Organisational Health

To maximise Te Puni Kōkiri’s contribution to the Government’s desired priorities, it is essential that we continually focus on enhancing our own capability. At the end of 2006, a sustainability review was completed to establish whether Te Puni Kōkiri had the optimum cost structure to efficiently and effectively carry out the tasks asked of us by Government.

The major finding from this review was the endorsement provided for our strategic direction change in February 2004. The re-affirmation of work we have already commenced and the implementation of new effectiveness and efficiency initiatives will place us in a strong position to deliver/contribute to the desired outcomes sought by our stakeholders.

To succeed, our organisation needs strong leadership, a clear sense of direction, and a constant form of communicating the outcomes that are to be achieved. We continually strive for a healthy, vibrant and capable organisation with all the appropriate resources to meet the strategic outcome, fulfil our role and move resolutely towards the purpose of realising Māori potential. Ultimately this will ensure our success.

With this in mind, Te Puni Kōkiri has reviewed its previous internal objectives and activities, to focus on improvement in critical areas as follows:

• Engage effectively to promote and communicate the outcomes for which Te Puni Kōkiri is responsible;
• Capitalise on strong external relationships that enable us to provide quality advice and deliver on our responsibilities in the most effective way;
• Encourage/develop senior managers aspiring in leadership positions;
• Maintain the systems, structures, and processes, including a dynamic investment strategy and policy statement in one central document that enable us to be a performance-based organisation focused on, “best practice”; and
• Employ excellent people who have top quality intellect, commitment, balance individual and team work skills and work with a passion for Māori succeeding as Māori.

Information Management

Having recently completed the information management strategy that supports the work done previously with Knowledge Management, Te Puni Kōkiri has a framework for how information can be captured and shared across the organisation. This includes how information obtained at a regional level can inform policy development, evaluation and research.

People Capability

We focus on developing our people at all levels in our organisation which we fundamentally believe improves stakeholder outcomes and ultimately ensures our success. These two core elements underpin our People Capability Strategy to 2010 – building our people capability, and maintaining a high performing organisation. We are committed to making Te Puni Kōkiri a place where people aspire to work, are able to develop, and can then make a difference.

Performance and Development

Permanent employees have an individual Performance and Development plan which is maintained regularly through conversations with their line manager. This is a formal, structured process co-ordinated centrally to ensure ongoing progression for the individual’s development and that performance is measured consistently against agreed competencies across the organisation. we have an achievement culture which is emphasised at all levels – our high achievers are rewarded through remuneration based on performance.

Graduate Leadership Development Programme

The programme gives graduates a broad introduction to Te Puni Kōkiri and to experience first-hand, the operation of a state sector organisation. In particular they have the opportunity to work alongside people who actively encourage Māori realising their potential. They gain experience through role rotations, support through mentors and training programmes.

Work/Life Balance

The workplace is whānau friendly and we actively encourage whānau involvement in the broader non-work activities that contribute to our corporate culture and environment. we strongly encourage our people to find the work/life balance they desire and are focused on creating an environment supportive of the choices our people make outside of work. Examples include a time-in-lieu policy, commitments to good health, reduced hours/days per week, tangihanga leave, and working remotely.

Recruitment

Firm principles around recruitment and the movement of our people are strongly embedded in Te Puni Kōkiri. All vacancies are advertised internally and then opened to external applications. Around 59% of vacancies were filled by internal candidates last year.

Turnover

The annual staff turnover rate is monitored quarterly and has steadily reduced to 10.75% currently from the estimated baseline figure of 20% twelve months ago.

Government Pay and Employment Equity

In response to the Government’s five-year Pay and Employment Equity Plan of Action, Te Puni Kōkiri will complete a Pay and Employment Equity Review by 30 September 2007 and develop an associated response plan in the second half of 2007/08. The review will ascertain: if women and men have an equitable share of the rewards; that they participate in all areas of Te Puni Kōkiri; and that all are treated with respect and fairness.

Communications

It is Te Puni Kōkiri’s intention to be a more effective communicator and we aim to proactively promote the activities and achievements of Te Puni Kōkiri. The publication Toronga ā-motu – Pānga ā-rohe in March 2007 was successful in telling the stories where Te Puni Kōkiri has contributed to Māori development. Further publications are planned as the internal communications activity within Te Puni Kōkiri is strengthened to deliver the most relevant, timely, and factual information to staff and stakeholders alike.

Building and Evaluation Infrastructure

The key steps in building a strong infrastructure to support the evaluation strategy will be to:

• Increase evaluation capacity – to manage and co-ordinate the evaluation programme, provide evaluation advice and commission and implement high quality evaluative activity;
• Increase evaluation capability – to ensure that people involved in direction setting, planning, implementation and delivery know when and how to promote evaluative activity, how to commission and manage it and how to use results; and
• Develop systems and processes – to ensure that evaluation requirements and tools are built into all aspects of the management cycle and that the results of evaluation activity are communicated in a way that informs decision making.

Developing Systems and Processes

Over the coming next year, we will review our systems and processes to ensure that evaluation requirements and tools are built into all aspects of the management cycle. In particular, the systems and processes used to manage, measure and report on investments will be reviewed to ensure that they:

• enable evidence about success and learnings from investments to be captured; and
• allow results to be analysed and aggregated in a way that they can be fed back to inform the direction setting and planning processes.

Systems and processes will be developed in a way that provides incentives to encourage evaluation and support to execute it well.

As a member of the GOVT3 Programme, Te Puni Kōkiri is committed to work towards the three pillars of sustainability: environmental social and economic.

Initiatives in place include:

• decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfill by promoting actions to reduce, reuse, recycle and composting;
• improving vehicle fleet management to reduce fuel use and CO2 emissions; and
• taking sustainable business practices into account when contracting for services.

Evaluation of the Māori Potential Fund

The purpose of the overall evaluation of the Māori Potential Fund will be to demonstrate the contribution of the fund to Te Puni Kōkiri’s high level outcomes. To be confident that the Māori Potential Fund is operating effectively, we will ensure that:

• investments made through the fund are aligned to real needs;
• investments are well designed and likely to improve outcomes;
• the quantity, quality and coverage of investments align with our intervention logic;
• near-term results and outcomes are improving in the areas anticipated; and
• change has resulted from the investments³.

The overall evaluation of the Māori Potential Fund will be completed by June 2009.

Relationship Management

Te Puni Kōkiri places extreme importance on high quality relationships and information that is necessary to provide the criteria and the strategic business context within which relationships are developed and maintained. An ongoing and now improved Relationship Management Strategy has seen a strengthening of relationships built with key stakeholders, in particular Māori.

The Te Puni Kōkiri network of regional offices and collaboration in their work at the local level is the prime focus of the Relationship Management Strategy. In particular it involves:

• Activating, developing, communicating and realising Māori Potential through key stakeholder relationships;
• Building stronger relationships with whānau; hapü; iwi; Māori organisations; and communities, to enable them to develop sustainable opportunities for themselves;
• Strengthening partnerships between Māori and other key stakeholders;
• Gathering information from the regions to inform Māori development activities and investment in Māori people;
• Using information gathered to inform policy development;
• Facilitating timely involvement for the Government with Māori and increasing that connection; and
• Developing business and operational plans consistent with Māori aspirations and government priorities.

³ State Services Commission et al (2003) Learning from Evaluative Activity – Enhancing Performance through Outcome-focussed Management, prepared by the Steering Group for the Managing for Outcomes Roll-out 2004/05, November 2003 p7