in place and progressing. Trends in the progress of regeneration outcomes. |
| Government priorities: |
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Challenge One#
The public service understands, delivers, and helps shape the Government's priorities
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are the centre of executive government. Ensuring there is a strong connection with the public service is critical.
Goal 1 Understanding and delivery – Mechanisms to articulate and align government priorities are stronger; working with Treasury and SSC, we support a seamless execution of the Government’s priorities.
What we intend to achieve
With our Central Agency partners, we will improve the processes, systems, and mechanisms that translate Government priorities into agency action.
What we will do
We will help departments understand Ministers' perspectives, develop policy that supports Government priorities, and deal with implementation issues.
We will facilitate links across agencies working on related issues, including through the setting of national intelligence priorities. We will work with the other Central Agencies to further refine the policy priority setting process and ensure coordinated assurance, including through regular reviews of the BPS result areas.
A focus will be coordination across sources - both policy and intelligence - to ensure that decision-makers receive cohesive, integrated, all-source advice and assessments.
How we will measure our progress
Our excellence in policy services, and effectiveness as a model policy agency will continue to be measured by satisfaction surveying. We will also continue to track the Better Public Services result areas.
Goal 2 Shaping – The quality of policy advice across the public service increases
What we intend to achieve
Policy advice varies in quality, evidence is not always used to best effect, and new methodologies are emerging domestically and internationally that departments need support to come to grips with.
Addressing these challenges requires a dedicated, multi-year programme of work. Policy excellence will see the public service deliver better policy processes, more responsive solutions, and better outcomes over time.
What we will do
The DPMC-led Policy Project and the leadership of the Head of the Policy Profession (currently the Chief Executive of DPMC) will help to drive continuous improvement in the quality of policy advice and the capability of policy agencies.
The Policy Project has multiple work-streams and over the next year our focus will shift towards encouraging and supporting agencies to use the tools and frameworks developed so far. In addition, we are developing work programmes for:
- Sharing knowledge and building capability on promising methods for using and generating evidence and insights.
- Scoping issues and opportunities for collective action on the policy workforce.
- Looking at options to embed the Head of Policy Profession role and required infrastructure, including monitoring benefits.
- Establishing a repository of information, tools and learning accessible to the policy community (if this is assessed as worthwhile).
- Improving support for policy stewardship and free and frank advice.
We will also continue to model a professional, politically neutral, and highly effective policy agency.
How we will measure our progress
We will look for improvement over time in:
- Agencies' policy advice quality ratings (using the Policy Quality Framework or other assessments).
- The number of engagements the Policy Project has with other agencies around deployment of the Policy Project frameworks and tools.
- Reported use rates of the Policy Project frameworks and tools.
Challenge Two#
Governance for the 21st Century
The executive branch of government comprises the Governor-General, Prime Minister, other Ministers of the Crown and the public service. The engine room of executive decision-making is the Cabinet system, and the resilience and security of this system is critical to stable and effective governance.
Goal 3 Integrated Governance – Government decision-making processes and systems are integrated across the public service, support the presentation of high quality advice to Ministers, and facilitate collaborative working
What we intend to achieve
We will, in partnership with other agencies, improve the level of support provided to Ministers. Integrated systems and processes will contribute to more effective execution of the Government's priorities.
What we will do
The Cabinet Office will continue to steward and enhance the Cabinet system and processes. We will work with Ministers’ offices and departments so that issues are presented to the Cabinet clearly and robustly, supporting good decision-making.
Following the successful deployment of CabNet, providing electronic management of Cabinet material, we will further develop the system, driven by the needs of our users. We will also commence a review of the current requirements for Cabinet papers to ensure they meet the needs of Ministers.
How will we measure our progress
The effectiveness and ease of use of CabNet will be tracked using surveys and feedback from users, including the number and nature of calls to helpdesks.
Goal 4 Knowledge and support – Newer Ministers have the knowledge and support necessary to carry out their roles and functions
What we intend to achieve
We provide advice and support to new Ministers to help them in their roles. We will improve the quality of this, so they can more effectively carry out their functions.
