Dorothy Wilson

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How can the public service prepare for 2020?

My perspective is based on 12 years at the cutting edge of local government in Waitakere, a Council that tries to work with its community, and then the last two years looking critically at the relationship between community/voluntary, and iwi and Maori organizations, most of New Zealand, and central government. You will be aware of the depth of rich diversity of community groups- economic development, environment, sports and leisure, arts, social services, ( many of you are members of these organizations in your private lives.) It is the messages from these past two years I will focus on.

I hope that most of you will be aware of the report after the first year, 'Potential for Partnership, Whakatupu Whakaaro' which described how bad community organisations felt the relationship was, and why. The feedback was pretty straight.

• Siloed govt depts.
• Paternalism ;
  • Lack of respect and trust
  • Undervaluing the work of community/voluntary and iwi and Maori organizations.
  • Paternalistic funding arrangements
• Isolation from policy making- not connecting enough with Maori, Pacific, disability, youth, other ethnic groups…..
• Unresolved issues for Maori
• And a sector that was feeling fragmented and under-resourced.

Having put up that rather grim picture, I need to acknowledge the huge commitment, passion and hard work by a lot of public servants, at all levels, and in this room. People who work more than 12 hours a day regularly, and with huge integrity.
But this message was very strong and heard from community people from all over the country….it should not be ignored.

Our second report (worked on by both community and government officials as before) was published this year, picking up the challenge from the first report and giving some suggested steps forward. This report is set in the context of the worldwide recognition of the need to build a more sustainable future: looking forward to 2020, the huge challenges that Mick Brown has already spoken about.
It thinks forward to the sort of vision that Kaa-Sandra has outlined just now, the world we want for our young adults and our mokopuna:

• Safe creative and flourishing young people…
• A healthy environment to live in
• Maori as well as tauiwi, high in skilled employment.
• Reconnected healthy, vibrant communities

So what is needed in the public service to move towards 2020?

The messages from the sector and from Maori were clear.
To achieve the vision: the interdependence of central government local government, community/voluntary and Maori organizations, business and iwi, needs to be not only recognized but believed.. Each plays an important role- none is more important than the other. Together they need to work to achieve the challenges we are know.
Community organisations want real involvement, real respect, real partnership.

In order to do that they spoke of a fundamental change in the culture of the public service.

The first change was in attitudes. It is easy to trot off those good old basic human values, valuing, respect, humility and trust. ( There has been a fascinating exploration of 'trust' through the Reith lectures this month)……and those were the key words spoken by hundreds of community people over the last two years. The message: "We feel second-rate."From simple things like …the body language when you meet some government officials… the clock watching- the 'I am incredibly important and you are soooo lucky to have some of my time.' The dismissive - "That won't work"….. "We know best," either said in the room or after, the late payments for contracts, the short term funding, the non- inclusive way of policy making. It also means not just passive tolerance, but respect for different cultures, the changing demographics, how do we all actively work together, the accepting of difference.

We will need different sorts of communicators using more innovative methods of communicating. Not spin doctors, not PR people , not 'selling' but communicating. They are not the same.

And communicating differently. In this modern world, people are constantly being seduced by expert advertisers, yet government still goes out with serious 'heavy' reports, calls meetings in some draughty hall, produces lots and lots of words.

We need to value and seek out different sorts of thinkers. Not only ethical, principled thinkers, but flexible, creative, lateral, holistic thinkers, people who are open to different ways of measuring 'success.' To value people who are open to new ideas, responsive to change, as Craig Soper has described, to be flexible enough to learn how to see the world from a different point of view. And those who can grapple freshly with the tensions Kaa-Sandra talked about.
As Einstein said:…..

So we are looking at different skill and talent set….Not just those who are "theorists" but shifting the balance a lot more towards process skills: enlisting people who are exceptionally good and patient listeners, facilitators, mediators, relationship builders. Public servants have acknowledged that these skills are thin on the ground in house. David Craig from the University of Auckland is one of a team of researchers currently studying community processes including a devolved funding in Christchurch and Waitakere, he calls them 'community brokers," those who can make the linkages can empower communities enable rather than tell. We are looking at HR policies, that reflect the makeup of society, EEO and ethnic composition which reflects our growing numbers of Somalis, of Russians, of people from the East. The valuing of the experience of working in community organisations, when the selecting public servants. They are very different worlds

Communities spoke of the need of a different style for partnerships and devolution.
There is the need to be a different sort of leader - to relinquish some of the power.
Team player not boss. Catalyst not dictator. Facilitator not dominator.
Resourcing, setting the frameworks and then supporting communities to make their own decisions, to grow community leaders. Letting go

Bearing in mind that all of this really should start at 'home.' The need to rolemodel within the bureaucracy itself, how you interact with each other, break down your own silos, treat each other with respect.

It also takes time to be a partner and develop relationships….communities are not interested in one-offs…..the building of relationships takes time and perseverance……and generally it requires a degree of decentralization.

I am well aware that there is need for that to be understood at political level as well. It should be able to achieve partnerships there too, it is possible!

Conclusion:

I have unashamedly delivered this from a community perspective and some of these messages come from anger and frustration. I am sure you could respond, often with equal vehemence..Or perhaps you might point the finger at the junior levels. Let me say quite unequivocally that I have experienced a number of these things in the last year from senior people in different parts of the public service. That's the negative.

Equally strongly, it is clear to me that individuals and sections of the public service have accepted the challenges I have outlined and have already started a series of exciting and reinvigorating projects to respond to the criticisms. The suggestions in our report, I hope, will provide further opportunities to complement the courageous work being started in small corners of government departments and in (presumably) smoke-less rooms!

Our report spells out a few examples of what some of those opportunities are:
The development of Relationship Plans…how are is your department relating to your not- for- profits, small medium and large, community groups, Boards of Trustees….. When you look to building your own in house capacity how are you supporting community groups to interact with you? Do you think about their overheads, and their need to network with each other? MFAT has developed one good model, and there is an excellent start being made by the MOH. Great to see.

There are suggestions round participatory processes and funding relationships. There will soon be two helpful websites and more training units suggested, but also performance indicators to measure effectiveness from CEO level across each government department, judged of course, by the communities you engage with.
There are suggestions round equity issues for Maori and working with Maori organisations to do this.

We point to the opportunity to work with local government round community plans… A Community organisations should also be sitting alongside on the implementation of the impending Local Government Act. A wonderful opportunity to get the real intersectoral debate at a local level, breaking down the silos.

The work already started round the Review of the Centre. I hope by now it is getting good regular community organisational input into its programmes.

The opportunities are there.

You are all members of a profession devoted to serving the public.You have a political climate which is more open to change. You have a real chance to do things differently, to make a difference. Your potential to rolemodel a different way from the top is enormous.

Over to you!

New Zealand State Services Commission