Leading social development
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Social development promotes the wellbeing of the population as a whole, across a range of areas such as social assistance, health, education, employment and safety. To be sustainable, social and economic development must go hand in hand. It is about helping people in need to be self-reliant. The Ministry of Social Development promotes co-ordinated interagency approaches to address complex and entrenched social problems. We invest in initiatives that will generate benefits for New Zealanders both today and tomorrow.
Our strategic aim
To lead social development on behalf of the Government to:
- achieve and sustain improvements in the social wellbeing of all New Zealanders
- reduce disadvantage and achieve equality of opportunity for all New Zealanders.
Context
Our social development approach involves proactively investing in initiatives that will generate benefits for New Zealanders both today and tomorrow. This is vital if New Zealand is to achieve sustainable social benefits over time. Poor outcomes experienced early in life can have long-term consequences, for individuals, for families, for communities and for the country as a whole.
To build sustainable outcomes we have to make decisions based on robust knowledge of what works. We must also balance the needs of present and future generations, given what we know of our changing population and of changes in technology, the environment and other factors.
Social development is interconnected with economic development. We need economic growth to provide the resources to invest in achieving and sustaining good social outcomes. But it is also clear that good health, good education, social cohesion and less crime are vital for sustainable economic performance. Sustainable wellbeing depends on achieving the best possible alignment between social and economic development.
What we do
In our role to lead social development we will:
- monitor social wellbeing and improve the evidence base
- provide advice on social policy issues and co-ordinate development across government
- lead co-ordinated action to address critical social issues
- facilitate collaboration for social development at regional and local levels.
The following diagram sets out what we will do to achieve our strategic aim.
How the Ministry is leading social development
| What we are trying to achieve | How we do it |
|---|---|
| Co-ordinated policy development across the social sector, including the alignment of social outcomes |
We do this by:
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A well-developed evidence base that leads to:
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We do this by:
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| Cross-sectoral policy issues to have sound analysis and policy advice |
We do this by:
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Social sector service delivery agencies collaborating at the regional and local level |
We do this by:
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| The impacts of social, economic and cultural change, and social wellbeing monitored and understood | We do this by regular analysis and reporting of social wellbeing and contributing factors. |
Over the next three years…
We will monitor social wellbeing and improve the evidence base
To achieve effective social development we need to understand social issues in all their complexity. We need robust and reliable information from which we can develop high quality advice and innovative, flexible solutions. We are committed to building our policies on the evidence of what actually works.
A vital first step is to improve cross-sectoral knowledge of how well New Zealand is currently doing across a range of indicators of social wellbeing. These include health, knowledge and skills, paid work, economic standard of living, civil and political rights, cultural identity, leisure and recreation, safety, physical environment and social connectedness.
The Social Report provides an annual update on the state of social wellbeing. Each year it identifies how New Zealand is changing over time, where we are performing well or poorly and where we need to focus our future efforts. The report has grown in sophistication to meet the needs of a wide variety of user agencies. For the last two years we have produced regional and local reports. These have been greeted enthusiastically by local government and regionally based community and voluntary sector organisations. Further improvements to these reports will assist councils and other regional groups to monitor the impacts of their work and ensure an ever widening span of organisations is well informed.
Measuring changes to the living standards of New Zealanders is another focus of our ongoing work in monitoring social wellbeing. We published our second Living Standards Report in 2006. This information on the relative wellbeing of different groups in our society has proved valuable for a wide range of policy projects and, in particular, for assessing the impacts of policies such as Working for Families.
Over the next three years we will be initiating a new longitudinal study of children and families. Longitudinal studies that track key issues through the lifetime of a sample group are a rich source of information on the factors influencing outcomes for children. During 2007/2008 we will develop the new study, test the methods of data collection and recruit a sample of women in late pregnancy. The study will capture several dimensions of child wellbeing, including the environments in which the selected children are raised.
Adding to the knowledge base informing our policies and services to improve the wellbeing of children and young people is The Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand report. First published in 2004, we will be updating this report over the 2007/2008 year.