What we will do
We will work with Ministerial Services in the Department of Internal Affairs to ensure Ministers have the systems they require to work efficiently and effectively.
We will develop a refreshed approach for the induction of Ministers, ahead of the 2017 elections, and consider other initiatives to support Ministers in their roles.
How will we measure our progress
We will use feedback from Ministers about the services provided to them, including induction programmes and ongoing advice and support.
Goal 5 Ethical Government – Executive government is supported to function in a manner that upholds, and is seen to uphold, the highest ethical standards
What we intend to achieve
Supporting Ministers to carry out their duties to the highest ethical standards is critical to maintaining New Zealand's trust and confidence. We can create an environment where appropriate conduct is clear, and assistance is available to clarify expectations.
What we will do
The Cabinet Office will provide advice to Ministers and their offices on issues concerning conduct and management of conflicts of interest.
We will also complete a review of the Cabinet Manual as the authoritative guide to central government's decision-making. This will involve reviewing and updating its text to reflect legislative changes and new policies and practices since its last update in 2008.
This will be alongside our ongoing work to promote, through a range of channels and agencies, a greater understanding of New Zealand's approach to executive government, central government decision-making structures, and the statutory and constitutional framework within which central government operates.
How will we measure our progress
The revised Cabinet Manual will be endorsed by Cabinet.
We will also continue to receive feedback from Ministers and their offices as to the clarity, accuracy, and quality of the guidance provided by the Cabinet Office.
Challenge Three#
New Zealanders understand and celebrate the institutions and processes that contribute to a strong, shared, sense of national identity
New Zealanders sharing a sense of political community and national identity increases social cohesion and enhances wellbeing, and strengthening this is an important long term goal for the Department.
Goal 6 Understanding – Increasing numbers of New Zealanders have a better understanding of New Zealand’s system of government, including the office and role of the Governor-General and Prime Minister
What we intend to achieve
Our goal is more New Zealanders understanding our system of government, including the constitutional, ceremonial, international and community functions of the office of the Governor-General.
What we will do
In addition to continuing to provide advice and support to the Prime Minister, we will support a programme for the Governor-General to communicate information about the office and role and contribute to a series of national commemorations and other events and projects.
Our role will be underpinned by an effective media strategy, which capitalises on major events to further boost the profile of the Governor-General. Government House will facilitate visits and maintain the Government Houses in Wellington and Auckland, so the public continues to view them as heritage sites.
The Cabinet Office will continue to engage and support other agencies working in the nationhood space, and Government House will work with organisations who have relationships with the Governor-General (e.g., patronages) to promote the role to their membership.
How will we measure our progress
Public understanding of the offices and roles of the Governor-General and Prime Minister will be measured through Statistics New Zealand's General Social Survey. We will also track measures of public engagement - the Governor-General's social media statistics, and visitor numbers to Government House.
Goal 7 Acknowledging and celebrating honours – New Zealanders acknowledge and celebrate the service, achievement and diversity of recipients of Royal honours
What we intend to achieve
The New Zealand Royal Honours System provides a way to recognise people who have served their communities and acknowledge their achievements.
As New Zealand becomes more diverse the honours system should operate in a way that reflects this, with a nominations process accessible to diverse communities.
What we will do
We will continue to work with the Minister for Women and other relevant Ministers, and identify ways to strengthen our connections with Maori, Pacific peoples, and people from ethnic communities to improve the number and diversity of nominations.
Increasing public acknowledgement and celebration of the honours system requires us to better understand what drives engagement by strengthening how we measure national and regional coverage.
How will we measure our progress
We will monitor trends in the diversity of nominees over time. This will require us to identify options for improving how we track this information, as the data we currently collect is incomplete.
Public acknowledgment and celebration will be measured through use of media monitoring, looking at the number of articles covering announcement of the list in national and regional papers, and tracking of distribution of coverage.
Challenge Four#
Increase New Zealand's resilience through leading and building a risk-based, community-focused, and integrated national security system
A resilient New Zealand has a National Security System that works together effectively to manage risks across the 4Rs - reduction, readiness, response, and recovery. This means we are safer, can build a stronger economy, and advance our interests internationally.
