Briefing to the incoming Minister. Building leadership for social development

Transcription

1 Briefing to the incoming Minister Building leadership for social development

2 This document sets out the major organisational challenges for the Ministry of Social Development. Our Briefing to the incoming Minister: Improving wellbeing for all New Zealanders outlines our assessment of the major issues for New Zealand social policy. We are a new organisation, and we have organised ourselves to meet the challenges that arise from our new and emerging role. A key theme throughout this briefing is that we are well placed to deliver what government and communities want, but that this role raises the need for us to develop new skills, or enhance existing ones, in a number of areas. In particular: We need to develop our social sector leadership role so that government can view all its social side interventions as part of a single portfolio, to which it can apply sound evidence and determine what works best. The way we are structured has significant opportunities. Bringing together policy and delivery functions will help us to work better with communities, and produce policy advice that is more realistic and better informed by the realities of service delivery. This is important to the success of the social development approach. We have inherited some issues that will affect our future capability unless they are carefully managed. We are working to address pressures on our baseline in 2003/04 and outyears, and we will at some stage need to replace some of our core information technology infrastructure. This briefing addresses these issues in three parts. The first outlines the context in which we operate, and our role and structure. The second discusses in detail how we are strengthening our capability in key areas. The third part provides some facts and figures about the organisation. These issues and others raised in this document will impact on how we deliver the priorities and outcomes that government wants. We look forward to working with you in building a high quality public service organisation that delivers for government, our clients and our communities.

3 Contents Part 2 Strengthening capability Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Organisation strategy Priorities for policy and knowledge management Priorities for service delivery Priorities for people, finance and technology Priorities for organisational governance Part 3 Facts and figures about the Ministry of Social Development

4 Overview of the Ministry of Social Development

5 Introduction The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) was established in October 2001 as a result of the merger of the Ministry of Social Policy and Department of Work and Income to provide government with the ability to lead a social development approach across the social sector. We play key roles in leading strategic social policy development across the social sector, providing policy advice on individuals, children and young people, families and communities. We are a large organisation: We are New Zealand s largest government department. MSD is New Zealand s largest government department After the Treasury, we have one of government s largest policy shops. We have government s largest knowledge management function providing forecasting, modelling, research and evaluation to support our policy roles. With 170 local offices we have the largest branch office network of any government department and have a presence in most New Zealand communities. Through our social assistance delivery arms we have regular contact with more than 1.2 million adult New Zealanders and nearly a third of all New Zealand children. In our first 10 months we have completed the establishment of the new organisation and are now focusing on building our capabilities so that we can fulfil the Ministry s new and emerging role. Our strategies for building capability are discussed in Part 2 of this briefing, Strengthening capability. The social development approach A key objective in establishing MSD was to create an agency that could provide a platform for developing and delivering a social development approach across the social sector. We have completed the establishment of the new organisation and are now focusing on building capability Social development is a process of co-ordinated social change to promote the wellbeing of the whole population. It aims to improve all social outcomes, rather than some at the expense of others. It is about working 1.

6 with people, their families and their communities to help break cycles of dependence and ensure that people are participating in society both socially and economically. Given the range of barriers that prevent some individuals from full participation, social development also involves working with other agencies to wrap a range of services and support around people, their families and communities. It envisages new and strengthened partnerships between central government, local government and community and Mäori groups. Social development means agreeing on social outcomes for New Zealand, making the success indicators for these explicit and reporting on achievements against these outcomes. This helps in understanding and promoting what works best in particular environments and circumstances in order to help inform policy and social solutions. MSD was established to lead a social development approach across the social sector The social development approach is discussed further in our Briefing to the incoming Minister: Improving wellbeing for all New Zealanders. Driving social development Cross-sector evidence-based policy Internationally there is an increasing awareness that policy needs to be co-ordinated across government. Social issues are often complex and multidimensional, and they need to be understood as a whole problem. Social policy is increasingly viewed as something that requires consideration of issues across sector boundaries. We have learned that a broader approach to looking at social issues works. But it requires us to consider government s social interventions as a single portfolio, and get better at applying evidence to determine which interventions work best and how they should be delivered. This is a key challenge for MSD and for the social sector, but a consistent view of social interventions and the application of sound evidence are essential parts of a social development approach. We are strengthening our capability and capacity to provide government with cross-sector evidence, based policy advice. The work we are doing to achieve this is outlined in Part 2 of this briefing, Strengthening capability. Social development requires an integrated view of social interventions and the application of sound evidence 2.

