SSC promotes PIF resources

15 April 2013

Last week State Services Commission posted to its website a series of new resources relating to the Performance Improvement Framework. This promotion seems to be part of broadening the understanding of outcomes sought from this review process.. PIF was developed by the central agencies in 2009, blended from British and Canadian evaluation tools, together with the best features of a range of other management resources designed for both private and public sectors.  PIF has been applied progressively to Public Service departments and several other agencies, providing insights which should enable them to adapt strategies to meet expectations of Ministers, the public and their senior staff.  Independent PIF reviewers’ assessments are shown with “traffic lights”.  These provide a graphic comparison of the effectiveness of agencies in organising their resources to deliver Better Public Services goals.

The PIF which looms large in the priorities of chief executives, appears largely unknown to many junior managers and their staff.  The newly published resources should help raise awareness of its scope and relevance to all in the sector.  That would seem to be the aim of the series of attractively packaged videos setting out how agencies can raise their performance. “Getting to Great” presents perspectives of a number of agencies that rate well in several of the PIF measures.  Surprisingly for a Public Service of more than 36,000 employees, more than half of whom are likely to have access to streaming video on their desktop, only very small numbers have watched the videos in the first few days.

SSC concurrently published a montage of photos, compiled as a video, featuring departmental achievements over the last hundred years of the Public Service. This April marks the centenary of the commencement date of most powers and responsibilities in the Public Service Act 1912.  What should be of broad interest seems to have had only 15 other viewers –in addition to the twice I have watched it –and some of those 15 may not have watched to its end as the sound track seems to have self destructed.

www.ssc.govt.nz/pif

www.youtube.com/watch?v=07MJpGYvwAk

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April 15, 2013

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Bad news comes in threes

 

11 April 2013

Trite though the superstition may be, New Zealand public servants will be hoping for that there isn’t more bad news imminent following this week’s castigation of aspects of the Government Communications Security Bureau, the Department of Labour and the Ministry of Economic Development. In effect 10% of Public Service departments have been implicated in substantial performance failures.

The blending of DOL and MED into the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment may well be a consequence, and GCSB will apparently soon find itself subject to substantial change.  DOL is the only one of the three included in the survey of public belief in the extent to which departments do a good job, published in the latest UMR Mood of the Nation survey. ( Agencies doing worse were the Ministry of Education and the Accident Compensation Commission, both of which have experienced recent high profile integrity failures involving improper disclosure of personal information. )

The numbers who thought DOL did an excellent or very good job dropped more substantially than for most other departments. Interestingly, DOL was the only agency of the three that had been through a Performance Improvement Survey (before the creation of MBIE). It was rated among the better performing departments, but like many others scored a “needing improvement” for management of risk. The Pike River mine disaster was a most unwelcome confirmation.

A hard hitting report on the GCSB by the Cabinet Secretary will embarrass many. This has been compounded by the chief executive of MBIE realising that there was a need to apologise publicly to families of miners killed at Pike River. Public trust in Government will be affected.  This is foreshadowed in the Dominion Post editorial on 9 April titled “…Public trust betrayed by spies…”. The suggestion is that problems extend far beyond the failings of an individual and “…represent a fundamental breach of trust…”

“Getting it Right”, published last December, reflects PIF findings.  The article refers to some of the successful and the less successful aspects of departments when measured against the framework.   The good include a responsiveness to Ministers, delivering on their priorities, and maintaining high levels of financial  integrity.

There has been less success in strengthening institutions and working across the system. Both of these elements are necessary to deliver the results expected by the government. The authors conclude that being corruption free just is not good enough.  We have to deliver the quality of public services New Zealanders expect. Those expectations will have taken a knock this week.

www.ssc.govt.nz/sites/all/files/pif-gettingitright-publicsector-dec12.pdf

http://umr.co.nz/sites/umr/files/umr_mood_of_the_nation_2013_online.pdf

 

 

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April 11, 2013

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Wikileaks-like focus on elites’ use of tax havens

8 April 2013

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists seems comforted that there may be some traction on its recent report on massive tax evasion by the world’s “elites”.  Following from Shaxson’s book on “Treasure Islands” about the growth of tax havens, ICIJ has collated 2.5 million secret records which now “…has ignited reactions around the globe…”

In the few days since the ICIJ report was released “…public officials have issued statements, governments have launched investigations, and politicians and journalists have been debating the implications of the records and the reporting…” The report, specifying the tax havens where about 120,000 of the world’s elite have undisclosed investments, is described as being 160 times the size of WikiLeaks’ cache.

Official reactions in some jurisdictions seem to be self exculpatory – including France, Azerbaijan and Colombia, although promising reactions have been made by Ministers with revenue responsibilities in Canada, Germany, Greece the Philippines, and New Zealand.