Goal 8 Risk-based – Increased use of risk-based approaches to building resilience in New Zealand
What we intend to achieve
We aim to reduce New Zealand's aggregate levels of risk, and build national resilience by improving how our partners identify and manage risks, based on the 4Rs.
What we will do
We will exercise collective leadership of the National Security System through our role as Chair of the ODESC committee structure, our Security and Intelligence Group, and MCDEM. We will support the passage and implementation of a CDEM Amendment Bill to strengthen the legislative framework for recovery, and a Security and Intelligence Bill to respond to the recommendations of the 2015 Independent Review of Intelligence and Security.
We will steward public alerting enhancements, draft and implement a National Disaster Resilience Strategy, and better link risk management practice to the implementation of the national intelligence priorities.
Our support for the establishment of a Computer Emergency Response Team, refresh of the Cyber Security Emergency Response Plan, and the conduct of regular cyber security exercises will contribute to preparedness and resilience against cyber threats.
We are also leading a process to better identify, understand, and articulate existing and emerging risks for New Zealand. This is a long-term project to strengthen the National Security System and the support that it provides to decision-makers.
How will we measure our progress
One of our medium-term aims is improving how we measure aggregate national risk levels. For certain priority risks, assessing plans and arrangements against good practice, and tracking the outcomes of post-event reviews and practitioner surveys will provide ongoing insight into the health of the National Security System.
Goal 9 Community-focused – More New Zealanders – including our priority partners – trust our National Security System to manage shocks and stressors, understand their responsibilities, and are prepared
What we intend to achieve
Managing national security risk and supporting the country's resilience is complex and involves many partners: government agencies, local government, NGOs, the private sector, and our communities.
We will ensure each partner understands their roles and responsibilities around risk identification, the 4Rs, and (where relevant) our role as leader of the National Security System.
Public awareness of their role in preparedness is a focus, as elevated readiness following the Christchurch earthquakes is trending back towards the historic norm.
What we will do
We will continue to increase the availability of clear, high-quality public information about the National Security System. We will also work closely with our priority partners to ensure that they have the information and support they need to fulfil their roles. For example, we will:
- Update and provide ongoing support for the new National Security System Handbook.
- Support the extension of the Security Sector Professional Development Programme to local authorities and their partners.
- Respond to the Auditor-General's findings in her performance audit of the National Security System (expected late 2016).
- Coordinate the national exercise programme.
- Implement the new CDEM public education programme launched in July 2016.
- Establish a cyber security credentials scheme to help improve the cyber security of small businesses.
- Undertake a confidential survey of businesses to improve our shared understanding of the cost and incidence of cyber insecurity.
- Partner with NZ Police to advance the National Plan to Address Cybercrime.
- Set up a cyber security skills taskforce to build up New Zealand's cyber security professional workforce.
How will we measure our progress
We will be looking for evidence of improved interface between central government, local government, emergency services, lifeline utilities, and the wider community.
This will include evidence that we are fulfilling our role as sector leader, that individuals and organisations are managing their own risks within the national framework, and that our advice is seen as reliable and trusted across system levels.
We will also continue to measure both national emergency preparedness, and cyber-security practices, using established national survey measures. We are also working on a cyber security capability maturity model.
Goal 10 Integrated – We are increasingly seen as providing leadership across the national security system – from central government, to local government, to the wider community
What we intend to achieve
Our goal is to enhance coordination of effort across the many agencies and organisations with a role to play in increasing New Zealand's resilience.
Investment in SIG over the next four years will focus on capacity and capability development for the National Assessments Bureau, in areas consistent with New Zealand's intelligence priorities.
What we will do
Key to this goal is continuing to provide high quality advice and support to our partners. This provides coordination, helps to broker disputes, and creates the opportunity for the development of system learning and a culture of continuous improvement.
In addition to continuing to deliver excellence in our core business we will strengthen linkages between intelligence priorities and collection processes - SIG is leading implementation of a systematic framework for collaboration on the priorities, supporting delivery of coordinated, high quality intelligence and assessment with measurable impact.