Looking forward, we are working to develop a picture of social issues in New Zealand 10 to 30 years in the future. As part of this Social Futures work the Ministry, along with other officials, business, academic and community experts, is thinking about future social outcomes and key influences on them. By investigating the most significant influences on future social wellbeing, we are identifying opportunities for interventions now to improve the lives of New Zealanders in future.
To foster a broader understanding of social policy issues we host a biennial Social Policy, Research and Evaluation (SPRE) Conference that brings together policy makers, researchers, students, academics and service providers to debate key policy opportunities and challenges. The SPRE conferences connect social policy research and practice to create new opportunities for all New Zealanders. Planning for the 2009 conference is now underway.
The Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee (SPEaR) also draws together wider views of government agencies and the wider sector – to ensure research and evaluation supports the Government’s social policy priorities. We continue to provide the secretariat support for SPEaR.
We will provide advice on social policy issues and co-ordinate policy development across government
Social sector government agencies must work closely together to achieve the best outcomes for New Zealanders. Sometimes this involves us as a working partner, at other times we lead by co-ordinating, streamlining and monitoring all government activities affecting social development. With the growing levels of investment in social development across government, this cross-sector leadership role is increasingly important.
One of the Government’s three priority themes, families – young and old, will be a key focus for the Ministry for the next three years (see page 14, ‘Government’s priorities for the next decade’).
As lead agency for the families – young and old priority, we are responsible for ensuring co-ordinated approaches to improve outcomes for families across the sector. We are also the lead agency responsible for three of the families – young and old priority issues:
- giving our children the best start in life
- promoting positive choices for older New Zealanders
- eliminating family violence.
Overseeing our work on families – young and old, and the Government’s other two priority themes, is the Social Sector Forum. Representing the four largest social sector departments (health, education, social development and justice), the Forum is an important vehicle for building and maintaining collaborative approaches around connected social policy issues. It provides the opportunity to promote collaborative best practice throughout New Zealand and to identify ways we can work together through policy development, research, evaluation and service delivery. One initiative the group is overseeing is the Strengthening Families programme, a cross-agency initiative helping families access all the support services they need.
Through a second chief executives’ forum, the Ministry of Social Development, the Department of Building and Housing, and Housing New Zealand Corporation are co-ordinating, planning and budgeting for policy and research to facilitate three projects:
- integrated case management of the clients shared by the three agencies
- joint programmes to help young people transition from care to independence
- housing and community renewal in disadvantaged areas.
We will lead co-ordinated action to address critical social issues
Complex or entrenched social problems often require us to lead co-ordinated multi-agency action.
This country continues to experience an unacceptably high incidence of family violence. Established in June 2005, the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families is a priority action for the Government under families – young and old. The Taskforce draws together the government and non government sectors at a chief executive level, the judiciary, the Children’s Commissioner and the Chief Families Commissioner. The group sets the strategic direction for work to prevent family violence and has established a number of initiatives following the release of its First Report in July 2006. These include developing an attitude and behaviour change campaign, improving justice sector responses to family violence, and establishing local case collaboration to better support children affected by family violence. The Taskforce is on track to deliver all of the actions in its First Report, and the second programme of action will begin in July 2007.
Work on developing the second programme of action is well underway. The key areas of emphasis for this programme are leadership; social change; capacity to provide quality family support services; and prevention. The second programme of action will focus on those interventions which will have the longest most sustainable impact upon the Taskforce's outcome of eliminating family violence.
The work undertaken by the Taskforce reflects the principles of Te Rito New Zealand Family Violence Prevention Strategy and also forms a part of the New Zealand Injury Prevention Strategy.
Improving social outcomes and addressing the complex causes of disadvantage for particular population groups requires joined-up ways of working to achieve desired results. Key to our ability to understand the needs of particular population groups are the:
- Ministry of Youth Development
- Office for Disability Issues
- Office for Senior Citizens
- Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector.
These agencies look at the wider needs of certain population groups. They ensure that government policy and service delivery is responsive to their needs. These agencies also have responsibility for overseeing a number of cross-sectoral strategies that seek to improve wellbeing for particular groups.