7 Joining up policy and delivery An important part of the evidence supporting good policy advice is information about how policies work at the front line. The splitting of policy and service delivery functions in the public sector in New Zealand has reduced capture of policy interests by delivery agencies, but it has sometimes meant that policies do not take sufficient account of the circumstances in which services are delivered. Government and communities are looking for policy advice to be better informed by the situations of communities and the realities of delivery at the front line, and for this to come from a more joined up approach between policy advice and service delivery. Part of the rationale for the establishment of MSD was that policy advice developed in this way will be better informed by the realities of service delivery processes, more realistic, and more relevant to the circumstances and needs of clients and their communities. Government and communities want policy advice to be better informed by the situations of communities and the realities of delivery at the front line We are working to join our policy and delivery activities within the Ministry. Our strategies supporting this are also discussed in Part 2 of this briefing, Strengthening capability. Intersectoral delivery There has been growing recognition that a collaborative approach makes particular sense in the social sector. Social research has noted a coincidence of poor outcomes in health, education, employment and offending. Often people are experiencing poor outcomes across a number of government services. In the past, there has been a tendency for each agency to see the problems it faced through the lens of its own sphere of activity. Agencies have delivered standalone, sector-specific responses to problems. A collaborative approach is needed to address the incidence of poor outcomes in health, education, employment and offending These responses have often taken limited account of the wider nature of the problems that individuals, families and communities are facing. They often experience limited success. Inter-sectoral collaborative approaches have also received government endorsement in New Zealand. Late last year a cross-government exercise led by the State Services Commission called Review of the Centre reported to government. One of 3.

8 the main observations from the Review of the Centre was that interagency collaboration was likely to be one of the most effective ways of addressing gaps and overlaps between vertically integrated departments. The findings reinforced existing government views, and the demands of clients, who felt that: government agencies were still working within silos and that there needed to be greater levels of collaboration; there were too many social sector agencies and that this made it difficult to develop consistent strategic directions; and the policy/delivery split inhibited communication and alignment between policy and delivery. Further work being conducted for the Review of the Centre will involve: studying interagency collaboration initiatives now in existence; learning what works and what doesn t; identifying areas where interagency collaboration should be happening and isn t; and recommending machinery of government and accountability process changes to encourage and facilitate the development of interagency collaboration. We are actively participating in the Review of the Centre work, but it is important that we also develop our own responses to these issues. Social development relies upon greater integration in the way services are delivered. The need to do this has informed the way we have structured the organisation and how we are building our capability. Again, these issues are discussed further throughout Part 2, Strengthening capability. Working with communities New Zealand has a strong community and voluntary sector, and there are strong expectations that communities should play a lead role in their own development. A Community and Voluntary Working Party was established in August 2000 and government subsequently issued a Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship, which is now being implemented. There are strong expectations that communities should play a lead role in their own development These have highlighted the desire of communities for greater participation in policy development, improved accountability arrangements, and the need for a focus on building capability and capacity in community 4.

9 organisations. Communities and government have signalled that the community and voluntary sector should play a strong role in social development, and it is already clear that they are critical to the success of this approach. Our strategies for working with communities are addressed in further detail in Chapter 6 of Part 2 of our Briefing to the incoming Minister: Improving wellbeing for all New Zealanders. The broader public sector Government has signalled a strong commitment to public sector values and standards through recent work led by the State Services Commission including the release of a revised Public Service Code of Conduct and the establishment of a work stream to address issues of people and culture as part of the Review of the Centre. This work is seeking to clarify and strengthen public service ethics, and to ensure that organisations can deliver high quality services with professionalism and integrity. Building a commitment to public service in MSD requires us to develop staff who are willing and able to go beyond formal accountabilities and roles to take a wider and more collaborative approach to solving problems, giving sound advice to Ministers, and delivering services. As an organisation we were established with the expectation that we would focus strongly on this. We were established with the expectation that we would deliver high quality services with professionalism and integrity We are establishing a People Strategy to support this goal. This will include a specific focus on career development, ethics and integrity. These priorities are also being reflected in the release of a new Ministry Code of Conduct in the coming year, and a review of our human resources policies. They also form part of our work to strengthen our Partnership for Quality with the PSA. This will further ensure these values underpin our relationship with our staff. 5.