We will also deliver annual reports on the implementation of the Cyber Security Strategy.
MCDEM will commission an independent review of its capability and capacity to perform its statutory and public duties and functions. This will have a specific focus on effective and timely response and recovery; a proactive focus on risk reduction and resilience building; and seizing opportunities offered by technological advancements and other developments.
The discipline of emergency management has evolved into one focused on addressing total disaster risk, rather than one that seeks purely to focus on readiness and response. Subsequently, there has been a growing expectation on MCDEM for stewardship and comprehensive functional leadership across the 4Rs.
Changes as an outcome of this review, which may include recommendations for future investment in MCDEM's capabilities and capacity, will be progressed through a combination of prioritisation within our existing appropriations and business cases for additional funding, as appropriate.
How will we measure our progress
Measuring the effectiveness of collaboration across a system will be done at three levels:
- Using self-assessment tools and satisfaction surveys to track how well we work with our partner agencies.
- Reviewing post-event and exercise reviews and evaluations for evidence of effective collaboration and system integration.
- Looking for evidence that a culture of learning is forming in the National Security System.
Challenge Five#
Leaving residents and agencies confident in the future of greater Christchurch
Greater Christchurch is entering a new phase as it moves from recovery to regeneration. Central government's role has moved from leading and coordinating, to supporting local institutions to get back into the “driving seat” of regeneration.
Goal 11 System Leadership – Support and influence across government to deliver system wide leadership
What we intend to achieve
We aim to provide system leadership so that government supports local leaders and institutions to undertake their regeneration roles effectively.
What we will do
We will maintain strong relationships with our strategic partners, central government agencies, Otakaro Limited and Regenerate Christchurch, supporting and influencing them to collaborate effectively.
We will also participate in a number of fora and governance groups, including the Urban Development Strategy Implementation Committee, Chief Executives Advisory Group, the City Executives Forum, the Psychosocial Governance Group, the Canterbury Government Leaders Group, and the Horizontal Infrastructure Governance Group.
Our objective is to ensure that the Crown remains connected with the regeneration effort and supports local leaders to take regeneration forward.
How will we measure our progress
To ensure that critical regeneration issues continue to be prioritised, we will undertake regular stakeholder engagement and identify where we can provide support.
We will also monitor the experiences of our key stakeholders, through surveys, tracking how well we are undertaking our role.
Goal 12 Shape the Transition – Support and shape the transition into long term arrangements for greater Christchurch
What we intend to achieve
Our priority is to support the transition of regeneration leadership back to the local level. Central government also remains a partner in regeneration – our role is to make sure that the Crown’s views and interests are appropriately represented.
What we will do
To achieve this we will support the newly established entities (Otakaro Limited and Regenerate Christchurch), as well as government agencies that inherited some of CERA’s recovery functions, to ensure that they are functioning effectively and successfully delivering on approved work programmes.
We will advise Ministers on the progress of regeneration outcomes, as well as the performance of entities responsible for delivering regeneration functions.
The Crown's interests will be represented in related local planning and review processes. These will help shape the planning frameworks that best support the long term arrangements for greater Christchurch.
We will support entities with a statutory role in regeneration planning processes, and advise the Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration in exercising statutory roles under the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act.
How will we measure our progress
We will monitor Otakaro Limited and Regenerate Christchurch’s progress in achieving regeneration outcomes, and the performance of Regenerate Christchurch against the purpose and objectives agreed upon within its Statement of Intent.
Regeneration outcomes will be monitored through a now-established monitoring and reporting framework. Issues will be included in reporting and advice provided to Ministers.
The effectiveness of the support we are providing to local leadership will be measured through stakeholder surveys.
Goal 13 Maintain momentum – Ensure recovery continues without loss of momentum
What we intend to achieve
There is a critical need to ensure that recovery and regeneration momentum is maintained following the disestablishment of CERA.
What we will do
We have ongoing responsibility for the delivery of some short-term recovery work relating to the repair of the city's horizontal infrastructure, and representing the interests of the Crown on the Christchurch Replacement District Plan review.
