Use the Development Pathways Tool

The Development Pathways Tool can help you identify how to develop your skills (or your team’s skills) to the next level of policy practice.

Get started by selecting the skill you wish to develop and by selecting the development level you want to achieve.

The Development Pathways Tool takes each element of knowledge, applied skills and behaviours required to become a policy professional (as described in the Policy Skills Framework)

We found 3 result(s). Results are available in HTML and as individual PDF versions below.

Engage and Sustain Relationships

Level:

Developing

Developing
Uses early, inclusive and genuine engagement during policy making that builds sustainable relationships.
- Learns how and who to engage with during the policy development process.
- Is sensitive to other frames of reference, and learns how to gain diverse insights about problems and potential solutions.
- Builds collaborative relationships with counterparts within and across agencies to facilitate working together.
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).
PDF version

Engage and Sustain Relationships skill: Developing level – Development Pathways Tool

pdf

390.39 KB
Engage and Sustain Relationships

Level:

Practising

Practising
Uses early, inclusive and genuine engagement during policy making that builds sustainable relationships.
- Builds and uses collaborative networks. Engages with openness and respect for diversity of views, and strives to build consensus.
- Can design communication and engagement processes to support joint objectives.
- Understands and uses citizen-centric approaches to identify and develop collectively agreed solutions.
70% on-the-job learning
- Complete stakeholder maps for projects to identify which government agencies and stakeholders have an interest, the nature of that interest, and their likely level of influence.
- Apply your knowledge of the IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum by the International Association for Public Participation to identify which approaches to public participation and which related engagement tools are most appropriate for the projects you’re involved in.
- Develop your knowledge and experience in the different types of methods for engaging with stakeholders (e.g. consultation documents, meetings, co-design partnerships).
- Invest time in developing good networks and relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Enable effective collaboration with stakeholders by identifying mutual interests in policy projects you are working on.
- Apply the six community engagement resources in the Policy Methods Toolbox when designing community engagement on a policy project.
- Apply guidance on collaboration and engagement with local government – see Guide for central government engagement with local government.
- Learn about participatory approaches to design, develop, test and implement projects that involve users directly.
- Apply the Māori Crown Relations Engagement Framework and Guidelines.
- Apply tools that will help you engage with diverse groups and communities (e.g. Ministry for Pacific People’s Pacific Policy Analysis Tool Kapasa,Ministry of Social Development’s Child Impact Assessment Tool).
- Independently scope and plan an engagement strategy with the public or specific stakeholder groups that articulates who to engage with and why, the related goals, and decision rights.
- Develop discussion documents and other forms of engagement material within your agency’s established frameworks and processes.
- Organise engagement meetings, so their objectives are appropriately communicated, they are well managed, and desired outcomes are achieved.
- Ensure the appropriate tikanga is observed in preparing for, hosting, and attending meetings with iwi and Māori groups.
- Be able to open and close meetings appropriately, introduce yourself and others in te reo Māori, pronounce Māori words correctly and perform karakia and waiata when appropriate.
- Predict how different stakeholders may behave and respond to policy positions and proposals.
- Learn to discuss your subject matter in a way that creates an open and empathetic discussion.
- Develop a narrative and message that all stakeholders involved in the project share and jointly own.
- Work across boundaries to identify new contacts and partners in the public sector.
- Review guidance for running online engagement processes – see the Engagement page by digital.govt.nz.
- Regularly refer back to the identified user needs and assess your work to see if needs are being met.
- Ensure sufficient time is devoted to conducting user research.
- Participate in user research and testing, interviews and workshops.
- Use a variety of methods to record and display the results of user research (images, written notes from users, videos).
- Review the Māori Crown Relations Individual Capability framework competencies on Engagement with Māori and make a plan for developing your engagement skills.
20% learning from others
- Outline your proposed public and/or stakeholder engagement approaches to colleagues, and seek suggestions on how to approach difficult situations.
- Seek feedback or coaching from colleagues on your conduct at stakeholder or public meetings and your communication style with stakeholders.
- With your manager, attend meetings where the discussions with stakeholders are challenging, and debrief afterwards on how they handled this.
- Pursue opportunities to network across the sector, including attending conferences and other events run by stakeholder groups in your sector.
- Talk with your manager about opportunities to be involved in participatory approaches to design, develop, test and implement projects that involve consumers directly.
10% formal learning
- Take a stakeholder engagement course. For example:
  - Extend Your Influence by Hartwick Associates
  - Public sector: Engaging Effectively With Your Stakeholders by Wellington Uni Professional
  - Public sector: Collaborating and Influencing Key Stakeholders by Sue Hornblow.
- Take training in negotiation skills and conflict resolution, and/or influencing others.
- Take facilitation training.
- Take a course on building collaborative networks, inclusive community engagement design, or approaches to engaging to develop collectively agreed solutions (e.g. Engagement Design and Conflict in Engagement by International Association for Public Participation).
- Take tikanga and te reo Māori training.
- Take the Ministry for Ethnic Communities’ Intercultural Capability E-learning modules on communicating with people from different backgrounds.
PDF version

