Item 2
Joint Governance Working Party
25 August 2020
Governance Framework Review work programme -
Implementation Update
Te take mō te pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To provide a progress update on the implementation of the Governance Framework Review
(GFR) work programme.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
2. Following the first meeting of this term’s Joint Governance Working Party (JGWP) in March,
meetings scheduled to take place in May and June were cancelled.
3. COVID-19 and related emergency budget proceedings have had, and will continue to have, a
significant impact on both the overall GFR programme and its individual projects.
4. Of 18 projects that have been undertaken as part of the GFR work programme, outputs have
been delivered for 12, five remain in progress, and a sixth project is on hold. Progress updates
for each live project are provided below.
5. A key piece of work that remains outstanding is the overall evaluation of the GFR work
programme. Evaluation of the work programme will play a critical role in informing future work
in response to the GFR but has also been delayed by COVID-19.
6. The GFR implementation programme going forward will need to be aligned with any
implementation programme that arises from this year’s CCO review.
Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendations
That the Joint Governance Working Party:
a) note the update on the GFR work programme implementation.
Implementation Update
7. The JGWP established for this term met for the first time on 10 March 2020. An overview of
the programme was provided alongside a status update for each project.
8. At the March 2020 meeting of the JGWP, staff indicated that the following items would be
brought back to a subsequent meeting:
An update on the annual work programme (including known policy, plan and bylaw
projects) and outcomes from the joint Governing Body/local board chairs meeting
planned for 16 March. This meeting was subsequently cancelled.
An options discussion paper for both the Minimum Service Levels and Equity of
Service Levels and funding phases.
A report on issues around movement of local assets between service and non-service
(and vice versa) as part of the divestment process. Staff undertook to report back to the
JGWP on how the political recommendations have been factored into operational
processes.
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Joint Governance Working Party
25 August 2020
A discussion paper proposing a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of the
initiatives that have been implemented as part of the GFR work programme which will
inform future work in response to the GFR.
9. On 20 March, Auckland Council announced it would close pools, recreation centres and major
venues to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, and on 21 March, COVID-19 Alert Level
2 came into force, followed by Alert Level 4 on 26 March.
10. While many of Auckland Council’s governance meetings were able to be held over Skype, a
decision was made to cancel the JGWP meetings scheduled for May and June given the
extraordinary volume of work created by both the COVID response itself and the emergency
budget process that followed.
11. The lockdown and subsequent emergency budget have had a significant impact on matters
within the scope of the GFR, including:
Heightened urgency and the need for prudence led to decisions being taken by staff on
matters of finance and health and safety, under the Chief Executive’s delegations, that
would normally be more consultative
Constrained budgets and staff resourcing may impact delivery of GFR projects
Challenges related to new business processes, for example, more rigorous approval
process for recruitment, may lead to delays
Elected members must be kept abreast of internal restructuring, so that they know who
to contact
Reopening of facilities are subject to constraints of resources – both budget and staff.
12. Despite the many difficulties brought about by COVID-19, many positives have emerged as
well, including:
Greater opportunities for participation in proceedings via video conference technology,
including developing opportunities for members of the public to participate
Increased access for the public to local board meetings through video recordings
Acknowledgement of the critical role of local boards in economic and community
recovery, and ensuring they are empowered to undertake this role
Heightened urgency of decision-making led to decisions being taken at the newly-
formed Emergency Committee.
13. The above points demonstrate that while the overall goals of the GFR are just as important
now as they ever were – and perhaps even more so – repriorisation of work programmes to
address the COVID-19 and emergency budget context means that some work may need to be
undertaken on a longer time frame or approached in a more innovative way.
14. In addition to changes brought about by COVID-19 and the emergency budget, the GFR
implementation programme will need to be aligned with any implementation programme that
arises from the CCO review.
Evaluation
15. A key piece of work that remains outstanding is the overall evaluation of the GFR Work
Programme. Evaluation of the programme will play a critical role in informing future work in
response to the GFR.
16. Work has commenced on a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of the initiatives that
have been implemented under the GFR programme of work against its initial high-level goals:
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Joint Governance Working Party
25 August 2020
ensuring clear roles and responsibilities between the two arms of governance
(understood by elected members, staff and the public) and that decision-making sits at
the right level
continuing to support local boards to effectively fulfill their role as governors of a
discrete set of local services and activities, especially in their place-shaping role
ensuring appropriate accountability and incentives for political decisions
ensuring local boards receive quality advice to support their decision-making role
supporting improved community engagement and improved services for Aucklanders.
17. Evaluation will provide feedback on the overall effectiveness of the 18 projects against their
own objectives, as well as the contribution that each of these projects has made to the goals of
the overall programme.
18. Unfortunately, evaluation, like many other council endeavours, has been delayed due to
COVID-19, for a number of reasons:
the deferral of the 2020 elected member survey, which was planned for August 2020
but has now been delayed to June 2021, subject to resourcing. This would have been a
significant source of data and feedback regarding the outcomes of the GFR work
programme up to now.
The difficulty of collecting quality data in relation to improvements made in GFR focus
areas, when the organisation is not operating in a “business as usual” environment. For
example: measuring whether Auckland Transport have been able to provide a more
strategic and structured approach to developing projects funded by the Local Board
Transport Capital Fund (LBTCF) will be difficult with changes to the fund necessitated
by the Emergency Budget.
19. Staff will now look to share a more detailed plan for evaluation in early 2021.
Ongoing projects
20. Of 18 projects that have been undertaken as part of the GFR work programme, outputs have
been delivered for 12, five remain in progress, and a sixth project is on hold. Updates for each
live project are provided below under three workstreams – policy, funding and finance, and
organisational support. All projects for the fourth workstream (governance and representation)
have been completed.