We will oversee the horizontal infrastructure programme, in partnership with the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) and the Christchurch City Council. We expect this work to be completed in 2017.
In the medium-term we will support the transition of responsibility from the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) Alliance to the Christchurch City Council, including transferring information and systems, and managing the close out of the SCIRT Alliance and the wider programme.
How will we measure our progress
The delivery aspects of this goal will be tracked against the milestones in the relevant programme plans.
Goal 14 Lessons and Insights – Learning and insights are collated, embedded and put into action so New Zealand is more resilient
What we intend to achieve
The Christchurch earthquakes represented an unprecedented challenge for New Zealand's risk management and response agencies, and exposed potential weaknesses in how we prepare for and manage shocks and stressors, including natural disasters. To ensure that gaps are addressed and systems strengthened, we are working across our agency partners to ensure learning and insights from the earthquakes and rebuild are properly documented, embedded, and put into action.
This will ensure that agencies, organisations, and individuals are better prepared to respond to future shocks - building New Zealand's resilience and capacity to respond to disasters.
What we will do
We are currently undertaking a whole of government initiative to support relevant agencies to undertake projects related to learnings from the Christchurch regeneration.
We have launched a public-facing “EQ Recovery Learning” website that brings together the knowledge, insights, case studies, and real-life stories garnered from those involved directly in the Canterbury earthquakes.
How will we measure our progress
Engagement with the EQ Recovery Learning website will be tracked by monitoring use levels through a web analytics service.
We will also be tracking the number of agencies who undertake and complete a learning project.
| Project | Linking Challenge | High-level Objective | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinet Manual Review & Update | 2 | Update Cabinet Manual to reflect changes in legislation and practice since last update. | CO |
| Demise of the Crown | 2 | Prepare for and lead the transition to new sovereign when required. | CO |
| Government House Long-term Maintenance Plan | 3 | Prepare and implement a plan to maintain the physical fabric of Government House (Wellington) and Government House (Auckland). | GH |
| Public Alerting System | 4 | To deploy a national public alerting system, providing agencies with an effective mechanism to warn at-risk communities of threats. | MD |
| Recovery Review | 4 | Support the passage and implementation of a CDEM Amendment Bill to strengthen the legislative framework for recovery. | MD |
| Public Education Programme | 4 | Implementation of the new CDEM public education programme launched in July 2016. | MD |
| EMIS (Emergency Management Information System) | 4 | Investigating a platform upgrade for EMIS, including a potential redesign, inputting dashboards, and integration with RealMe. | MD |
| National Warning System | 4 | Moving the National Warning System to a more modern, more functional and more robust platform. | MD |
| Cyber Security Action Plan | 4 | Annual evaluation of progress and consideration of new actions to ensure the Action Plan addresses emerging threats and evolving technology. | SIG |
| CERT Establishment | 4 | To improve New Zealand's response to cyber security incidents. | SIG |
| Cyber Credentials | 4 | To help improve the cyber security of small businesses. | SIG |
| Cyber Skills Taskforce | 4 | To build up a cyber security professional workforce. | SIG |
| Addressing Cybercrime | 4 | To improve New Zealand's ability to prevent, investigate and respond to cybercrime. | SIG |
| Security & Intelligence Bill | 4 | Support the passage and implementation of a Security and Intelligence Bill to respond to the recommendations of the 2015 Independent Review of Intelligence and Security. | SIG |
| Horizontal Infrastructure | 5 | To deliver the repair and rebuild of greater Christchurch's three-water and roading horizontal infrastructure to enable recovery outcomes. | GCG |
| Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Learning and Legacy | 5 | Support the development of lessons and legacies regarding government role and responsibilities in recovery and a “whole of recovery” story | GCG |
| Policy Project - Phase 2 | 1 | Maturing the Head of the Policy Profession (HoPP) role, and implementing the policy frameworks established in Phase 1. | PP |
Managing our functions - Organisational Health and Capability#
Where we will be in four years
DPMC has grown and taken on new responsibilities. From 2013 to 2016 we doubled in size, with operational functions different from our traditional business. Our growth also means that we have become more dispersed, with staff in Christchurch, Auckland and multiple sites in Wellington. This adds further complexity.
