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Publications ~ Statement of Intent 2003-2006

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

 

DPMC requires a good understanding of the wider trends and influences on New Zealand’s social and economic performance, its culture and heritage, its human and physical capital, and its natural environment.

Influences and Challenges

DPMC’s operating environment has become increasingly complex in recent years. The restructuring of the electoral system, and the move to coalition and minority governments is making policy management and the co-ordination of decision-making processes more challenging. There are now much greater expectations within government – as well as from the general public, stakeholders and political allies – about who is to be consulted and when, and their corresponding input into policy making.

In this environment, an increasingly important role for DPMC is to take account of links with other areas of government policy and to consider the longer-term implications of particular policies. This requires a good understanding of the wider trends and influences on New Zealand’s social and economic performance, its culture and heritage, its human and physical capital, and its natural environment. Some examples include:

• the impact of globalisation – including the increasingly free flow of goods, services, people and ideas; and the associated changes in communications and information technologies
  
  
• the effects of demographic change, as our population becomes older and ethnically more diverse
  
  
• the increasing expectations by individuals that goods and services, including those provided by government, will be customised to their specific needs – with further pressures for immediacy and access emerging from the growth of e-government services
  
  
• the ever-increasing international competition to attract and retain the “best and brightest”
  
  
• the continuing consideration of the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand society
  
  
• the complexities posed by sustainable development in the areas of water, energy, sustainable cities, and child and youth development – particularly as these issues will demand solutions that incorporate economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions
  
  
• the recognition that the continuing availability of high-quality and responsive social services depends on our ability to maximise the sustainable economic potential of New Zealand
  
  
• the opportunities and risks associated with the continuing growth of Auckland, and other regional development issues
  
  
• the development of integrated and effective responses to the needs of people and communities that experience multiple disadvantage
  
  
• the changes in where decision-making rights are located, with some decisions increasingly being taken by supra-national bodies whilst others are devolved to local bodies and communities
  
  
• the implications for New Zealand of developments in international security and politics
  
  
• the increased risk globally of terrorist attacks or threats and their implications for New Zealand’s citizens and interests.
  

DPMC’s Management Challenge

DPMC’s challenge is to ensure that the systems of government serve ministerial decision making as effectively as possible in an environment of increasingly complex problems, greater expectations of stakeholder participation, and higher standards of accountability and openness. Even technology becomes a double-edged sword – information is more readily and rapidly available and with it comes expectations of instant response and decision making.

DPMC’s job is to ensure that the Prime Minister and Cabinet have access at every stage to high-quality and timely information and advice that is based on sound judgement and responsiveness to political realities. This can only be done if systems are well-run, policy advice is based on high-quality research and analysis, and implementation reflects good evaluation and practical experience.