Statement of Intent 2005 - How We Work for Social Development
- We lead social development across government.
- We deliver social protection and social investment initiatives to improve the wellbeing of all New Zealanders throughout their lives.
- We work with and support families and communities so they contribute to better social outcomes for all New Zealanders.
Social development is a process of co-ordinated social change that promotes the wellbeing of the population as a whole and of disadvantaged groups within it. It aims to improve wellbeing across a range of areas such as social assistance, health, education, employment, and safety.
Social development recognises that all these areas are closely related; that social and economic development must reinforce each other, as one cannot happen at the expense of the other; that wellbeing is equally important at individual, family, and community levels; and that wellbeing is a lifelong process, where what happens early in life can strongly influence outcomes later in life.
Guided by these principles, we take an holistic and integrated approach to social development – what is sometimes called the ‘whole-of-life’ and ‘whole-of-government’ approach. We work at a strategic and operational level with other social sector agencies, ensuring that policies and services are complementary, and delivering joint services to clients with multiple needs. Our approach supports the State Services development goal of ensuring the total contribution of government agencies is greater than the sum of its parts - in other words working collaboratively with other departments to provide integrated advice and services.
Social protection and social investment
The two key elements of social development are social protection and social investment. Social protection provides a safety net for people facing difficulties - income support, child protection services, and housing assistance are all examples. Social investment provides the foundation for positive outcomes in the future - for example, investment in combating educational under-achievement will have long-term payoffs for individuals and for society.
While former welfare policies have focused mainly on social protection, our social development approach places more emphasis on social investment. We need to maintain an adequate ‘safety net’ for all New Zealanders, while also investing in sustainable, longer-term social outcomes.
Social development for disadvantaged groups
Our outcomes describe what we want to achieve for children and young people, working age and older people, families, and communities. We recognise that some groups in New Zealand society, such as Maori, Pacific peoples, migrants, people with disabilities, and families with low incomes, are more likely to experience disadvantage and have fewer opportunities. We also recognise that each of these groups is different and that they each have their own strengths. We reflect and recognise the importance of the social protection (safety net) and social investment (sustainable improvements) aspects of social development in the work that we do.
Our aim is to improve the overall wellbeing of New Zealanders. One way in which we do this is to reduce the inequalities experienced by disadvantaged groups. To be successful our work in reducing inequalities must focus on achieving sustainable improvements.
Reducing inequalities is an essential part of improving the overall wellbeing of New Zealanders, and is therefore an integral part of our work.
The Government’s Working for Families package is an example of the work we lead to improve outcomes for disadvantaged groups. Working for Families aims to support low-and middle-income working families by making it easier to work and raise a family. The package is being implemented in stages, with the last changes happening in April 2007. Promoting and implementing the changes will be a significant project for the Ministry.