We have prioritised establishing a sense of collective identity that recognises the strength of our diversity and individual brands and robust systems of corporate support. With these foundations in place, we can begin the next phase of organisational development - to ensure that our increased capabilities deliver more value for money, achieve our strategic intentions, and are enabled by fit-for-purpose corporate infrastructure.
To deliver this, in four years' time DPMC will have implemented some fundamental changes to achieve our Four Year Excellence horizon: becoming more effective influencers and system stewards; more interconnected; less pressured, and more resilient.
We will be more effective influencers and system stewards
While we will continue to need to deliver to an excellent standard for our key customers, we also have a responsibility to provide stewardship across a wider group of stakeholders and strategically partner with others to lift the whole system's capabilities. For example, as leader of the ODESC system, principal support to the Governor-General in her constitutional and ceremonial role, and as Head of the Policy Profession. Providing decision-advantage over - and sustainable solutions to - increasingly cross-cutting and complex problems will require us to demonstrate leadership at all levels and enhance our specialist technical knowledge, problem solving abilities, and analysis and information technology capabilities.
We will be more interconnected
As we grow, we will maintain the strong brands and identities of each of our business groups. However, as the new shape of the organisation matures, we will encourage and enable appropriate collaboration and coming together on the things that matter. For some areas of the organisation, structured approaches to collaboration are already emerging, and will be further strengthened. Security and Intelligence Group and
MCDEM have complementary responsibilities within the National Security System, while the Cabinet Office and Government House have important constitutional and nationhood functions.
We will be less pressured, and more resilient
We need to respond to changing government priorities, often by assuming new functions or prioritising what we deliver in a short time frame. Building our resiliency - both of our organisation and our personnel - is a priority. We will have a culture that values and rewards cooperation and resource sharing, and reinforces the importance of versatility, adaptability, and flexibility. Better processes and information flows will enhance collective ownership of our issues, risks, and priorities, and will ensure that resources flow more easily across the organisation - both to where they are needed, but also where they best deliver value for our stakeholders
How we will achieve this
To achieve our Four Year Excellence horizon, we intend to build three strengths within the organisation - strategic partnerships; corporate governance, capability, and infrastructure; and our DPMC workforce.
Strength 1: Strategic partnerships
We now have responsibilities within the portfolios of seven Ministers, and many of these relationships are new and emerging. We will be working with Ministers, as part of annual priority setting and performance conversations, to build their confidence in the Department's long term vision and a shared understanding of our roles, responsibilities and priorities within the systems we steward.
We are making changes to strengthen and integrate our communication capabilities to promote two-way communication, so that we consistently understand and respond to our stakeholders' needs and perspectives. We will also continue to invest in developing the relationship building, influencing, and negotiation capabilities of our leaders and staff to enable more planned approaches to stakeholder management across the organisation.
Strength 2: Corporate governance, capability, and infrastructure
DPMC prides itself on its light corporate infrastructure. However, as we grow in size and complexity we have needed to bolster corporate capability and systems. The transfer of functions from CERA required us to build our people and performance capability; our project, risk and assurance and reporting systems; and to standardise corporate and HR policies and systems. We will retain a small proportion of these resources on an ongoing basis, to enhance our effectiveness and our capacity to take on new initiatives and projects for the Government. The level of service will be reviewed as the Department evolves to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.
Strength 3: DPMC Workforce
For much of our history we have been a small agency of fewer than 120 FTEs. However, with the incorporation of MCDEM and CERA, changes to the Security and Intelligence Group, and investment in our core capabilities, our headcount has steadily grown. In 2015/16 our staff numbers increased by approximately one third as a result of the CERA wind down, 84 new roles were created to deliver inherited functions, and increased corporate services requirements has taken our total FTE count to just over 260. We will need to 'right-size' the organisation over the next four years. Reduction in the size of some business groups will be driven primarily through attrition and the expiration of fixed term contracts, while expansion in other areas will require a coordinated programme of recruitment and workforce development.
