National Action Plan 2018 - 21 End-of-term Self-assessment November 2021 FINAL

Commitment 1: Engagement with Parliament

The problem that the commitment addresses

To improve public understanding of how Parliament works and engage a greater number of people with its work.

How the commitment will contribute to solving the public problem

Parliament aims to reach a larger and more diverse audience across all its digital and broadcasting channels – Parliament website, Parliament TV, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram – by June 2020. It also aims to grow engagement, measured by more actions taken across all channels, by June 2020.

Why this commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Transparency, Public Participation, and Technology and Innovation.

Milestones

Expand the use of Parliament TV to provide information about Parliament. In addition, coverage of the House, to show New Zealanders that Parliament is relevant to them. Content will be reviewed annually and viewer numbers monitored quarterly.

Make Parliament more interactive by holding three public events every year, focused on engaging people with Parliament to raise awareness that Parliament is for everyone. Events to be identified by the Office of the Clerk in line with the Parliament Engagement Strategy 2018–2021

Develop and publish content showing “real people” start petitions and make submissions to select committees and make the options for having your say transparent and easy to understand to show people how to participate in the democratic process.

Develop and enhance a 360-degree Virtual Reality Tour of Parliament to raise children’s, young people’s and all New Zealanders’ awareness of what Parliament does by making it more accessible and interesting to inspire future voters.

Start/end dates

June 2018/June 2021

December 2018/June 2021

June 2018/June 2021

June 2018/June 2021

Completion

Completed

Completed

Completed

Completed

Description of the results

Larger and more diverse audiences are able to access information about Parliament more easily, leading to greater public engagement with Parliament and more people having their say. Launched in January 2020, Parliament on Demand is the home of all our video content. Video content has included: development of animations explaining how Parliament works (the difference between Parliament and Government 1,690 views and Select Committees 2,059 views); creation of two documentaries (Rainbow Voices 7,407 views and Wāhine o te Pāremata Women of Parliament 2,202 views on YouTube); “Spotlight” videos on aspects of Parliament such as Budget Day (2,146 views), Standing Orders (2,033 views), Elections (1,364 views) and Oaths and Affirmations (3,416 views). The NZ Parliament YouTube account currently has around 3,000 subscribers. The Education Perfect Modules have had 604 engagements from 295 unique users, including 72 individual schools and 29 individual users (not from a school).

Additional information/next steps

Parliament aims to reach a larger and more diverse audience, and increase engagement, across all its digital and broadcasting channels, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram

Commitment 2: Youth Parliament

The problem that the commitment addresses

To improve understanding among young people of how Parliament works and to highlight topics that matter to young people, the Ministry of Youth Development will work with the Office of the Clerk and the Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives to deliver an enhanced Youth Parliament 2019.

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

Improving young people’s awareness and understanding of how Parliament works, its accessibility and relevance, using topics that matter to young people through replicating the Parliamentary process and offering that experience in a “Youth Parliament”, gives young people direct exposure to Parliamentary processes, increasing engagement. Making information about Parliamentary processes readily accessible, relevant, reliable and useful to young New Zealanders is important, as doing so increases the transparency of Parliamentary processes; increases engagement with Parliament, increasing Parliament’s legitimacy and positive perceptions.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Transparency, Public Participation, and Technology and Innovation.

Milestone

Widely promote the opportunity to submit to the Youth Parliament select committee hearings ahead of the two-day Youth Parliament event to a diverse range of rangatahi (young people).

Hold two-day Youth Parliament event

Explore (with the Ministry of Education) how footage of Youth MPs speaking in the debating chamber of the New Zealand House of Representatives could be utilised as part of a civics or citizenship educational resource for schools.

With the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, maximise opportunities to profile Youth Parliament via social media channels, including promoting:

· the Youth MP and Youth Press Gallery selection period

· the final Select Committee and mock bill topics

Circulate the Youth Parliament select committee reports to the actual Parliament Select Committees and appropriate policy agencies relevant to the topics discussed and publish a link to them on the MYD website as soon as they are available after the Youth Parliament event.