10 Our role what we do Overview The Ministry of Social Development has five key responsibilities. These are: leadership across the social sector, including advice on overall social priorities and second opinion advice on social issues; policy advice on income and employment services 1 for individuals, and policy advice in relation to children and families, and communities; purchase advice and oversight of other government agencies; delivery of social assistance and employment services, services for students, Community Services Card, and NZ Superannuation; and leadership of inter-sectoral initiatives. We also provide policy advice and advocacy through the Office for Senior Citizens and the Office for Disability Issues. Separate briefings have been prepared for the Ministers responsible for these two portfolios. Social sector leadership We are one of the government s lead agencies for the social sector. We provide strategic cross-sectoral policy advice that assists government to view all of its social interventions as part of a single portfolio, and to make strategic decisions across them based on evidence of what works. We: Chair the Strategic Social Policy Senior Officials Group (SSPSOG) that involves senior officials from all of the major social sector departments. This group has increased social policy agencies knowledge on issues of significance across the social sector. Lead work across multiple agencies to co-ordinate policy advice and services that have common client groups, including services for children. Initiatives in this area have included: Te Rito (Family Violence Prevention Strategy); the Agenda for Children; and the Positive Ageing Strategy. We provide government with a single view of its social interventions, and help it to make decisions across them based on evidence Provide research and evaluation support across the social sector. 6.

11 We established the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee that oversees the Government s social research programme. We are also responsible for the Information Analysis Platform (IAP), a shared data warehouse for the social sector that is the largest of its kind in government and one of the largest in New Zealand. Policy advice: individuals, children and young people, families and communities We provide policy advice relating to social assistance for individuals, and to children, young people, families, and communities. As part of this role we provide advice on: Income support programmes. These include unemployment benefits, domestic purposes and widows benefits, sickness and invalids benefits and a range of supplementary and discretionary income support programmes. New Zealand Superannuation and various income related measures, such as Family Support and Child Support, that are delivered through the tax system. We provide policy advice on social assistance for individuals, and on children and young people, families, and communities Services for children, young people and families. This includes social policy advice that affects services purchased from the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services and other sources, and the development of broader government strategies such as the Agenda for Children. The community and voluntary sector. This advice is focused on improving the interface between the Government and the community sector, and brings the Ministry into relationships with many different government agencies and a wide range of voluntary, community, local government and iwi and Mäori groups. Purchase advice and monitoring of other government agencies The Ministry of Social Development provides government with purchase advice and monitoring services in relation to the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services, the Office of the Retirement Commissioner, and the Commissioner for Children. 7.

12 We also have responsibility for a number of Crown entities and statutory bodies. These are: Commissioner for Children; Retirement Commissioner; New Zealand Artificial Limb Board; Social Security Appeal Authority; and Benefits Review Committees. Services we deliver We provide a range of support and assistance for New Zealanders. We come into either direct or indirect contact with more than one-third of all New Zealanders, and have the largest service delivery network of any government department, with around 170 offices around the country. Overall, we provide: We come into contact with more than onethird of all New Zealanders, and have the largest service delivery network in government services that help people when they are unable to support themselves and services to assist them in moving from a benefit into work; and services that help people when they need help with access to education or training, superannuation, or more affordable health care. These are divided into a number of separate service lines, which are described on pages 12 and 13. Our clients are: about 404,000 people, who because of health, family or employment circumstances, receive income support and other supplementary benefits, employment support and case management services; about 56,000 people who receive Student Allowances; about 143,000 people who received Student Loans in 2001; around 1.1 million people who have a Community Services Card; more than 460,000 senior citizens who receive New Zealand Superannuation and Transitional Retirement Benefit; about 40,000 New Zealand senior citizens living overseas who get New Zealand Superannuation or veterans pension payments as part of international agreements; and about 31,000 people who receive a War Disablement, Surviving Spouse or Veteran pensions. 8.

