Engage and Sustain Relationships (Developing)

70% on-the-job learning

• Learn about the alternative approaches to engaging with the public in government decision making identified in the IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum by the International Association for Public Participation (i.e. inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower).
• Read guidance on how to carry out good practice community engagement in the Policy Community Engagement Tool.
• Go to the Māori Crown Relations Engagement page, and review their Engagement framework and Engagements guidelines.
• Familiarise yourself with guidance on collaboration and engagement with local government (see Guide for central government engagement with local government).
• Discuss with your colleagues about when and how to engage your agency’s operations, legal, finance, digital and service design, and communications teams in the development of policy, and take opportunities to do so.
• Look for opportunities to participate in projects in which you will interact with unfamiliar stakeholders.
• When attending meetings with stakeholders, think about what you need to do to represent your agency well.
• Learn how to access service user data collected by your agency or other organisations to inform your understanding of problems and potential solutions.
• Avoid duplication by finding out who your agency is engaging with already, and on what.
• Read the Treaty of Waitangi analysis material in the Policy Project’s Policy Methods Toolbox, which includes the Cabinet Office circular Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi Guidance developed by Te Arawhiti – The Office for Māori Crown Relations, on how to apply the terms and concepts of the Treaty of Waitangi to policy development and implementation.
• Read the six community engagement resources in the Policy Method Toolbox to learn about good practice, principles, and values for community engagement. Learn about engagement approaches of other agencies by reading the case studies and Demonstration Project Report which showcase good community engagement practices.
• Learn about other tools that can help you seek diverse stakeholder views. For example:
  • Ministry for Pacific People’s Pacific Policy Analysis Tool Kapasa
  • Disability Toolkit for Policy from the Ministry of Social Development
  • Ministry of Social Development’s Child Impact Assessment Tool
  • Ministry for Women’s gender analysis tool Bringing Gender In.
  • Engagement with children and young people: Best practice guidelines

20% learning from others

• Learn from your team about the key stakeholders (e.g. ministers, select committees, consumers, community groups), their drivers, interest and influence, and engagement preference and style.
• Shadow a senior colleague at meetings with stakeholders, observe how they behave, and debrief them afterwards.
• Accompany a senior colleague to meetings with counterparts in other government agencies and, where possible, make follow-up contact with others at your level in those agencies.
• Think about an external audience your organisation needs to engage with. Ask others about the communication needs and preferences of that audience.
• Identify the tools your agency has for stakeholder engagement and discuss with more experienced colleagues their experience in applying them.
• Ask your colleagues about agencies that may be able to provide advice on how to engage effectively with stakeholders (e.g. the Office for Disability Issues on effective engagement with disabled people).
• Talk with your colleagues about the Crown’s Treaty of Waitangi obligations and agency examples of engagement and collaboration with Māori groups.

10% formal learning

• Take an introductory stakeholder analysis course (e.g. Engaging effectively with your stakeholders by Victoria University of Wellington).
• Take the How Local Government Works course by the Society of Local Government Managers.
• Take tikanga and te reo Māori training.
• Attend Introduction to engaging with Māori workshop on Te Arawhiti’s Engagement Framework and Engagement Guidelines on their Engagement page.
• Take the Ministry for Ethnic Communities’ Intercultural Capability E-learning modules on communicating with people from different backgrounds.
• Take an introductory course in planning engagement and public participation methods (e.g. Engagement Essentials and Engagement Methods by the International Association for Public Participation).