Start/end dates

April 2019 – June 2019

16 – 17 July 2019

October 2018 – June 2020

October 2018 – August 2019

July 2019 – October 2019

Completion

Completed

Completed

Completed

Completed

Completed

Description of the results

For some New Zealanders, the relevance of Parliament increased between 2018 and 2020 (see p.29 of the 2020 research, Survey of the New Zealand Public (January 2021). Most New Zealanders tend to agree that Parliament is relevant to their lives, but relatively few feel connected. For some New Zealanders, the relevance of Parliament has increased. The proportion who said Parliament and the democratic processes are interesting to them has increased since 2019, while the proportion who say it has no impact on their life has declined. In addition, New Zealanders are more likely to say Parliament has dealt with an issue they care about, although, looking ahead, they are less likely to say there are issues they care deeply about that could be affected by laws. In 2021, 21% of people surveyed said they agree that they feel connected with Parliament, up from 16% agreeing with that statement in 2016.

Additional information/next steps

This commitment has been completed.

Commitment 3: School Leavers’ Toolkit

The problem that the commitment will address

To develop a Schools Leavers’ Toolkit, comprising a suite of tools, resources and curriculum support making it much simpler for schools to:

· Integrate civics, financial literacy and workplace competencies into their local curriculum

· Understand and respond to learners’ levels of civic and financial literacy, and work readiness

· Effectively teach civics, financial literacy and workplace competencies.

How the commitment will contribute to solving the problem

Creating a School Leavers’ Toolkit website brings together key information for students in one place, in a reliable source and in an engaging way. The ‘School Leavers’ Toolkit’ provides school students with opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and capabilities to successfully transition into further education, training and employment, through access to foundational knowledge in civics education, financial literacy and key workplace competencies.

Why this commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Public Participation.

Milestone

Stocktake of existing Toolkit resources.

Ministers consider Ministry of Education analysis of opportunities to support expanded access to Toolkit opportunities.

Exploratory co-design phase concludes and is used to inform detailed implementation support plan.

Pilot implementation reporting and evaluation.

Toolkit training and support programme.

Start/ end dates

June 2018 – Sept 2018

Sept 2018 – Dec 2018

June 2018 – Feb 2019

Feb 2019 – Dec 2022

Feb 2020 – Dec 2020

Completion[1]

Completed

Completed

Completed

Underway

Completed

Description of the results

The School Leavers’ Toolkit website, directly targeted at young people, has been well received by schools and kura nationwide. Since its launch in September 2019, 78,000 users had accessed the website with nearly 200,000 page views. The website was receiving an average traffic of 2,000 to 2,500 users every week. The website has garnered the support of, and promotion by, the Aotearoa Social Studies Educators Network. The workshop series showed a substantial shift in participant’s knowledge of resources, from 27% to 82% post workshop. The workshop series had also raised the awareness and confidence of the education sector to create their own School Leavers’ Toolkit.

Additional information/next steps

Discussion with parents, teachers and employers identified the need for greater cooperation and communication across this group to ensure that students had the right skills to transition from school. Consequently, two websites were developed as part of the School Leavers’ Toolkit – a school facing website and a student facing website. The Pilot (milestone 4) is running until 2022 and is well underway

Commitment 4: To make New Zealand’s secondary legislation readily accessible

The problem that the commitment will address

To make New Zealand’s secondary legislation more readily accessible.

How the commitment will contribute to solving the problem

The lack of clarity about what secondary legislation is, and how the public access it, undermines citizen’s access to the law and understanding of their rights and obligations under that law, which is fundamental to the operation and accountability of systems for that law. It also hinders the transparency and accountability of makers’ responsibility to Parliament.

Implementing the initial reforms will establish one unified category of law where several categories previously existed. It will make clear for the first time what is secondary legislation:

· resolving any current ambiguity

· improving public access to secondary legislation made by both government and non-governmental entities by making it clear where secondary legislation should be published

· clarifying whether secondary legislation is subject to Parliamentary oversight through the Parliamentary disallowance process and

· improving Parliamentary scrutiny of secondary legislation.

We are laying the necessary foundations for ongoing future improvements by defining the category and standardising the requirements relating to secondary legislation.