A Sydney Morning Herald article indicated that a Fairfax reporter received the massive package of data when investigating an Australian fraud.  When subsequently,he was appointed as director of ICIJ in 2011, he called on the membership to unscramble the content.  The findings of 15 month’s work by 86 investigative journalists in 46 countries will be drip fed to the international media in “…a strategy similar to that used by WikiLeaks when it released hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables in 2010…”

New Zealand may be tarnished as the attitudes of tax haven governments become better known.  The Cook Islands is substantial player in the tax haven market, and though self governing, of course is part of New Zealand.

www.icij.org/blog/2013/04/release-offshore-records-draws-worldwide-response

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10875898

www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/mysterious-mail-to-australian-journalist-triggers-global-tax-haven-expose-20130405-2hak3.html#ixzz2PjHCHU1Y

https://integritytalkingpoints.com/2011/10/08/new-zealand-becoming-another-pacific-tax-haven/

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April 7, 2013

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Who benefits from corruptly acquired qualifications?

4 April 2013

Widespread cheating uncovered in schools in Atlanta, Georgia 18 months ago was back in the news last week when 35 teachers were charged with racketeering and corruption.  Their actions are part of what may be the biggest school-cheating scandal in U.S. history.

One of those indicted was a school superintendent who became a national figure in 2009 when he was credited with reversing declining standards in Atlanta’s schools.  He led a dramatic improvement in standard test scores.  However the results were too good to be true.  An investigation uncovered widespread fraud that included teachers and principals changing wrong answers on students’ test papers, “…and an environment where cheating for better test scores was encouraged and whistle blowers were punished…”

The superintendent, no longer admired in the sector, is now liable to 45 years imprisonment. Of nearly 180 others implicated, about 150 are no longer teaching. Twenty-one have been reinstated after disciplinary action.

A variant of education fraud is playing out in Germany.  The Education Minister resigned a month ago after being stripped of a doctorate, apparently gained through plagiarism.  Two years ago the then Defence Minister resigned in the same circumstances.  Plagiarism allegations against other politicians have highlighted dishonest practices in German universities. These include consultants arranging doctoral research and double-dipping professors  being paid on top of their salaries to supervise studies that cut corners and may involve ghost-writers.

Concerns about academic standards have stimulated on-line communities to pursue dishonesty. The outcome of one group’s assessment of dissertations is that 20% of related doctorates have been revoked.  The hope is that there will be “…a restored climate of academic rigour and integrity, openness and transparency.”

www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/us/former-school-chief-in-atlanta-indicted-in-cheating-scandal.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://blog.transparency.org/2013/03/26/but-are-you-a-real-doctor-shortcut-doctorates-in-germany/

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April 4, 2013

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Good cop, bad cop

3 April 2013

The effectiveness of policing can probably best be measured by the extent to which crime is managed and the public has confidence in the Police.  Statistics released yesterday indicate that reported crime figures in New Zealand are the lowest for 24 years.  Some gloss is taken from that with news that a senior officer who falsified evidence to fit the police case in the 1970 Crewe murders, has died.  But in the UMR Mood of the Nation survey published last month, NZ Police were unchanged as the fourth most respected profession (after nurses, doctors and teachers) and NZ Police remains the second most highly rated of government agencies, with the number respondents indicating that it does an ‘excellent or very good job’ being more than double the number that see the Treasury, Corrections, Labour (now part of MBIE), Education, TPK or MSD doing an ‘excellent or very good job’.

Public confidence in a nation’s police will influence perceptions of corruption.  New Zealand with high confidence levels in the police, consistently rates well on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.  An interesting comparison is of Pakistan, ranked 139 (from 176 countries) in the latest CPI, and recent media reports of Waseem Ahmed.  Waseem, a low ranking police officer has been described in the evidence of a Deputy Inspector General of Police as one of the most powerful people in Karachi through his control of hundreds of gambling dens.  In a country where there is pervasive corruption, police are seen as the most crooked part of a crooked bureaucracy.

Waseem from humble origins, joined the police about 20 years ago. He was an efficient “beater”, collecting a cut from illegal activities for more senior officers. He branched out, and was soon earning tens of thousands of dollars each day from gambling dens and extorting money from drug dealers, brothel managers and diesel fuel smugglers.  Cash given to senior officials made him one of the most powerful people in Karachi’s police.  He bought influence and protection.

