Building policy capability to support effective decision making in the Pacific

The Public Service Fale supported by the?Australia New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)?are delivering a policy capability programme to the Fale’s 16 Pacific Public Service Commission members. The purpose of the programme is to support effective decision making across the Pacific region – covering the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.?

The programme is based on a?series of interactive webinars and workshops, co-facilitated by Tania Ott, Deputy Commissioner, Public Service Fale at the NZ Public Service Commission and ANZSOG’s Executive Director for Aotearoa,?Sally Washington. Sally?previously established and led the Policy Project in New Zealand's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.?

The Fale’s policy programme offers Pacific Public Service Commissions advice and information to assess and build local policy capability.?Momentum and participation in the Fale's policy programme has been immediate. The programme recently kicked off with two webinars:?"Aotearoa’s Policy Project: Improving the quality of policy advice across government" is a case study?which?tells the story behind the NZ Policy Project, its foundation frameworks and tools, and how they were co-designed with public servants and launched by the then NZ Prime Minister.??

The second webinar,?"Building policy capability – an infrastructure approach" – describes?the key dimensions of policy capability, in particular that capability goes beyond people and skills. It includes leadership, policy quality systems, and the need for engagement with people likely to be affected by decisions. Together, the components form a systemic approach to supporting good policy advice and the capability to produce it.

The Public Service Fale policy programme is now offering a series of interactive workshops. The first,?"Working with Ministers"?is designed to encourage senior Pacific public servants to share their experiences in?establishing trusted, constructive relationships with Ministers. The workshop provides a structured approach (see the "Minister-department relationships – key components framework" below) to advising and interacting with Ministers and their offices, and for discussing these issues within teams, organisations and across other departments. New Zealand's Minister for Pacific Peoples, Hon Aupito William Sio appears via video recording noting: "My advice to public servants, is to be open, be free and be frank, but also they’ve got to be really clear on whether they understand the direction of the government and what the Minister wants”.?

In September the?next policy workshop?will look at Policy Skills and in November, a workshop will review and test a "Framework and tools for developing quality policy advice". The "Policy Skills" workshop will articulate the key skills for delivering good policy advice, and look at how to build these in teams, organisations, Public Service Commissions, and across Public Services. The Policy Framework workshop will set out a process for developing policy advice, with a repeatable, scalable model for approaching a policy challenge. The framework can serve as a guide to policy development and to support policy professionals in their day-to-day work. Pacific Public Service Commissions will be able to adapt the framework and tools to their own contexts and jurisdictions.

Senior Pacific Public Servants have found the programme to date practical and relevant. Niue Public Service Commissioner Victoria Kalauni said the Public Service Fale policy series is informing work currently under way at the Niue Public Service Commission to develop guidelines and rules to reinforce good policy practice. Another participant referred to the value of the policy workshops, saying “I loved hearing about everyone’s experience and answers to the exercises and I loved the slide packs for the workshop. I enjoyed the information shared by Sally and how she and the Fale built on everyone’s shared experience.”

Pacific public servants can access the previous webinars and workshop at Fale online. They are invited to register and participate in future workshops in the series here. Check these out when you can!?

The Public Service Fale is a Pacific led initiative housed within Te Kawa Mataaho | NZ Public Service Commission,?to broker practical advice, and facilitate relationship building and knowledge exchange between Pacific countries to strengthen public service delivery for Pacific citizens. The Public Service Fale is funded through the New Zealand MFAT Development Programme.