In the last few decades New Zealand’s population has rapidly grown in diversity, changing who we are as a nation. While embraced by many, this growth in diversity can lead to fractures in communities unprepared for such change. The Connecting Diverse Communities work programme aims to build social cohesion by strengthening relationships between New Zealand's different ethnic, cultural and religious groups. We are leading this work jointly with the Office of Ethnic Affairs. Together we are undertaking a wide-ranging review to assess initiatives in New Zealand and overseas to protect and promote relationships between diverse communities. We are currently engaging with stakeholders and looking to develop new initiatives.
We will work with our justice sector colleagues
Outcomes rarely align with the administrative boundaries of departments and we are often contributing to the outcomes of other sectors where we have shared interests. The justice sector is a good case in point.
The justice sector’s overall outcome is a ‘safe and just society’ for New Zealand. Beneath this, a number of the sector priorities, particularly reducing the impact of crime, holding offenders to account, are also a priority for the Ministry. Communities need to be safe and individuals need to feel secure. They need to feel they live in a society where civil and democratic rights and obligations can be enjoyed.
As an agency with a significant interface with the justice sector the Ministry plays a role in contributing to justice sector outcomes. We need to work together with the Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Police, Department of Corrections and other justice sector agencies if we are to deliver core services effectively and maximise our contribution. We directly contribute to offenders held to account through the youth justice work undertaken by Child, Youth and Family.
Further detail on the justice sector can be found online at the Ministry of Justice website.
We will facilitate collaboration at regional and local levels
To improve social outcomes for all New Zealanders, the Ministry addresses a number of issues at the local level, tailoring services to fit the local needs.
Taking planning to a regional level, in 2006/2007 we produced our first regional plans for social development. These plans provide our stakeholders with a clear picture of how we work as a Ministry to make a difference within families and communities. Importantly, the plans provide an opportunity for stakeholders to see where they can complement what we do and how we can complement them. Our 2007/2008 plans now include Child, Youth and Family.
By leading social development in the regions the Ministry aims to improve local, regional and national social development outcomes including employment and social assistance. We develop policy that understands and is responsive to local and regional circumstances, and to the practicalities of service delivery.
We also draw knowledge from our districts and regions. The Ministry’s extensive network of local sites puts us in a good position to monitor wellbeing at the local level. Regional offices incorporate local feedback into their regional plans that in turn contribute to national planning and policy development activities.
In 2006/2007 we boosted our policy capability by launching EPI-net, a web-based tool that allows our staff to identify policy issues and link these with regional and nationally based policy support. EPI-net draws from the knowledge and experience of policy and frontline staff across the country to give us a clear picture of policy issues at regional and national level.
Over the next three years as our regional networks are further developed we will build a more sophisticated process for gathering local intelligence.
Unique pressures confront the Auckland region and its rapidly growing population. To meet this challenge we are working towards the establishment of a cross-agency social sector office in Auckland to engage at a strategic level with the region’s stakeholders. The intention is for the office to grow and evolve over time to provide a shared knowledge base on Auckland issues and social policy solutions that fit the needs of Auckland.
The office will facilitate a better understanding of Auckland’s long-term strategic trends and their social impacts, and build stronger linkages across the social, economic, urban and environmental dimensions within the region and with our national office and government
Often local issues arise that require integrated local responses. A recent example is our collaboration with New Zealand Police, schools and medical services in response to a series of youth suicides within a large family in Papakura. The urgent application of an integrated case management model allowed us to move quickly to provide comprehensive, wrap around services to an entire family in crisis. The approach involved one agency leading the management of a client’s case, or in this case, a group of clients, and inviting other agencies to help develop solutions. The agencies then work together to address all the needs identified. The experience of working in collaboration, particularly the idea of an integrated case management model, will be one that we develop for use with other complex social problems in other parts of New Zealand.
We are also seeing positive changes in youth violence and gang activity. In September 2006 the Action Plan for Improving Outcomes for Young People in Counties Manukau was released and we are making good progress on the action points it featured. To maintain the momentum we are currently exploring options for short-term supported placement for at risk young people picked up by the New Zealand Police after hours. We are also expanding the successful Youth Transitions Service model in Counties Manukau and employing more community-based youth workers region wide. In the coming year we will conduct a series of surveys to monitor the progress of this work to determine community views on crime, graffiti, disorderly and criminal behaviour.