13 Leading inter-sectoral service initiatives MSD also leads cross-service and cross-agency work at the regional and local level. This involves: Leading services that involve multiple agencies, such as Strengthening Families and Heartlands Services. Leading regional initiatives that involve multiple agencies in delivery of tailored services, such as the NECBOP Housing (Northland, East Coast, Bay of Plenty) initiative. We lead crossservice and cross-agency work at the regional and local levels Leading inter-sectoral projects to provide services that help build local community capacity, such as the Te Rarawa initiative which partners 36 government agencies with local iwi to develop their ability to deliver a range of services. Our role includes functions that sit at all levels of social sector activity. These are shown as shaded areas in the diagram below. Figure 1: Role of Ministry of Social Development The way MSD s role is structured involves a range of complex and often asymmetrical relationships, with policy and service delivery functions split between the Ministry and a range of other government agencies. We are ensuring that policy and services delivery functions work together no matter where they sit in the social sector Our response to these challenges is to ensure that policy and delivery work together no matter where they sit. This requires us to develop and maintain a complex network of bi-lateral and cross-sectoral relationships. 9.

14 The Government may at some point want to consider how policy and service delivery responsibilities should be assigned in the social sector. Current arrangements raise questions about the best structural alignment of policy and delivery responsibilities. Current social sector arrangements are a halfway house to any one of several possible future scenarios. Overview of the Ministry s structure We have structured our policy and knowledge functions into three groups, and have split our services into a number of separate service lines. These are supported by strong, centralised corporate services. Part 2 of this briefing, Strengthening capability, describes how the various parts of our structure fit and work together as part of an overall organisation strategy. Figure 2: Organisational structure We are structured as three policy and knowledge groups, a number of separate service lines, and centralised support services Chief Executive s Office Strategic Social Policy Sector Policy Knowledge Management Work and Income Specialist Services: StudyLink Corporate and Governance Risk and Assurance Human Resources IT Finance Community Services Card International Services War Pensions Benefit Control Debt Management POLICY AND KNOWLEDGE SERVICES DELIVERY ORGANISATIONAL GOVERNANCE CORPORATE SUPPORT SERVICES Policy and knowledge Strategic Social Policy (General Manager: Ross Judge, approx. 15 staff) The Strategic Social Policy Group s role is to understand key influences of New Zealanders well-being, to know how well New Zealand is doing overall and to provide solutions to significant social issues. This group currently employs 15 people. It monitors social outcomes through the 10.

15 Social Report, and provides advice on how to get better social outcomes and on policy issues that the Government faces over the long term. This includes taking the lead in cross-sectoral social policy advice and giving second-opinion advice on social policy. Sector Policy (General Manager: Tony Gavin, approx. 107 staff) The Sector Policy Group provides policy advice on the areas of social assistance (including employment-related issues), children and families, youth, disabilities and ageing, and the community and voluntary sector. Knowledge Management (General Manager: Nicholas Pole, approx. 90 staff) The Knowledge Management Group is focused on building knowledge and information across the social sector. It ensures that social policy advice is supported by strong evidence, and informed by the best information and research available. The Knowledge Management Group also publishes information and reports on social issues and trends. Office for Disability Issues (Director: Dr Jan Scown, commences in September, approx. 6 staff) The Office for Disability Issues was established within the Ministry on 1 July 2002 to provide policy advice to the Minister for Disability Issues. Prior to this, the Ministry of Health, through its Disability Issues Directorate, provided services to the Minister for Disability Issues. Office for Senior Citizens (Unit Manager: Natalie Lavery, approx. 5.5 staff) The Office for Senior Citizens is responsible for providing advice on policy relating to the well-being of older people. Both the Office for Disability Issues and the Office for Senior Citizens sit within the Sector Policy group. 11.

