Measuring performance and effectiveness for MÃƒÂ¤ori ... - Te Puni Kokiri

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PART 2 : DEVELOPING AND REPORTING AGAINST MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS FOR MÄORI 8 2.1 A KEY INTRODUCTORY QUESTION: WHY MEASURE AND REPORT PERFORMANCE BY ETHNICITY It cannot be assumed the need to measure and report performance by ethnicity will be intuitively accepted. Much of the domestic academic literature notes that performance measurement by ethnicity can be controversial, especially where Mäori are concerned. The official guidance material is thin on this question, with nothing comprehensive since guidance released by the Controller and Auditor-General in 1998. It is therefore worthwhile to recap some of the main arguments in the literature pertaining to the necessity of measuring performance for Mäori. The importance to New Zealand of Mäori success A number of authors refer to the relatively young age structure of the Mäori population, meaning that Mäori will make up a greater proportion of the potential workforce. Business New Zealand’s Chief Executive has been quoted as saying: “If Mäori and Pasifika don't succeed in the next twenty years; New Zealand will fail as a nation. It's that simple” (Human Rights Commission, 2011a, p.32). This being the case, it would be worth the effort for government agencies to ensure that their services are equally effective for Mäori. The realities of contemporary New Zealand Durie (2005b) suggests that policies, programmes and practices that purport to be “blind” to race and ethnicity mask diversity, compromise best outcomes and foster an assimilatory approach. Elsewhere (2004) he suggests that it is illusory to act as if race and ethnicity do not play a large and increasing part in New Zealand life. The drive for service improvement The government’s Better Public Services reforms emphasise agencies working together towards the efficient achievement of enhanced results. Almost all of the ten “result areas” established by the government relate to social services of which Mäori are significant consumers. This creates further momentum for the public service to develop measurement systems that can: track results; provide information to drive service improvement; and assure taxpayers that government services are as effective as possible for all consumers. Mäori interest in performance measurement Performance information will also be of interest to members of ethnic groups themselves, who might like to know how they faring from government services, and who ought to be part of the conversation about ongoing improvements to those services. Several leading Mäori academics note this type of measurement is very important for Mäori. Rights-based arguments Collecting and analyzing data by ethnicity is supported by the recommendations of several UN Human Rights bodies (Callister, 2007; Human Rights Commission, 2011a, p.9). Mäori academic writers tend to see this approach as a legitimate equity endeavour, consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi. T E P U N I K Ö K I R I M E A S U R I N G P E R F O R M A N C E A N D E F F E C T I V E N E S S F O R M Ä O R I : K E Y T H E M E S F R O M T H E L I T E R A T U R E
2.2 NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL – PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT IS SELECTIVE Academic literature in agreement The international and domestic academic literature is mostly in agreement that there is no one-size-fits-all ‘best practice’ performance measurement and management system. The international academic literature and some domestic academics emphasise that measuring performance is a social activity; it depends upon who wants to know the performance story and for what purposes (Dormer, 2010; Durie and Kingi, 2010; Gill and Russell, 2011). Much of the international academic literature tends to emphasise that “performance information itself is not comprehensive or objective but incomplete and ambiguous. It is subject to selective measurement, presentation and interpretation based on the interests of the actors involved” (Moynihan (2008, p.24) discussed in Gill and Russell (2011, p.8). De Bruijn (2006, p.56) uses the metaphor of floodlighting a statue: “Illuminating the statue from several different perspectives creates a different image each time. Each image is correct but a single perspective always gives a distorted image.” The quest for best practice “This is in marked contrast with the practitioner literature which tends to emphasise ‘best practice’ and the associated notions of the golden thread or one integrated set of performances information” (Gill and Russell, 2011, p.8). Commenting on best practice in the international literature review Gill and Russell (2011, p.8) noted that “Pollitt and Bouckaert, (2003) suggest: What we are dealing with here is best described as a kind of a religion ... a system of belief founded on faith (sourced from OECD, 2009, p.36)”. Official performance measurement requirements and guidance in the New Zealand state sector can be regarded as statements of ‘practitioner best practice’ (see, State Services Commission and Treasury, 2008; The Treasury, 2008; Controller and Auditor- General, 2008, 2009a, 2009b, 2011). However, that guidance is not consistent. See, for example the FABRIC performance measurement principles in State Services Commission and Treasury (2008); revised audit requirements in Controller and Auditor- General (2009a); and Controller and Auditor- General (1998) guidance, discussed below. There is no current or up-to-date comprehensive guidance for measuring the effectiveness of mainstream services or outputs for Mäori within the corpus of technical requirements that agencies are required to use for measuring performance. 2.3 GUIDANCE ON MEASURING FOR MÄORI The most relevant guidance in this area was released by the Controller and Auditor-General in 1998. It advised agencies to: • estimate total service demand trends (is it growing or shrinking), how many customers are repeat users and the characteristics of major customer groups; • identify the proportion of their customer base that is Mäori (by age and gender) in different regions or districts. This information is important for ascertaining coverage measures; 9 D E V E L O P I N G A N D R E P O R T I N G A G A I N S T M E A S U R E S O F E F F E C T I V E N E S S F O R M Ä O R I
Page 1 and 2: MÄTAURANGA KNOWLEDGE Ka möhio, ka
Page 3 and 4: C O N T E N T S 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Page 5 and 6: (Gill and Russell, 2011, p.8). As D
Page 7 and 8: PART 1 : INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSE T
Page 9: Table One - examples of performance
Page 13 and 14: “In brief there is a prima facie
Page 15 and 16: PART 3 : COMPARATIVE MEASURES - GOO
Page 17 and 18: 3.3 CAPTURING VARIATION WITHIN MÄO
Page 19 and 20: quantified in the annual Social rep
Page 21 and 22: Raising performance between sites/o
Page 23 and 24: New Zealand (2002) explains that hi
Page 25 and 26: 4.6 MEASURES FOR MÄORI AS PART OF
Page 27 and 28: PART 5: KEY IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES F
Page 29 and 30: 5.4 THE NEED FOR FORETHOUGHT Much o
Page 31 and 32: GLOSSARY Aspirational goals Expecte
Page 33 and 34: A P P E N D I C E S
Page 35 and 36: The “Mäori Perspective” Report
Page 37 and 38: Illustrative examples of Hua Oranga
Page 39 and 40: Table Six - Measures for employment
Page 41 and 42: Donnell, A., and Social Programme E
Page 43 and 44: Kukutai, T. (2004) ‘The Problem o
Page 45 and 46: State Service Commission (2003a) Pu
Page 48: Te Puni Kökiri, Te Puni Kökiri Ho

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