Engage and Sustain Relationships skill: Practising level – Development Pathways Tool

pdf

338.34 KB
Engage and Sustain Relationships

Level:

Expert / leading

Expert / leading
Uses early, inclusive and genuine engagement during policy making that builds sustainable relationships.
- Builds and draws on relationship capital.
- Determines what needs to be managed across agencies or the system and can skilfully design the process.
- Encourages and enables a customer-centric ethos – reflecting the diverse needs and views of current and future New Zealanders.
70% on-the-job learning
- Work collaboratively with stakeholders across your agency, across government and externally.
- Lead and guide others in developing engagement strategies and consultation and other engagement documents.
- Draw on your experience in the Māori Crown Relations Engagement Framework and Guidelines, when advising other colleagues.
- Apply guidance on collaboration and engagement with local government – see Guide for central government engagement with local government.
- Lead a policy team to apply the Community Engagement Design Tool in the Policy Methods Toolbox when designing a community engagement approach on a policy project you’re working on.
- Apply expert knowledge of issues when communicating with knowledge leaders and stakeholders.
- Maintain the confidence of policy leaders by updating them on stakeholder issues management, recommendations and next steps.
- Predict and manage complex relationships. Maintain engagement and involvement of key influencers in key policy projects you are leading.
- Use your existing stakeholder networks to find new partnerships – who do your stakeholders work with that you don’t?
- Engage with new partners, identifying to them the benefits of working with you.
- Use participatory approaches to design, develop, test and implement policy projects that involve affected parties, users and other members of the public directly.
- Use a range of research methods to obtain insights about people affected by policy issues and initiatives (questionnaires, in-depth interviews, workshops, ethnographic observation).
- Regularly test, revalidate, and identify new citizen needs throughout the development and delivery of advice.
- Ensure that appropriate tikanga for engagements is followed, and identify when additional cultural support is required.
- Arrange a short secondment to a key stakeholder agency.
- Make sure your meetings are accessible to all people.
20% learning from others
- Work with specialists in user experience to develop engagement processes that are human-centred.
- Discuss with others their experience with approaches to engagement with Māori. What worked well, what could have been done better, and what were the outcomes?
- Contact the Te Arawhiti – The Office for Māori Crown Relations to discuss your proposed approach to engagement.
- Contact other agencies that can provide assistance with engagement with specific groups (e.g. the Ministry of Disabled People on engagement with disabled people).
10% formal learning
- Pursue advanced facilitation, building coalitions, conflict management and resolution training.
- Take a course on building collaborative networks, inclusive community engagement design, or approaches to engaging to develop collectively agreed solutions (e.g. Engagement Evaluation and Engaging with Influence by International Association for Public Participation).
- Take a Māori Crown Relations engagement course (e.g. Masterclass Engagement Training by Te Arawhiti).
- Take a course in negotiating and influencing skills.
- Take a relationship management course (e.g. Relationship management by Communicate).
PDF version

Engage and Sustain Relationships skill: Leading level – Development Pathways Tool

pdf

331.69 KB

What policy topics are you interested in?

Engage and Sustain Relationships

70% on-the-job learning

20% learning from others

10% formal learning

PDF version

Engage and Sustain Relationships

70% on-the-job learning

20% learning from others

10% formal learning

PDF version

Engage and Sustain Relationships

70% on-the-job learning

20% learning from others

10% formal learning

PDF version

Help us improve DPMC