Policy Project newsletter: May 2024

Welcome to the Policy Project's Autumn update.

To kick off the year we've been focused on good planning and commissioning. We've had a great cohort of managers and principals attend our Start Right training courses which were run through February and March.

Good planning and commissioning will be critical as policy teams implement the Government's priorities, including the recently announced Government Targets and second quarter action plan.

Alongside this we've developed two new worksheets to help with commissioning and peer review of policy papers - the bookends of good advice.

The Policy Project will be updating its training and workshop schedule as we head into the second half of 2024, so keep an eye out for updates on what we have to offer in the coming months.

Craig Salmon
Manager, Policy Project

New commissioning worksheet#

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We've developed a simple one-page Commissioning worksheet for policy papers for managers and teams. This is aimed at promoting good practice at the start of the process - whether you're a manager with a task to get done or an analyst being asked to do it.

It's a practical tool to make sure everyone is on the same page. It has editable fields so you can fill it out electronically, or you can print it out and use it on the go. You can also write the worksheet's prompts on the whiteboard for group discussion. Like everything, the more frequently you use it the more natural (and faster) good commissioning will become.

This new form also complements our Start Right Guide and the Commissioning Conversation Prompts tool provided as an appendix to the guide. We offer training in commissioning conversations and getting policy projects off to a good start. If you're interested, please contact us at [email protected]

New Peer-review worksheet#

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If you've been asked to peer review someone else's paper, we've developed a new Peer-review worksheet for policy papers to help you. It aligns with the standards for policy advice set out in the Policy Quality Framework. Keep this checklist to hand or pin it to your browser bar and be ready to assist your colleagues with a quick peer review.

This complements our checklist for someone drafting a paper - Developing papers with the Policy Quality Framework. That resource sets out what you need to think about and do when preparing a paper for a decision maker.

Both resources are designed to help policy teams review the quality of papers before they go to decision makers. Help us share them with your colleagues either at your next team meeting or when you use them to peer review.

Updated Writing for Ministers and Cabinet resource#

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Did you know there are now nine Cabinet Committees, many with a new name and focus? Hot off the press, we've just updated the Writing for Ministers and Cabinet resource. This guide helps you write good clear papers for ministers and Cabinet. Whether it's a policy paper, a short briefing, an aide memoire or an A3, this resource provides handy tips and links to the latest information on preparing papers for ministers and the Cabinet process.

New South Wales developing new approaches to policy design and delivery#

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The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) has been working on a new approach to policy design with the New South Wales Department of Education. You can read more about it in Apolitical or on the ANZSOG website: A repeatable, scalable approach to policy design and delivery.

It includes a video of the Department of Education talking about ANZSOG's work with them to develop their policy capability. The Policy Project gets a mention, so check out their video The way we do policy.

The transferability question and other big ideas#

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The Australia New Zealand School of Government also recently hosted Sir Geoff Mulgan and James Plunkett in March as part of an ANZSOG fellowship (see Exploring new approaches to government). Both are leaders in policy innovation and thinking and had a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

One of the key topics that came up during their visit was how well policy can be transferred from one country to another. Sir Geoff Mulgan from the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at the University College of London has written a paper The Transferability Question - understanding what works where, when and why, and how to adopt and adapt.

We know that the new government is particularly interested in understanding what policies are being applied internationally and what we can learn. We will be doing more work on this topic in the year ahead and recommend those that are interested consider the factors included in Sir Geoff's paper.

You can listen to their interview on Radio New Zealand to get a feel for what was discussed during their visit (see Rolling out big ideas: Sir Geoff Mulgan and James Plunkett). These conversations deal with some of the big questions that the policy community faces globally.

Policy Project training schedule#

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This year the Policy Project is running regular cross-agency workshops in the Beehive, open to public servants and policy practitioners from any agency. We'll be focusing on a theme each month to align with events in the policy calendar. In February we delivered two workshops on our Start Right guidance for policy managers and anyone who leads and commissions policy projects. In March we focused on training for graduates. You can now register for our All-of-Government courses in May and June. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

For additional information and support, visit the Policy Project webpages where you'll find a wide range of tools, frameworks, and advice.