Parliament isn’t the only body that makes laws in New Zealand. Parliament can pass Acts that delegate that power to a number of different bodies. The power to make secondary legislation is delegated to departments within the public service (e.g. the Department of Internal Affairs or the Commerce Commission) and outside the public service, to community or professional boards and councils (e.g. the Dental Council or the NZ Racing Board). We have identified that the power to make secondary legislation has been delegated to approximately 150 bodies in Aotearoa New Zealand (other than Parliament). The number of other bodies was never known and the various requirements that applied to that legislation were also quite different and varied from Act to Act. It was unclear what was secondary legislation and what publication and presentation requirements applied, making it difficult for citizens to know whether secondary legislation existed and, if it did, where to find it. The changes will make it much easier for citizens to know what secondary legislation has been made, where it must be published, and what Parliamentary oversight applies to it, enabling them to engage with the process. This links to technology and innovation for openness.

Why this commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Transparency, and Technology and Innovation

Milestone

Compile a complete list of makers of secondary legislation.

Engage with makers of secondary legislation to:

· encourage them to identify all of their current in-force secondary legislation in preparation for the commencement of the Legislation Act 2019

· encourage them to make their current in-force legislation publicly available on a website.

Enhancements to the New Zealand legislation website to improve access to secondary legislation by:

· providing links under relevant empowering provisions in Acts (primary legislation) to external makers of secondary legislation

· making publication requirements easier for users to see by noting this information under the relevant empowering provisions.

Start/end dates

2018–2020

2018–2020

2018–2020

Completion[1]

Underway – will be delivered following commencement.

Underway – will continue as part of PCO’s new legislative system stewardship role, established by the Legislation Act 2019 and will go beyond the work contemplated by this milestone.

Underway – will be delivered from commencement and as part of updating all of the legislation amended by the Secondary Legislation Act 2021.

Description of the results

The Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) has drafted two new Acts (the Legislation Act 2019 and the Secondary Legislation Act 2021). The Acts commenced on 28 October 2021. The milestones in this commitment and PCO’s future programme of work (which commenced in NAP2) relied on the commencement of these two Acts.

Together these Acts define the category of secondary legislation and amend hundreds of Acts to make it clear what is secondary legislation. They also define who the makers of secondary legislation are and set the foundations for working with those makers to improve access to their secondary legislation and to provide links to them from the New Zealand legislation website. The work to link to secondary legislation published on the New Zealand legislation website and to include additional information for users about publication and other requirements starts on commencement of these Acts and will continue as part of PCO’s ongoing system stewardship work for legislation.

Additional information/next steps

PCO has a clear system stewardship role that is established under the Legislation Act 2019. Under its stewardship role, PCO will continue to build on the initial benefits created by the secondary legislation reforms, continuing to take steps to improve the ability to access secondary legislation.

PCO’s strategic intentions (1 July 2020 to 30 June 2024) contains the following initiatives which will continue beyond the work in this commitment:

· all secondary legislation available online- includes our commitment to work with the makers of secondary legislation to evaluate various options for further implementation of the Legislation Act

· improved legislative capability across government - PCO has committed to taking a system leadership role to get meaningful improvement in legislative capability across government. This includes working with key participants to establish systems and processes to improve legislative capability and managing risks, as well as sharing information on best practices.

Commitment 5: Public participation in policy development

The problem that the commitment addresses

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) will assist the New Zealand public sector to develop a deeper and more consistent understanding of what good engagement with the public means (right across the International Association of Public Participation’s spectrum of Public Participation).

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

The guidance, resources and tools developed guide policy advisors on what constitutes good practice community engagement in government policy making and what good practice looks like when engaging at each level of the internationally recognised framework, the Spectrum of Public Participation (Spectrum). A deeper understanding of what good engagement looks like and guidance on best practice methods across government contributes to a more consistent and coherent approach to public participation in policy.

Commitment 5 contributes to the OGP value of public participation by equipping policy practitioners with tools and resources to provide more opportunities for community engagement and citizens to participate in the development of policies and decision making.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Public Participation.

Milestones

Extend existing Policy Methods Toolbox guidance on public participation to include:

(i) A design tool that will assist policy advisers to choose the appropriate level of engagement on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation for a specific policy issue

(ii) Guidance, for each level of the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation, on the characteristics and enablers of effective public participation and good engagement practice

(iii) Guidance on inclusive engagement approaches that include and reflect the diversity of those interested and affected by policies

(iv) Principles and concepts of community engagement in policy development

(v) Guidance on building government agencies’ organisational capability and readiness for community engagement

(vi) Guidance on different types of community engagement methods, and their appropriateness for each level on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation.