Few were surprised when numerous police witnesses at a corruption enquiry expressed ignorance about Waseem.  But everyone was surprised when a Deputy Inspector General spoke of Waseem’s illicit activities and his power in the police force. The Deputy Inspector General was told the same day that he would be transferred out of Karachi. The Supreme Court cancelled the transfer order. Waseem was then dismissed,  only to fly to Dubai from where he continues to wield influence.

www.beehive.govt.nz/release/offences-24-year-low-crime-down-third-year-running

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10874822

http://umr.co.nz/sites/umr/files/umr_mood_of_the_nation_2013_online_0.pdf

www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/asia/story/pakistans-underworld-cop-said-be-king-20130330

www.transparency.org/country#PAK

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April 3, 2013

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Centenary of Public Service Act 1912 coming into force

2 April 2013

The centenary yesterday of the most substantive provisions of the Public Service Act 1912 coming into force seems to have gone largely unmarked.  The cause is probably the Easter holiday, not any association with April Fool’s Day.  The New Zealand chapter of Transparency International recognised the occasion with a reminder to New Zealanders that good governance cannot be assured and used the anniversary to anticipate the findings of a review of the National Integrity System.  A media statement records a number of improvements since the initial NIS was undertaken in 2003, but foreshadows inevitable criticism when the report is made available, that more can, and should, be done.

The TINZ media statement was widely distributed but only scoop.co.nz  seems to have considered it newsworthy.  But then the State Services Commission, as the successor to the Public Service Commission doesn’t appear to have marked the centennial of the first Commissioner’s powers taking effect either.  An account of the Public Service Commission, begun on the anniversary of the enactment of the Public Service Act last November, was to have been progressively enlarged on the SSC website http://www.ssc.govt.nz/ps-centenary but it too seems to have faded from focus.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1304/S00005/no-complacency-for-corruption.htm

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April 2, 2013

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Serving Ministers the way they want

2 April 2013

Last week the Institute of Government (UK) published an interesting proposal to enhance official support for Ministers.  The suggestion is that the Australian model should be adopted at Westminster – appointing a private office incorporating both political and departmental ministerial staff, and led by a chief of staff. The Institute had reviewed practices in a range of jurisdictions before concluding that the Australia model was best to replicate.  There was no reference to New Zealand (possibly because both private secretaries and ministerial advisers are departmental employees and the chief of staff, in the main, is a political function in the Prime Minister’s office.)

“Supporting Ministers to lead: Rethinking the ministerial private office” proposes strengthening private offices, as the “life support machine” for Ministers. A chief of staff would help Ministers track policy implementation, speak on their behalf to their department and run the expanded Minister’s office.

The paper addresses Ministers’ concerns that they don’t have the resources to achieve what they want.  Ministers have called for more politically aligned support to work on their priorities and to ensure the department is clear about their expectations, and what the department must do to deliver on them.

The Institute’s recommendation is for Ministers to have “a clear and transparent right” to have appointed a small number of expert advisers outside of ordinary civil service recruitment processes and a chief of staff to lead them.

These expert advisers wouldn’t have to come from the civil service but they would be different from special advisers (SPADs who are directly appointed by Ministers). They would be experts in their policy field or in management, with accountability as civil servants and to their Minister. They would go through the civil service  assessment/merit based selection process but be jointly appointed by the Minister and the departmental head.

The chief of staff should be line managed by the departmental head. Their effectiveness will depend on having the trust of the departmental head, and the ability to speak convincingly on their Minister’s behalf with others.  The Institute recommends that the Minister has a significant involvement in the selection process, recognising the political aspects of the post that must be effectively managed. The outcome will be a larger ministerial office than at present, with seconded departmental employees serving as private secretaries, ministerial appointees serving as ministerial advisers ( SPADs) and appointed by the Minister, and private office advisers, appointed by the Department in consultation with the Minister.\

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/news/latest/chief-staff-and-experts-needed-help-ministers-says-institute

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April 2, 2013

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NZ and Scandinavians remain at top of Democracy Index

30 March 2013

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index suggests that there has been little change over the last 12 months in levels of democracy worldwide.  The latest assessment of 165 states and two territories grades them into full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.  New Zealand again this year, ranks alongside the Scandinavians as the best of the full democracies. It follows Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark when measured on its electoral process, civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.

Although half of the world lives under a democracy of some form, only 15% of countries enjoy full democracy.

A number of long established democracies are experiencing political infighting, declining participation, and increased national security measures that constrain civil liberties – for example the United States (21st) ranks below Uruguay, Mauritius, and South Korea – while austerity measures in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland have affected the health of their democracy.

The top 25 in the 2013 Democracy Index are:

1              Norway

2              Sweden

3              Iceland

4              Denmark

5              New Zealand

6              Australia

7              Switzerland

8              Canada

9              Finland

10           Netherlands

11           Luxembourg

12           Austria

13           Ireland

14           Germany

15           Malta

16           United Kingdom

17           Czech Republic

18=         Uruguay =

18=         Mauritius

20           South Korea

21           United States

22           Costa Rica

23           Japan

24           Belgium

25           Spain

http://www.eiu.com/Handlers/WhitepaperHandler.ashx?fi=Democracy-Index-2012.pdf&mode=wp&campaignid=DemocracyIndex12

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

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March 30, 2013

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New Zealand steady on Human Development Index

29 March 2013

Human Development Report collated annually by the UNDP and this year measuring progress in 186 countries and territories, indicates that New Zealand remains among the World’s most fortunate nations.

