What we did

Part of the role of the Ministry of Health in New Zealand is to provide leadership and effective stewardship of the health and disability system. This includes the monitoring of key health sector organisations such as the Health Promotion Agency (the HPA).

The New Zealand Ministry of Health engaged us to conduct a review to explore issues and opportunities related to the HPA’s ability and agility to respond to emerging health issues, as well as its integration with the wider health sector. We considered how well HPA’s core work program aligned with Government priorities, whether its funding model enabled it to deliver against Ministerial expectations, and how the governance and leadership arrangements support it to achieve goals.

How we did it

We developed a framework of analysis building on the key questions the Ministry of Health sought to understand. The framework was based on a review of key sector documents and initial engagement with key stakeholders at the HPA, including its Board, and the Ministry of Health. The framework also identified documentary sources that were comprehensively assessed to support assessment against the review questions. A series of group and individual interviews with the HPA executive and its Board, key Ministry of Health stakeholders, and other sector agencies, provided an opportunity to delve into and correlate views and findings to identify opportunities for improved alignment. HPA staff were also given an opportunity to contribute through a staff survey. The findings from the document review, interviews and staff survey were analysed, findings identified, and recommendations developed that were present to the Ministry of Health and the HPA Board in a concise report that identified priorities activities for change.

Benefits for the client

Our work provided the Ministry with an independent, comprehensive review of the HPA’s alignment with the broader health sector, its ability to respond to emergent health issues, and whether it governance and leadership arrangements could support these goals. The report was tabled at the HPA Board for further action.