Develop and share recent case studies documenting New Zealand innovation success stories in public participation in the policy development process.

Identify a ‘live’ policy issue in which to trial public engagement in policy development that is higher on the public participation spectrum than inform or consult, as a demonstration project.

Widely disseminate the results of the milestones.

Start/end dates

October 2018 – October 2020

Oct 2018 – October 2020

Oct 2018 – December 2020

December 2020 – June 2021

Completion

Completed

Completed

Completed

Completed

Description of the results

DPMC were invited to present at the IAP2 annual symposium on the work done under this commitment. All presentations were well-received; workshops identified further complexity that led to additional tools being developed. There was a significant increase in web traffic and downloads of the DPMC’s community engagement web pages; and numerous downloads of the six community engagement resources and demonstration project report (see the Policy Project’s community engagement page).

Additional information/next steps

The DPMC’s work on community engagement will continue and include running training events on community engagement; finalising a checklist to support good practice community engagement; encouraging government agencies to use the tools and resources developed; and promoting case studies of good engagement practice.

Commitment 6: Service design

The problem that the commitment addresses

To develop an assessment model to support implementation of the all-of-government Digital Service Design Standard (the Standard) by public sector agencies. The Standard provides the design thinking to support the objective of New Zealanders being able to work collaboratively with government to shape the design of public services. Collaboratively designed services will be more trusted, accessible, integrated and inclusive. The assessment model provides the basis to assess and measure agencies’ performance against the Standard and it supports a mindset and culture change, both at an individual agency maturity level and in terms of system-wide change.

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

Developing an assessment model aimed to encourage public sector agencies to implement the all-of- government Digital Service Design Standard. Implementing the Standard more widely across government was intended to improve the quality of government digital design and ensure a trusted and trustworthy digital and data system. In fact, work on the commitment helped to clarify the specific problems with the current Standard and the solution.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Public Participation, and Technology and Innovation.

Milestones

Identify suitable assessment models for supporting agency uptake of the standard, including options for assessment and measurement of performance against the standard.

Publish preferred assessment model for implementation.

Public engagement on a refresh and review of the Digital Service Design Standard.

#NEW To pilot an assessment model in order to understand what agencies need to implement the standard.

Start/end dates

August 2018 – March 2019

April 2019 – June 2021

Dec 2019 – June 2020

January 2020 - December 2021

Completion[1]

Completed

Some delays

No longer applicable

Completed

Description of the results

Focused on the development of an assessment model to help implement the digital design standard. The standard supports agencies to work with New Zealanders to design inclusive, integrated and trustworthy services. Consultation found that the new standard would be unimplementable in its current form, so the commitment was adapted to take this into account. The finalisation of an assessment model (milestone 2) needs to follow on from a review and a refresh of the standard. This means the milestone has not been completed before the end of the plan.

Additional information/next steps

www.digital.govt.nz/standards-and-guidance/digital-service-design-standard/

Commitment 7: Official information

The problem that the commitment addresses

To improve the availability of official information by:

· providing advice to the Government on whether to initiate a formal review of official information legislation

· progressively increasing the proactive release of official information by publishing responses to requests for information made under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

This commitment builds on work – undertaken as part of the National Action Plan 2016–2018 – on making official information more accessible, which promotes good government and supports trust and confidence in the public services.

Access to timely, trustworthy information is vital to an informed population. It removes barriers to and improves public participation by increasing understanding and opening up decision-making. Milestone 1 has identified areas where the relevant legislation could be enhanced, strengthened or updated to better enable this access. Milestones 2 and 3 have taken steps towards increasing the amount of information that is made available without being requested in the interests of transparency and accountability.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Public Participation, and Transparency and Accountability.

Milestones

Test the merits of undertaking a review of the Official Information Act 1982 and provide and publish advice to Government.

Achieve a measurable increase in the proactive publication of official information request responses.

