Community groups and government - interacting and learning: some lessons from the NZ experience

Liz MacPherson, General ManagerMinistry of Consumer Affairs, New Zealand

18th Consumers International World Congress29 October 2007

Who are we?

The NZ Ministry of Consumers Affairs' vision is:

Creating confident consumers.

The Ministry's primary role is to create an environment that promotes good and accurate information flows between suppliers and consumers so that consumers can transact with confidence.

Introduction

• Why do we need effective engagement? • What are our key engagement strategies and the

lessons we have learnt from them?– Community Groups: Relationships and capability– Consumer Representatives: Enhancing roles and

developing skills– Strategies to understand the impact of policies and

programmes on specific groups (covered in later case study)

• New and ongoing challenges

Why do we need effective engagement?• To develop and implement ideas that make markets

work for consumers!!!– necessitates an understanding the real issues –

not just the symptoms– requires co-creation and reality testing of

innovative solutions– requires us to draw on our respective strengths in

service delivery and implementation – not to work towards sameness

– Requires input at the right level and at the right time

– Requires ownership and by-in by all stakeholders

Engagement

• Involves recognising the breadth of consumer experience in the community and the invaluable work of community workers and volunteers dealing with consumer problems on a daily basis

• Involves ensuring we work with consumer groups and agencies in the development of new policy, legislation and even consumer awareness programmes

• Improves understanding of consumer issues, allows for pragmatic debate of options to address these issues and means Improved decision-making. It is an exchange of perspectives and of knowledge to identify problems and develop decisions which have the best chance of providing solutions which work

• And it must be a genuine exchange of views between people who have the knowledge and experience to confront the issues.

1.

Engaging and Working with Community Groups

• History of engagement and relationship building with key community advisory not-for-profit organisations.

• These relationships enable us to share information about consumer issues, and

• Enable community advisors to assist their consumer clients.

More detail..

Nationwide, Citizens Advice Bureaux and budget advisory services

• receive training and manuals on consumer law especially written to their requirements

• have access to our toll-free hotline for difficult cases• are developing the capability to provide useful

consumer data to MCA.

Through MCA’s community networks, the Commerce Commission is accessing information to identify fringe credit provider non-compliance with consumer credit legislation.

Lessons learned

• Working in partnership requires a recognition and understanding of the vision, values and goals of the partner organisation that goes beyond the superficial

• Achieving partnership may require capability building of both partners

• Where the government partner supports the development of the community partner, care must be taken to ensure this relationship builds capability not dependence

• Developing a relationship of trust is critical and takes time

2. Building Consumer Representation in New Zealand

• Consumer representation on decision-making/advisory bodies is one of the most important ways the consumer voice can be heard in real time.

• Support for effective consumer representation, and the provision of consumer nominations to specific positions, are important activities for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

• As a result of the Ministry’s research into the nature of effective consumer representation Cabinet agreed in 2001 to Guidelines on Effective Consumer Representation.

What did the research show?

• Consumer representatives were frustrated because they felt their full potential was not being realised

• Chairs of Committees and Boards felt that they did not know how to “use” their consumer representatives to best effect

• Lack of clarity from “officials” regarding the nature of the task and the desired characteristics and background of the nominees led to some poor choices

• The need to further develop the capability of consumer representatives

• Need for networking between consumer representatives

Lessons learnt - guidelines for consumer representation for officials and for chair persons:

• assist officials to locate a diverse and appropriate range of consumer representatives and laypersons

• encourage criteria-based decisions regarding the involvement of consumer representatives on statutory boards, advisory bodies, departmental working parties, and committees

• provide Ministers, officials, and all those involved in the nomination, selection, and appointment process with better information to support decision-making

• increase the effectiveness and job satisfaction of consumer representatives and

• encourage the development of a participatory working environment in boards, advisory bodies, departmental working parties, and committees.

Lesson learnt – Ministry’s role in supporting Consumer Representation

The Ministry’s role is to advise government agencies and others • of the purpose and value of consumer representation especially

the breadth and difference that consumer representatives bring to the deliberation of issues and decision-making

• of the qualities of effective consumer representatives, and assist them to identify appropriate consumer representatives by making nominations for them to consider

• of the practical difficulties consumer representatives encounter. And to • nominate consumer representatives for consumer or lay

positions on boards and committees• provide opportunities for consumer representatives to network

and support each other, and receive training through the Consumer Representative Network.

Integrating and learning from each other: new and continuing challenges…

• Continue to develop and extend partnership approaches – in the context of greater emphasis on accountability for results

• Build capability of Consumer Representation Network to ensure greater diversity of representation, skills and knowledge – key challenge is the desire for a deep understanding of consumer issues AND director skills

• Provide further best practice advice on consumer consultation and community participation – how to develop a co-creation culture

• Continue building relationships with communities – particularly vulnerable consumer groups

• Recognise and explore new and useful technologies – “the participative web”

For more information:

WWW.consumeraffairs.govt.nz