PIF System Level Findings: Better capability enables better results
15/2/2020
According to all PIF reviews, the second quirk in the public management system is that stronger ratings in results are positively associated with stronger ratings in capability.
Interestingly, there is some variability amongst agencies, with some agencies more strongly rated on results than their capability rating would imply and others not producing the results for that their capability ratings suggest they have.
While more impressionistic, this quirk tells us that agencies with better capability are more likely to deliver the outcomes a Government seeks.
With that in mind, perhaps officials ought to pay as much attention to the quality and mix of inputs and the cost of outputs as Ministerial priorities.
Comment: Regulatory Standards Bill
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the regulatory standards bill. As someone involved in regulatory systems and policy, I want to talk about their design and likely impact. Let me be direct: these proposals lack any supporting evidence that they would improve our regulatory environment. Instead, they demonstrate a troubling pattern of overreach. The fundamental problems are st...
Read moreThe Knowledge Wave’s Bitter W …
Apropos of nothing - except for the current vibe coming out of Wellington. Let's be frank about what went wrong with the Knowledge Wave circa 2001 and 2003. I remember sitting in those early conferences - all optimism and powerpoints about our gleaming tech future. But in reality, we were trying to bolt a Silicon Valley dream onto a country that runs on milk powder and tourist dollars. Here's...
Read morePublic Services in Crisis? A Tale o …
Note: This analysis was initially prepared as a commissioned piece for a local private sector client in December 2024. With their permission, I am sharing these insights more broadly to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about public service reform. While the core analysis remains unchanged - at the time this post was published - from the original submission, it has been formatted for wider circu...
Read more