influencing government policy

One of the roles of community groups is to bring issues to the attention of Government in order to influence government policy.

government policy development cycle

The overall pattern of government policy development is represented in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Government Policy Development Cycle

community sector involvement

With reference to Figure 1, the two points where community organisations can be involved in this policy development process are:

• Defining the Problem (stage 1) and Developing and Analysing Alternatives (stage 2). These are the stages where the government policy analysts consult with the relevant stakeholders. This should include community consultation on issues that affect you.
• Evaluation (stage 5). This is the stage where the government agencies will seek feedback on how well the policy worked.

In many areas, government agencies may establish joint working parties or advisory groups that include representatives of community organisations. Some examples of significant policy projects that involved community sector representatives are:

• the Ministry of Social Development's Te Rito New Zealand Family Violence Prevention Strategy, and a number of projects which flowed from the strategy
• the revision of Child, Youth and Family's Standards for Approval.

timeframes for policy development

There are no absolute timeframes for government policy development. Cabinet may introduce new policies or programmes at any stage, often in response to a particular issue, or overall strategy that they are following.

ANNUAL BUDGET CYCLE

There is, however, an overall Annual Budget cycle that can provide a general timeframe for people who want to influence government policy:

• the government financial year is from 1 July to 30 June
• the Budget is usually announced in May for the following year
• the two stages up to Developing and Analysing Alternatives (see Figure 1), will be going on up to a year earlier. By August/September the previous year, the "budget process" will be underway, with officials developing proposals. (Note: there are always many more proposals than available funding. This means that many worthwhile proposals will not make the cut).

Government officials are able to discuss policies in general terms, and may work with community organisations to develop options (see Figure 1, stage 2).

However, where the policy may involve the allocation of funding in the Budget, officials are not able to discuss the progress or decision-making processes with community groups. There are practical reasons for this - the decisions are made by Cabinet who may not adopt the recommendations from officials, or may seek further information before making a decision.

Return to top of page.