Implement a policy to publish Cabinet papers proactively within 30 days of final decisions, unless there are good reasons to withhold specific papers.

Start/end dates

Following the report back of the Privacy Bill – (September 2019)

October 2018 to June 2021

October 2018 to June 2019

Completion

Completed

Completed

Completed

Description of the results

Milestone one, consultation to establish the merits of a review of the Official Information Act 1982 was conducted and advice provided to the government. Milestones 2 and 3 were successfully completed with a 70.7% increase in proactive release of official information request responses between July 2018 and June 2021 (and a 54.8% increase in the number of agencies doing so over the same period) and the agreement of Cabinet to implement a policy to proactively release Cabinet material. This latter policy has been in place since 1 January 2019.

Additional information/next steps

In January 2021, the Minister of Justice signalled an intention to consider whether to propose a review of the OIA later in this Parliamentary term. Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission wants to see continued growth in both the number of OIA responses published and the number of agencies doing so, with this work leading into more proactive release generally.

A dataset showing the publishing locations of agencies’ Cabinet papers (where agencies use a centralised publication model) is available on the Commission’s proactive release webpage and www.data.govt.nz.

Commitment 8: Review of government use of algorithms

The problem that the commitment addresses

To increase the transparency and accountability of how government uses algorithms.

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

The Algorithm Assessment report, a cross-government review of how government uses algorithms to improve the lives of New Zealanders, was published in 2018. The Assessment Report aimed to ensure New Zealanders are informed and have confidence in how the government uses algorithms. Fourteen government agencies self-assessed the algorithms they use to deliver their functions, focusing on areas most directly impacting decisions related to people. The Assessment Report spurred the development of the Algorithm Charter, which was launched in July 2020. On becoming signatories, agencies commit to applying the six commitments set out in the Charter.

This commitment directly supports the OGP value of transparency and accountability as well as technology and innovation for openness. The 2018 Assessment Report helped to provide transparency around government use of algorithms and is publicly available on the data.govt.nz website. The Assessment Report then led to the development of the Algorithm Charter. In signing up to the Charter agencies demonstrate a commitment to ensuring New Zealanders can have confidence in how government agencies use algorithms.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Transparency and Accountability.

Milestones

Complete an initial review of existing operational algorithms and their use across a range of government agencies.

Consider next steps for all-of-government assurance on the government’s use of algorithms in collaboration with Civil Society representatives.

Update this commitment (and its milestones) to reflect the progress made in previous milestones.

Start/end dates

1 June 2018 to 31 October 2018

31 October 2018 to 28 February 2019

1 March 2019 to 30 June 2021

Completion

Completed

Completed

Completed

Description of the results

All milestones were achieved. The Algorithm Assessment Report provided a review of government algorithms and was delivered in 2018. Following the Report, a draft Algorithm Charter was developed, in conjunction with civil society and in July 2020 the Algorithm Charter for Aotearoa New Zealand was launched. 27 government agencies have now signed up to the Charter and signatories are making steady progress in implementing the Charter’s commitments. In addition, strong leadership by Stats NZ and TINZ in a cutting-edge area led to an invitation to join the OGP Leaders Network pilot programme to share learnings from the commitment with an international audience.

Additional information/next steps

An independent review of the Charter has begun and is due to be completed by the end of 2021. The objective of the review is to learn from the first year of the Charter’s implementation so enhanced implementation support can be provided. While the Government Chief Data Steward continues to encourage agencies to sign up to the Charter, further plans to build on what had been delivered include: sharing New Zealand’s experience with international networks; enhancing longer-term implementation support and continuing to work with Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) as the key civil society partner.

Commitment 9: Increase the visibility of government’s data stewardship practices

The problem that the commitment addresses

Currently, New Zealanders do not have sufficient visibility of how their data is managed by government, what it is used for, and how it is safeguarded. The lack of transparency will undermine the confidence and trust of those who provide government with their data.

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

Developing and publishing an overview of government’s data stewardship practices would provide New Zealanders with assurance that mechanisms are in place to ensure government handles their data responsibly, ethically, and safely. Work on defining and enabling good data stewardship would lift data practices across government and enable greater accountability.