Policy workstream
21. There are two projects still in progress under this workstream:
Initiative
Progress Update
Improving the
Progress has been made on increasing staff understanding of
process of local
the new process and appropriate engagement with local
board involvement in
boards.
regional policy
The inaugural Governing Body / local board chairs work
Purpose: To ensure
programme meeting was planned for 16 March and had to be
effective local board
cancelled. Work on this will be picked up once there is more
involvement in regional
certainty around departmental work.
policy decisions.
Impacts on regional policy and strategy will be worked through
as budget implications become clearer. Regional policy and
strategy that is progressing will take account of the agreed
processes.
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Joint Governance Working Party
25 August 2020
Initiative
Progress Update
Waiheke Island pilot
Minimal impact from COVID-19.
of enhanced local
Waiheke Local Board’s OLI (the Mātiatia transport hub) now on
governance
hold.
Purpose: To trial/ test
proposals for devolved
Three-year pilot formally ends on 30 September. The
decision-making on
Programme Manager will continue with key projects that still
Waiheke and assess
need leadership after that date.
whether these ideas
RIMU to undertake “post pilot” formal evaluation to support pre-
could be applied across and mid-pilot evaluations. This will outline findings and options
other local board areas. for wider application of learnings. Once this is available,
Programme Manager will formally report to Waiheke Local
Board and that report can be included on the next agenda for
JWGP.
Funding and finance workstream
22. There is one project still in progress under this workstream:
Initiative
Progress Update
More flexibility of
Additional options for funding allocation were developed during
decision-making over February/March.
operational funding
Further delays to final options resulted from disruption under
and service levels
Levels 4 and 3, and further impacted as the focus of decision
Purpose: Increased
makers shifted to the emergency response and emergency
flexibility in the use of
budget.
operational funding for
Revision to engagement plan underway, including alternative
local activities. This
engagement approaches for project content.
work is being
completed four
Updated proposals to be presented at the JGWP meeting of 25
workstreams: (i)
August.
Stocktake of existing
service levels (ii)
minimum service levels
(iii) service level equity
and (iv) organisational
impact
Organisational support workstream
23. There are three projects still in progress under this workstream:
Initiative
Progress Update
Governance
The final three scheduled workshops (approximately 75 staff)
fundamentals
were cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Purpose: To lift
The contract role supporting the programme was terminated
awareness and
due to budget restrictions. The training will now be developed
understanding of the
using Quality Advice Programme resources.
shared governance
The immediate priority is to develop and deliver core, online
framework to support
modules (foundational for any staff with political engagement)
improved quality of
advice
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Joint Governance Working Party
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by the end of 2020. No further workshops, in their current form,
are planned.
The development and delivery of optional and advanced
modules (aimed at staff with high political engagement) has
now been deferred to 2021. These modules may be a mix of
online and face to face workshop options.
More consistent local Since March, the focus has been on supporting the
board democracy
implementation of new legislation which enabled the recording
support
and virtual attendance of local board business meetings. This
Purpose: Improve
was necessary to ensure openness, transparency and public
consistency in the
access during COVID19 alert levels three and four.
democracy processes
Local Board Services Department (LBSD) staff are now
followed to support
undertaking a programme of work aimed at harnessing the
local boards, to make it
benefits experienced by staff and elected members from
easier for staff
working remotely and meeting virtually through the lockdown
attending 21 local
including reduced commuting, financial pressures and work-life
board workshops or
balance stresses, along with a smaller carbon footprint.
business meetings
Recommendations will be made to local boards on future work
practices whilst ensuring that the appropriate support,
technology, and training is available to both staff and elected
members to ensure the success of these ways of working.
The Consistency in Action (CIA) project has delivered
consistent processes and templates to support staff across the
organisation who engage with local boards via workshops. A
staff survey was conducted in November 2019. Results
indicated that the initiatives put in place through the CIA project
have been successful in creating consistency and improving
the workshop experience and the overall experience of working
with LBS staff and local boards. We will carry out staff surveys
on a periodic basis to continue to identify areas requiring
improvement.
The LBSD continuous improvements programme is now shifting
focus in response to the new organisational strategy and LBS
Business Plan priorities. All projects will now be approached
through the lens of consistency, innovation and collaboration,
whilst balancing efficiency with the value of local flavour.
As a result, we recommend that the CIA project is wound up in
favour of consistent processes being progressed through the
ongoing LBS continuous improvements programme. This would
mean that this project is no longer monitored and reported on
as part of the GFR.
Improve capacity to
support local board
On hold
policy advice needs
This project is on hold while the ‘local board involvement in
Purpose: Improve
regional policy’ work is progressed to allow for learnings and to
capacity to support
minimize the risk of duplication.
local board policy
advice needs
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Joint Governance Working Party
25 August 2020
Governance Division Restructure
24. Effective 5 September 2020, the following changes will take place within the Governance
Division:
a new operating model for Local Board Services Department that replaces Relationship
Manager roles with Local Area Managers
the creation of a new Governance Services Department
the creation of a new Democracy and Engagement Department.
The reporting line for John Nash, Programme Manager Waiheke and Gulf Islands,
moves from the Governance Director to the Central Teams Manager, Local Board
Services
25. Changes made within the Governance Division at this time do not preclude further
restructuring decisions from being made by the council’s Transition Unit later in the year, with
the goal of creating a leaner, more efficient, and adaptable organisation.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
26. Staff will now look to share a more detailed plan for programme evaluation in early 2021.
27. The immediate priority is to ensure that ongoing GFR projects are able to be agile and flexible,
adopting to the new context, and supported to deliver as much as is achievable within the new
constraints.
Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
Authors
Kat Ashmead, Senior Policy Advisor, Local Board Services
Authorisers
Louise Mason, General Manager Local Board Services
GFR – Implementation Update
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