Titled the Rise of the South, the report identifies more than 40 developing countries that have done better than expected in human development in recent decades.  Unsurprisingly the OECD countries dominate the measures.  New Zealand is ranked sixth, unchanged from 2012.  About half the countries involved moved up or down one placing, a few moved two places.  The only dramatic change was a 23 place improvement by Libya.

Big economies like Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey have made rapid advances, but smaller economies, such as Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, Mauritius, Rwanda and Tunisia also report substantial progress.  UNDP recommends enhancing equity, enabling greater voice and participation of citizens, confronting environmental pressures, and managing demographic change as the best ways to sustain HDI momentum.

The report predicts that by 2020, the combined economic output of Brazil, China and India will surpass the aggregate of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.

2013 HDI rankings

1              Norway

2              Australia

3              United States

4              Netherlands

5              Germany

6              New Zealand

7=           Ireland

7=           Sweden

9              Switzerland

10           Japan

11           Canada

12           South Korea

13           Hong Kong

14           Iceland

15           Denmark

16           Israel

17           Belgium

18=         Austria

18=         Singapore

20           France

21           Finland (about which educationists said much in 2012)

A concern is that the Pacific states rank poorly

95           Tonga

96=         Fiji

96=         Samoa

121         Kiribati

124         Vanuatu

143         Solomon islands

134         Timor Leste

156         Papua New Guinea

Bhutan at 154th doesn’t seem to benefit from its Gross National Happiness focus.

Tuvalu and Nauru are among the eight countries for which there are no measures  (and there is no reference to the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau).

http://hdr.undp.org/en/mediacentre/humandevelopmentreportpresskits/2013report/

http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/gii/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts

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March 29, 2013

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Satisfaction with public services slips in latest Kiwis’ Count survey

28 March 2013

Kiwis’ Count results for the December 2012 quarter were published yesterday. Customer satisfaction with government services which had shown an improvement with successive surveys has now hit a speed bump. The overall quality of service delivery in the 42 measured services slipped to 72 from a rating of 74 in the September quarter.  What seems to surprise the report writer is that there are no significant improvements in any service, but that three services declined significantly.

On the basis that previous surveys produced sound statistics, the consistent downturn in measures in the latest quarter indicates that there is a change in the perception of how agencies go about their work. Have New Zealanders become less satisfied over the last three months with the way things are done? The explanation may be that the latest results are a “seasonal variation” or that the previous measures were an anomaly – creating a blip in what is a less dramatic, but nevertheless upwards trend.

Interestingly, the Auditor General who this week published her Office’s draft statement of intent, proposes to continue using the Kiwis’ Count data to indicate whether OAG achieves its outcomes.  A measure is that the Kiwis’ Count survey shows improved ( or at least maintained ) rates of public trust with the public service and the public’s most recent experience of public services.  This latter element will obviously not be met.

The Auditor General will be hoping that the Worldwide Governance Indicators when next published in September 2013, and the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index due again in late 2013, repeat the ratings of previous years as these also are indicators specified in the OAG draft statement of intent.  Other measures relate to the State Services Integrity and Conduct Survey findings on the extent to which there is an increase in numbers of state servants reporting that their agency promotes standards of integrity, and the numbers indicating that they have reported any misconduct that they saw in the previous year.  But with no announcement yet about an integrity survey, it looks as if the OAG will be short on data to verify that New Zealand has a trusted public sector.

The Auditor General may have been unaware that the State Services Commission statement of intent published in 2012 did not indicate that there would be a survey in this year.  Perhaps the absence of any significant movement between the 2007 and the 2010 surveys suggested that there was little cost benefit in maintaining the survey series.  That seems to have been the motivation behind ending use of Gallup employment engagement surveys as a measure of staff commitment.  A comparison of survey results from participating parts of the State Services in 2008 /2009 was less than heartening.

http://ssc.govt.nz/sites/all/files/kiwis-count-quarterly-update-dec2012.pdf

http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/worldwide-governance-indicators

www.ssc.govt.nz/soi2012

www.ssc.govt.nz/node/8668

www.ssc.govt.nz/sites/all/files/employee-engagement-participating-agencies-2008-09.pdf

http://oag.govt.nz/2013/draft-soi/docs/draft-soi-2013-16.pdf/view

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March 28, 2013

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