Effective Coordination - State Services Commission

STATE OF THE DEVELOPMENT GOALS REPORT 2007
Theme 4
Identifying factors for successful coordination
As part of its analysis, the SSC has identified the
necessary factors for successful coordination.
These factors can be grouped according to the three
dimensions of mandate, systems and behaviours,
as illustrated in the following diagram:
• Leadership commitment
• Ministers’ and stakeholders’ buy-in
• Defined and agreed joint outcomes
Mandate
Effective
Coordination
Systems
Behaviours
• Appropriate and documented
governance and accountability
frameworks
• Sufficient and appropriate resources
• Established baseline and effective
indicators of progress and success
• Right skills and competencies
• Organisational cultures that support
coordination
• Shared culture, language and values
Mandate
For effective coordination, parties must work towards
clearly defined and agreed joint outcomes; agency
leaders must demonstrate commitment to these
outcomes, reinforce the importance of effective
coordination and prioritise the coordinated activity
within an all-of-government context; and Ministers
and other stakeholders must buy into the joint outcomes
being pursued.
Systems
For effective coordination, appropriate and documented
governance and accountability frameworks must
be in place, with a written agreement – such as a
memorandum of understanding – outlining the roles,
responsibilities and contributions of each agency;
sufficient and appropriate resources must be available
to deliver the required tasks; and effective indicators to
measure the progress and success of the activity from
an established baseline must be agreed, with remedial
action being taken when necessary.
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TRANSFORMING THE STATE SERVICES
Behaviours
For effective coordination, State servants need the
right skills and competencies to work collaboratively;
over time they must come to share common culture,
language and values; and the culture of their respective
organisations must support them to do so.
Moving forward, the SSC will promote and extend
these success factors across the State Services to assist
progress towards the Coordinated State Agencies goal.
Where we are now
There has been progress in both the behaviours
exhibited by State servants and the systems used
to support coordination. Managing for Outcomes
thinking has improved as State agencies engage
with non-traditional partners, building compelling
performance stories and linking coordinated
activities with the shared interest of achieving
government priorities.
While the 2007 milestone has been achieved, more
progress needs to be made in certain areas:
1 Agencies need to articulate their expected
performance consistently. That is, they should
be setting effective performance measures that
demonstrate the links between outputs, impacts and
Priority actions
outcomes. Better articulation will lead to stronger
reporting of actual performance
2 Improvements are needed in engagements with
Ministers so that there is better alignment between
Ministerial priorities and agency shared interests
3 There needs to be more focus on those capability
aspects that support coordination.
Central agencies will continue to support State
agencies to improve their focus on, and alignment
with, Ministerial priorities and to provide information
demonstrating tangible results for New Zealanders.
Significant advances are expected closer to the 2010
milestone.
COORDINATED
To achieve this goal and the 2010 milestone, agencies need to ensure:
They improve the articulation of performance for coordinated activities, by
developing appropriate performance measures and monitoring performance
Their coordinated activity provides effectiveness and efficiency gains in
achieving shared results
They focus on developing skills and capabilities that support coordination
They effectively engage with Ministers to understand Government priorities,
and work with other agencies where there is a shared interest in achieving
those priorities
They contribute to creating an all-of-government culture through progressing
the Development Goals for the State Services.
PART 1: GOAL PROGRESS REPORTS 39