the department of internal affairs Statement Of Intent 2010–13

Strong, sustainable communities/hapū/iwi

 

What we seek to achieve

Strong, sustainable communities, hapū and iwi are resilient, can meet future challenges, and are an important building block for achieving positive social, economic, cultural and environmental outcomes. They collectively maintain and develop skills, resources and shared vision, and are able to achieve shared goals that benefit all members.

The three intermediate outcomes that support strong, sustainable communities, hapū and iwi are:

• People engage with and participate in their communities
• Communities are empowered to be able to help themselves
• Communities are supported by fair and responsive local government and other organisations.

Specifically, we seek to achieve the following:

• People are able to participate in their communities and community governance and decision making, and experience the benefits of belonging to a community.
• Communities have strong vision and leadership, and access to the information and resources they require. They are supported by effective community organisations, and effective local governance, decision making and engagement.
• Communities recognise and actively utilise the benefits of diversity, and are able to contribute to economic prosperity.

What we will do to achieve this

The Department’s key contributions to achieving this outcome are outlined below.

Provide advice and information on the system of local government

We will undertake significant work to contribute to simplified, more streamlined, and better informed local government processes. This will improve local government transparency, accountability and financial management, which has the potential to improve economic performance and result in better regional planning and local investment decisions.

This includes undertaking a review of the local government structures outside of Auckland, supporting the legislative process to improve local government decision-making, planning and consultation mechanisms, implementing changes arising from the legislative process, and working with the Auckland Council to implement the Intercultural Awareness and Communication programme as part of the Auckland Regional Settlement Strategy. The review of local government structures outside of Auckland is expected to take two to three years and will focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of local government structures outside of Auckland, applying any relevant lessons from the Auckland governance reforms.

We will continue to contribute to Auckland governance reforms by advising Ministers on transition and implementation policy implications, by monitoring the transitional arrangements relating to the reform programme, by evaluating the effectiveness of the reforms, by supporting the passage of the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill and by establishing the Ethnic Advisory Panel.

Provide communities with enhanced services and access to resources

We provide support services for grant-funding bodies, committees and trust boards that distribute resources into communities, and we administer a range of grant schemes that invest funds into communities. We will place particular emphasis on ensuring that grant applicants receive responsive services, through a new grants management system, and are supported to fund their communities, hapū and iwi to achieve outcomes. We will also continue our review of the Charities Act and Regulations to improve the legislation governing the Charities Commission and Charities Register.

We will seek to ensure that the proceeds from gambling are applied appropriately for the benefit of the community, while looking to reduce gambling-related harm and criminal activity. The Department’s services will also enhance community connections through building digital literacy and capability.

Whānau Ora is a new approach to the way the Government funds and coordinates social service contracts in many communities. We will actively support the implementation of Whānau Ora in conjunction with the lead agencies, Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Social Development, and the Ministry of Health.

Provide information and advice on community development

We will continue to provide information (including about local elections) and advisory services to enable communities to develop leadership and establish partnerships, and to enable individuals and community groups to participate in their communities. We will raise ethnic communities’ awareness about legislative, government and local government systems and processes. And we will manage civic information, such as birth registrations and citizenship records, in ways that encourage cooperation and collaboration as well as supporting people to participate fully in their communities.

We provide support for volunteering, funding for capacity building and access to resources, and will continue to promote and support volunteering through our community advisory services and grant schemes. We will also adopt a wider expression of volunteering by incorporating mahi aroha, which describes the voluntary work performed out of duty and caring for others.

Our Te Whakamotuhaketanga Hapū Strategy sets out the way we will work alongside Whānau, hapū and iwi. This strategy is an example of the way we integrate te reo, tikanga and kaupapa into our systems, structures and processes.

Build strong connections

In order to implement strategies and programmes to grow New Zealand’s export, tourism and education markets, we will build strong connections and reciprocal support between ethnic community businesses, economic development agencies, and the private sector.

This will include making ethnic communities aware of New Zealand’s offshore trade strategy and the availability of government support. We will use effective platforms such as business forums and trade expos, and build on existing Free Trade Agreements by leveraging the cultural skills and transnational contacts of ethnic businesses. For example, we will hold ethnic community business forums in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin throughout 2010/11, with a particular focus on the implications of Free Trade Agreements.

Our outputs and activities

In addition to the above contributions, we will continue to deliver the following services:

• Design and delivery of community development advisory and support services
• Information, advice and other expertise to individuals, community groups, local authorities and central government
• Evaluating and reporting on the Department’s community and local government activities
• Facilitation of strong and productive intercultural connections across diverse communities
• Administration of local government legislation, community grants, local government grants and rates rebates, and other resources
• Policy advice.