Transparency of government data practices will help maintain the trust of New Zealanders and they will be able to hold government to account if current practices are not satisfactory. Transparency will also support dialogue on data issues and concerns, to ensure practices address what is important to New Zealanders.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Transparency and Accountability.

Milestones

Develop and publish an overview of government’s data stewardship practices.

Engage with citizens and government on the data stewardship overview to ensure it provides visibility of the right things and is addressing key needs.

Promote the data stewardship practices to government agencies and support them to implement good practice.

Engage with citizens and government to identify where effort should be focused to address gaps in government’s data stewardship practices.

Start/end dates

August 2018 to 30 November 2018

1 December 2018 to 30 April 2019

1 May 2019 – ongoing

1 May 2019 to 30 Nov 2019 (then ongoing)

Completion [1]

Completed

Some delays

Completed

Some delays

Description of the results

In September 2018 Cabinet authorised the Government Chief Data Steward to set mandatory standards and guidelines for the collection, management and use of data by government agencies and to direct agencies to adopt common data capabilities. Using research and feedback from agencies, Stats NZ developed a framework to describe the different elements of effective data stewardship. The framework provides the structure and language for collating a toolkit of data stewardship guidance, resources and tools. Stats NZ’s engagement with agencies revealed a wide diversity in data literacy, stewardship awareness, practices, and maturity across government. This was reinforced in the review of successes and barriers to data access and use across government during the response to the COVID pandemic.

Additional information/next steps

The work has demonstrated that achieving consistent and transparent data stewardship practices will be a multi-year initiative and the objective of the commitment will not be met during the term of the plan. This work will be continued in the Government Data Strategy and Roadmap developed by the Government Chief Data Steward.

Commitment 10: Monitoring the effectiveness of public body information management practices

The problem that the commitment addresses

To make the management of government information more visible and therefore transparent by developing and implementing a monitoring framework that supports public reporting on the effectiveness of information management by central and local government agencies.

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

Two key components form the Framework. Together they provide a comprehensive view of the performance of information and records management in the public sector: an annual survey of public offices and local authorities’ information and records management; and an audit of public offices information and records management.

A monitoring framework enables the regulator to assess performance and give guidance to agencies about the standards to be met and their progress in meeting the standards. The monitoring framework will build public trust and confidence in the management of government agency information and provide an accountability mechanism.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Transparency and Accountability.

Milestones

Develop a proposed monitoring framework that reflects the Information and Records Management Standard and includes a suite of consistent and relevant measures to enable public visibility of the effectiveness of agency information management. This could include technology to enable a whole-of system view of government information holdings and the effectiveness of its management.

Communication and engagement: the proposed framework and its potential options are consulted on with regulated parties and other potential users.

Rolling it out. Ensuring that the implemented monitoring activity is useful for, and easily used by, the regulated agencies to improve performance and that a common view of results is available to all stakeholders (including the public).

Start/end dates

July 2018 – December 2018

July 2018 – July 2019

April 2019 – July 2020

Completion

Completed

Completed

Completed

Description of the results

The new monitoring framework supports Archives New Zealand (Archives) to focus its work as regulator of the performance of public sector information and records management. The monitoring framework enables Archives to use what is learned from monitoring to support the sector to more effectively improve information and records management practice and performance. The Framework is an important part of a larger Archives work programme to implement a long term strategy, Archives 2057, and feeds directly into our strategic focus areas of upholding transparency and building systems together.

Additional information/next steps

This commitment has been completed.

Commitment 11: Authoritative dataset of government organisations
as open data for greater transparency

The problem that the commitment addresses

To release and maintain an authoritative dataset of government organisations as open, machine-readable data to enhance the transparency of government structures to the public. There will be cross-agency agreement to maintain this dataset, providing assurance that the data being used is the authoritative source. This dataset becomes a foundation for both digital services and information about government.

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

Under this commitment, the open data set will be released on data.govt.nz and be accessible via the data.govt.nz open data Application Programming Interface (API). Opportunities for reuse of the dataset will be promoted. Appropriate common standards for the dataset will be agreed across government, with the owners, contributors and maintainers of the information identified and agreed. As a result of this work, New Zealanders and others will have access to authoritative open data about government agencies and their roles, learn more about how government is structured, what agencies do, and be able to reuse this open data in new and innovative ways. It will enhance the transparency of government structures to the public.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Technology and Innovation and Transparency and Accountability.