Managing our responsibilities
Increasing complexity and expectations, new roles and short-term project work has at times put pressure on our baselines. We received additional funding to support the transition of activity from CERA to inheriting agencies, and to establish both the new functions of GCG and the corporate services needed to support our growth. The majority of the new funding reduces as the focus of the earthquake recovery shifts to regeneration and ownership by local institutions. By 2020/21 a reduced amount of funding will be retained to support the on-going programme of work.
We are well prepared for this reduction, anticipating that the transfer of ownership to local institutions will occur more quickly than originally anticipated. Our forecasts reflect an expectation that some of the time-limited funding will not be required in each year from the 2016/17 year, and will be available for reprioritisation. However, this expectation will need to be reviewed as the impact of the recent Kaikoura earthquake on the Department's financial position becomes clearer.
Managing risk
DPMC's Risk and Assurance Committee provides challenge and assurance services to the Chief Executive. During 2015/16 the Committee continued to meet quarterly to review and assess areas of potential risk, DPMC's progress toward mitigating those risks, and a range of other capability and strategic issues. In 2015/16 we added a new member to this committee, to ensure continuity of oversight over the risks owned by CERA.
Health and safety
DPMC is committed to managing health and safety in the workplace in a proactive and participative way. In 2016 we updated our Health and Safety Policy to align with best practice as described in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Annual goals are agreed by our leadership team and our health and safety committee.
Diversity
While the diversity of DPMC's workforce has increased over time, there is still room to improve. Our recruitment practices and organisational culture need to support diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches. We will focus on ways to minimise bias in recruitment and selection, and implement policies and practices that enable more flexible working arrangements. Our ability to attract and retain a more diverse workforce will improve the quality of our work through broadening the diversity of our thinking, and also contribute to the agility of our workforce resourcing model.
People
Our Workforce Strategy 2017 - 2020
Our Workforce Strategy was created to help us achieve our Four Year Excellence Horizon: being more effective influencers and system stewards; more interconnected; less pressured, and more resilient.
We have developed a set our four key workforce goals to support the achievement of our horizon goals. Each of these is described below:
- A consistent DPMC - Creating better consistency and efficiency in how we communicate, employ, induct, develop, manage, and reward our staff.
- Achieving greater system integration of our workforce - Working at a system level to manage critical workforce resources in a smart way.
- Building DPMC values and engagement - Building on the key things that help us create positive staff engagement, and shifting our culture to support our ability to achieve our key objectives.
- Developing DPMC people - Supporting and developing our people so that they can grow their careers and contribute to our success.
Being a good employer
Being a 'good employer' and developing and implementing equal employment opportunities for all is critical in supporting and developing our staff. This will ensure we position ourselves so we can compete successfully for staff in coming years. Delivering on our stated outcomes requires excellent leadership, people, culture, relationships and processes to be in place. We intend to ensure our people management practices evolve to be ready for the needs and aspirations of a dynamic workforce. The success of this objective will be measured by continued staff engagement in the Department, a level of high staff morale maintained and confidence and relationships in DPMC, as well as staff perception of fairness and equity in their working environment.
Systems and processes
Shared Services Arrangements
Since 2012, CASS has provided DPMC with financial, human resource, information technology and information management services in a shared service arrangement and developed the Department's organisational resiliency. As part of our reform of governance and corporate performance, the Department is working with CASS to identify opportunities to improve the partnership model, and ensure the CASS' product offerings continue to meet the Department's needs.
Information and communications technology (ICT) systems
DPMC's ICT services are largely provided by CASS, with secure services provided by GCSB. In close collaboration with the central agencies, CASS has developed an Information Services Strategic Plan which provides a common direction for the Central Agencies' ICT capabilities.
We are also taking steps to minimise risk in the provision of secure technologies within the NZIC. For example, by outsourcing some IT capabilities to GCSB, and taking advantage of outsourced security services for our workforce holding top secret clearances.
We continue to support the Government's Open Data initiative in making information and data the department holds publicly available. We will continue to release data and information while balancing the principles of Open Data with security and privacy considerations.