The services are funded through the following outputs:

Vote	Outputs
Community and Voluntary Sector	Administration of applications and grants Community advisory services Community policy advice
Local Government	Local Government Commission advice and support Local government policy advice Local government services
Internal Affairs	Contestable services (translations) Internal Affairs policy advice Advisory and information services for ethnic communities
Racing	Racing policy advice

Further detail of the Department’s outputs can be found in the Information Supporting the Estimates for 2010/11.

How we will measure success

The main measures and standards to assess our progress towards achieving the impacts and outcomes are identified below. The impact measures seek to describe the intended effect of our specific activities. The outcome measures describe what we seek to achieve at a high level. The standards described for the outcomes are intended as a general guide and cannot be solely attributable to the Department’s work. The results are subject to a wide range of influences and will be carefully analysed to inform decision making on our future interventions.

Outcome measure	Context and desired standard
Percentage of people who feel a sense of community with others in their local neighbourhood: overall ethnic[1] people	Overall: 2006: 59% 2008: 58.4% Ethnic people: 2008: 53% Strong, sustainable communities provide opportunities for participation and belonging, thereby helping to develop a sense of community. This measure will provide a proxy for us to assess our overall progress towards the desired outcome: Strong, sustainable communities. Over the medium to long term, we will seek to maintain or improve on the latest results identified above. Source: Quality of Life Survey
Percentage of people who rarely or never feel lonely or isolated: overall ethnic people	Overall: 2006: 82% 2008: 83.4% Ethnic people: 2008: 75.9% Our work to increase participation and engagement within the community helps people feel more connected. This measure will provide a proxy for us to assess our overall progress towards the desired outcome: Strong, sustainable communities. Over the medium to long term, we will seek to maintain or improve on the latest results identified above. Source: Quality of Life Survey
Percentage of people who believe/perceive the public has an influence on council: overall ethnic people	Overall: 2006: 90% 2008: 90.7% Ethnic people: 2008: 66.5% We seek to ensure that communities are supported by fair and responsive local government. If people believe they can influence council decision making, they may be more inclined to participate. It also provides an indication of progress towards our intermediate outcome of communities being supported by fair and responsive local government. Over the medium to long term, we will seek to maintain or improve on the previous years’ results identified above. Source: Quality of Life Survey
Percentage of people who have confidence that their council makes decisions in the best interests of their city or district: overall ethnic people	Overall: 2006: 45% 2008: 46.7% Ethnic people: 2008: 53.3% This measure indicates confidence in local leadership and that the system of local government is supporting communities. It also provides an indication of progress towards our intermediate outcome of communities being supported by fair and responsive local government. Over the medium to long term, we will seek to maintain or improve on the latest results identified above. Source: Quality of Life Survey

Impact measure	Context and desired standard
Percentage of people aged 10 or over who volunteered in the previous 12 months: overall Asian all other ethnicities	Overall: 2007: 33.8% Asian: 2007: 28.5% All other ethnicities: 2007: 31.6% An important part of the Department’s work is to support volunteering. The measure provides a proxy for the impact of our work in that area, indicating that people are participating in their communities through volunteering. Over the medium to long term, we will seek to maintain or improve on the previous years’ results identified above. Source: Nielsen Media Research Panorama Jan–Dec 2007, reported in the Office of the Community and Voluntary Sector’s ‘How do New Zealanders give?’ and ‘Income and Ethnicity supplement’
Percentage of people who agree greater cultural diversity makes New Zealand a better place to live	2009: 52.4% This measure provides an indication that understanding and appreciation of diversity is growing and reflects our work to develop stronger, more positive connections across diverse communities. Over the medium to long term, we will seek to maintain or improve on the last available results identified above. Source: Quality of Life Survey
Percentage of grant recipients receiving over $10,000 who have achieved the funding objective in their accountability report	This is a new measure. Funding committees make grants to applicants who they believe will work effectively for their communities. If grant recipients meet their funding objectives, this indicates that organisations are using this funding for the expected purpose and is a proxy for the effectiveness of grant funding. We seek to achieve an increase in our desired standard, with at least 85% in 2010/11 and 90% from 2011/12 onwards. Source: DIA data

In addition, the Office of Ethnic Affairs is currently working with Immigration New Zealand and Statistics New Zealand to begin measuring the value of the entrepreneurial capability that migrants bring to New Zealand. This measure relates to our desired impact of communities, including ethnic communities, contributing to economic prosperity. A suitable measure is anticipated to be in place by 2011/12 and measured through the Business Operations Survey or other relevant survey. We will also be investigating the feasibility of identifying ethnic entrepreneurs through this survey.

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