Milestones

Identify owners, contributors and maintainers for the data in the proposed dataset.

Investigate and agree on the appropriate open standards for the dataset.

Work with identified dataset contributors to agree on the process for ongoing maintenance of the dataset.

Explore and then agree on a governance model and ongoing ownership for the data model and data set.

Publish the machinery of government open data set, released by the Public Services Commission in 2020, on data.govt.nz.

Draft and then confirm a data model of the ‘machinery of government’ to support the ongoing release of data about government organisations.

Ongoing technical task of making the data set available via the data.govt.nz open data Application Programming Interface (API).

Secure active users of the dataset/API by promoting the opportunities for reuse to government agencies, non-governmental organisations, business, and the public.

Start/end dates

Oct 2018 – Dec 2018

Oct 2018 – June 2021

Dec 2018 – June 2021

Aug 2020 – June 2021

Dec 2018 – June 2020

Jan 2020 – June 2021

Dec 2018 – June 2021

June 2019 – June 2021

Completion[1]

Completed

Underway

Some delays

Underway

Completed

Underway

Some delays

Underway

Description of the results

We improved access to information about the structure of government agencies. Since June 2020 this has been available as an open data option via data.govt.nz. In the medium-term, completing the Govt A-Z sandbox experiment will provide valuable insights into the practicalities of consuming datasets in production systems and will demonstrate for decision-makers the potential of the C11 dataset. The Department of Internal Affairs has committed resources to a two-phased implementation plan involving: Build and Release (phase 1) and Maintain and Develop (phase 2). The implementation plan will begin in early 2022.

Additional information/next steps

Following a review in early 2020, in light of lessons learned in the course of implementation of the commitment and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, four additional milestones were added. These recognised the need to ensure that, once created, the dataset continues to be maintained and enhanced.

Commitment 12: Open procurement

The problem that the commitment addresses

To publish the data on government-awarded contracts that is currently publicly available on the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) as open data.

How the commitment contributes to solving the problem

It will be easy for people to find and access published GETS information for contracts awarded by government agencies that are subject to the Government Procurement Rules. This will increase the level of trust the public has in procurement as it will be possible to analyse what contracts government agencies are awarding, what the expected spend is and which businesses have been awarded contracts.

Why the commitment is relevant to OGP values

This supports Transparency and Accountability, and Technology and Innovation.

Milestones

In June 2019 MBIE completed enhancements to the GETS system to improve and simplify completing contract award data for government agencies and provided training to agency GETS users on these changes.

This Milestone was completed in the final quarter of 2019, and information on what was intended was provided to agencies and stakeholders. A workshop was held to align the Award data with the Open Data Contracting Standard. Stakeholders had also sought inclusion of historic date, and consideration of this proposal was considered. This proved not to be practicable. This finding is consistent with experience in other comparable international jurisdictions on this.

This milestone was completed in January 2020 with the publication of the second procurement open data report, covering the period July 2019 to December 2019. This work has now transitioned to business as usual.

Work commenced on some areas needing further work to complete mapping to the Open Data Contracting Standard and to consider release of historic data.

Start/end dates

October 2018 – June 2019

July 2019 – December 2019

June 2020 – Ongoing

Completion

Completed

Completed

Completed

Description of the results

The data is public and accessible, the impact will depend on the use to which organisations and individuals put the information they are now able to access and manipulate. 2,400 unique webpage views of our open data page, with the award notice file (the main file of four available) being downloaded almost 1,000 times (obviously people download new copies each quarter). We also made historical data available, and this has also been downloaded ~400 times

Additional information/next steps

Consideration is being given to how to make further improvements to the transparency of government procurement data. With regards to future plans, we are looking at improving the data quality to give a more granular data, which will be possible by our recent platforming of the GETS system to Azure. We are also working with agencies to improve the data quality and timeliness of the data provided. Commitment links:

• MBIE website: New Zealand government procurement open data
• govt.nz website: New Zealand Government procurement award notices
• NZGPP newsletter item about the Open Data Open Potential event hosted by Statistics New Zealand
• Blog story about our work on the data.govt.nz website: Making government procurement data more accessible