16 Services delivery Work and Income (National Commissioner: Ray Smith, approx staff) Work and Income provides income support and employment services from 143 locations throughout New Zealand under the Work and Income banner, and offers a single point of contact for New Zealanders needing work-search support, income support and in-work support. Work and Income is divided into a network of 13 regions, each headed by a Regional Commissioner. Work and Income is a service line of the Ministry. Specialist Services (General Manager: Patricia Reade) The Ministry s non Work and Income service lines operate out of the Specialist Services Group. These services are as follows: StudyLink (National Manager: Lorraine Williams, approx. 300 staff) StudyLink administers Student Allowances, Student Loans and Student Hardship Unemployment Benefit. StudyLink has been established as a separate service line, with a centralised processing centre located in Palmerston North, and six Outreach sites in the main University centres around New Zealand. Community Services Card (National Manager: Clive Doughty, approx. 65 staff) The Community Services Card (CSC) team administers cards for eligible low to middle income earners to access subsidised health services. It operates through a national centralised processing unit based in Wellington. We are currently working to establish the CSC as a separate service line of the Ministry. International Services (Manager: Ross Gillett, approx. 104 staff) International Services delivers services such as assessment and payment of pensions to people who come to New Zealand from overseas, 12.

17 and assists New Zealanders who leave the country to obtain benefits and pensions overseas. International Services is also involved in negotiating social security agreements with other countries. War Pensions Services (Service Manager: Jean Clarke, approx. 30 staff) War Pensions Services is responsible for administering payment of war pensions, concessions, and rehabilitation loan payments. It operates from a centralised processing unit based in Hamilton. Benefit Control (National Benefit Control Manager: Joan McQuay, approx. 190 staff) Benefit Control works to preserve the integrity of the income support system by preventing and detecting benefit fraud. Benefit Control operates through 10 regional teams and a National Data Match Centre that is based in Lower Hutt. Debt Management (National Manager Debt: Ann Dostine, approx. 180 staff) The Debt Management team is responsible for managing Non Current Debt, which is debt owed by people who are no longer in receipt of a social security benefit or student allowance. The Debt Management function consists of four regional collection units. The Ministry s Benefit Control and Debt Management functions support the work of all of the Ministry s service lines and service delivery units. Corporate support services Information Technology (Chief Information Officer: Christine Stevenson; Information Systems Co- Ordinator: Neil Miranda, approx. 250 staff) MSD s Information Technology Group is the sixth-largest IT shop in New Zealand, and provides a full range of IT services in-house. We also house the Infrastructure Services Co-ordination Unit (ISCU), which provides Information Technology Infrastructure for both MSD and Child Youth and Family Services. 13.

18 Finance (Acting Chief Financial Officer: Nick Gale, approx. 90 staff) The Finance Group provides financial management services, including the provision of advice, financial information support, financial planning/ budgeting/reporting, and processes financial transactions. The Group operates a public sector leading on-line procurement system, and has responsibility for managing the Ministry s property portfolio to ensure that accommodation is appropriate and cost-effective. Human Resources (General Manager Human Resources: Sue Christie, approx 40 staff) The Human Resources group supports the day-to-day and strategic management of the more than 5000 staff employed by MSD. This includes the Ministry s Human Resources Strategy, managing training and development strategy, industrial relations issues, and operating the Ministry s performance and payroll systems. Organisational Governance Corporate and Governance (General Manager Corporate and Governance: Helene Quilter, approx. 90 staff) The Corporate and Governance Group manages the Ministry s corporate, planning and governance processes. It also provides purchase advice and monitoring services to the Minister of Social Services and Employment on the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services, the Retirement Commissioner and the Commissioner for Children. This group provides legal services for the Ministry, manages the Ministry s internal and external communications and media relations, and manages the interface between the Ministry, Ministers, and Parliament. Risk and Assurance (General Manager Risk and Assurance: Marc Warner, approx. 15 staff) The Risk and Assurance group provides risk management, audit and assurance functions within the Ministry. This group is also looking at options for enhancing Quality Assurance functions, and provides advice on governance and management issues. 14.

19 Endnotes 1. The Department of Labour has primary responsibility for employment policy. 15.