introduction to sdd and sdd’s project...
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Introduction to SDD and SDD’s project methodology
Note: the policy examples in this document are for illustrative purposes only
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The best policy advice is strategic
Good policy is clear about the objectives and outcomes the policy is trying to achieve and the means by which those objectives and outcomes will be achieved.
Formulating the best policy advice requires the taking of a strategic approach
What do we mean by ‘Strategic approach’?
A strategic approach has numerous characteristics, most notably: • Long term thinking; • Holistic analysis; • Using a strong evidence base; and • Analysing underlying problems
Strategic policy projects intensive strategic focus on a particular policy problem, often with a dedicated team of policy officers from a range of multidisciplinary perspectives
To assist in taking a strategic approach, strategic policy projects may be instigated
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Complex problems have:
• No definitive formulation (defining complex problems is a complex problem)
• No stopping rule
• Solutions that are better or worse (rather than true or false)
• No immediate test of a solution
• No enumerable (or an exhaustively describable) set of potential solutions
• Within them, symptoms of other problems
• High stakes - the planner has no right to be wrong (planners are liable for the consequences of their actions)
Strategic policy projects often address complex public policy problems
Complex problems have common characteristics1
Source: 1) The characteristics of complex problems are not unique and there are many variants. These characteristics are drawn from the work of Rittel and Webber on ‘wicked problems’ – an early conceptualisation of this approach, see Rittel, Horst, and Melvin Webber; "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," pp. 155–169, Policy Sciences, Vol. 4, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Inc., Amsterdam, 1973.
Examples of complex problems:
• Water reform
• COAG architecture
• Schools reform
• Micro-economic reform
• Closing the gap
• Congestion in cities
• Behavioural change to drive energy efficiency
• Health and hospitals
• Federalism
• Jobs and the economy of the future
• Local government reform
• Cyber-crime
We rarely get the chance to engage in policy design from scratch (e.g. design a new tax system from the ground up)
More often we are asked to look at an area with a range of policies, programs, incentives and disincentives at play and ask the questions : Where Australia could go from here? How could we improve upon our current situation? What are some steps we could take to move forward?
Doing this well requires people to combine both a sense of realism with innovative thinking
Policy formulation does not start with a clean slate
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Longer-term horizons
Holistic perspective
Underlying problems
Innovative and creative
solutions
Strong evidence
base Shape the
future debate
Inclusively engage
stakeholders
Consideration of implementation
Compellingly communicated
Multi-disciplinary perspective
• Thinking beyond the next incremental decision
• Consider how government may position the nation for the future through actions today
• Thinking beyond any government silos
• Consideration of issues from whole of government/society perspectives
• Going beyond treating the symptoms to understand what is truly driving a problem and in turn how it can be addressed.
• Taking the time to ensure that the right question is being answered
• Consider and take on board ideas that may seem radical
• Transformational change is considered
• New approaches that can be used or solutions that can be borrowed from other domains
• Applying the most robust analysis to the best available evidence, in order to develop informed answers to the questions posed
• Create a space for new debates and new discussions to take place
• Ensure a range of viewpoints are understood and accounted for.
• This should lead not only to more informed policy advice, but also more innovative and creative solutions
• Plan to manage and mitigate implementation risks.
• Consider how best to implement change through the whole delivery system, connecting front-line service delivery to cabinet room policy decision making
• Persuasive • Communicated in a simple
and logical fashion which is compelling to the reader
• Sound rationale and use of narrative to aide communication
• involves ‘inter-systems’ thinking – thinking beyond any particular portfolio or disciplinary perspective
Solving these complex public policy problems requires a strategic approach
These represent some of the key elements associated with taking a strategic approach to policy
Not all elements will be relevant to any given policy issue
Given time and resourcing constraints, it is simply not possible to always consider all policy issues using an intensive strategic approach
Use of the strategic approach should be based on the complexity of the problem, resource and time constraints
Most of the projects SDD undertakes are complex and require a strategic approach to be taken
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
To complete strategic policy projects rigorously to tight deadlines, our approach has five broad components
Projects are set up for success with concrete deliverables
Regular meeting rhythm and process
STAIR is an approach to problem
solving and policy development
‘Nailing the question’ is a key feature of SDD’s distinctiveness
Complex strategic policy projects require a significant amount of time spent just getting the question right
Narrative and storytelling used to communicate efficiently and effectively
Communication a focus right from day one, never just at the end of a project
Critical to our approach is bringing people along the journey and getting input from the start
Complex and wide-ranging policy projects require input from a broad range of people
STAIR employs private-sector techniques adjusted for a
complex policy environment to State, Test, Analyse,
Iterate and Resolve
The way each of these components is used varies across different projects and SDD’s approach is evolving and is not ‘set in stone’.
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Strategic project teams need to build a culture of trust, collaboration and innovation
Trust
People should feel comfortable to speak up and put their ideas on the table This happens when:
• Team members are encouraged to put their views forward and they are discussed respectfully
• The confidentiality of sensitive information and viewpoints is maintained
• A sense of shared ‘team ownership’ for the project and its outcomes is cultivated
Collaboration
Innovation
Collaboration is vital both within the team and with external stakeholders This happens when:
• Project management harnesses team member’s different skill sets and experiences effectively
• A common sense of the policy narrative for the project is developed while capitalising on the different perspectives of team members
• Ongoing SDD staff are paired up effectively with secondees and interns
• Expectations for the project are clearly outlined to team members and external stakeholders
Left-field or ‘out-of-the-square thinking should be encouraged This happens when:
• Project teams ask the question: ‘what is the piece of really interesting work or analysis we could do here?’
• There is time to read widely and test whether policy solutions can be borrowed from other domains
• People take a ‘citizen-centred’ approach and think about what the problems are for people on the ground and how any proposed solutions would impact on them
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The best way to understand SDD’s project methodology is to apply it using a case study scenario
The Prime Minister recently attended a dinner where an academic gave a speech on women’s participation in Australia, noting that Australia has slipped to number 50 on the 2009 World Economic Forum Gender Global Index of women’s labour market participation. The Secretary has asked for a strategic policy project to consider ways in which the workforce participation rate of women in Australia could be increased. The Secretary has stressed that he would like the project to consider all the issues and drivers associated with the problem, rather than focusing purely on economic issues. This will be a twelve week project for SDD involving five staff (three ongoing and two secondees).
Commissioning Brief: Hypothetical example – Women’s workforce participation project
Over the course of the day your group will complete five activities that echo the first key steps of a typical SDD project: 1. An information gathering activity where you will identify
the precise nature of the problem and its context, and familiarise yourself with current thinking;
2. A project scoping activity where you will develop an ‘issues tree’ to systematically break the problem down into its component issues and use this analysis to generate a project plan;
3. A statement generation activity where you will have a ‘first crack at the answer’, tease-out your core assumptions and identify the most effective analytical methods to test these assumptions;
4. A stakeholder mapping activity where you will identify the individuals/groups most affected by your project and consider how best to identify, balance and respond to, their competing needs and interests; and
5. A ‘ghost deck’ activity where you will use narrative techniques to ‘storyboard’ your project’s aims, assumptions and analyses and present your argument to your project sponsor.
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Focus on scoping STAIR approach to problem solving and policy development Inclusively engaging stakeholders Compellingly communicated Dedicated project management
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Project scoping is our opportunity to really nail the question – and identify the different approaches we can bring
We are in the privileged position to be able to challenge the question we are being asked to solve – we should use this privilege effectively in the scoping stage. Then we can deliver a solution to the real problem
What is the problem?
What is the real goal or outcome that we want to achieve? And therefore, what is the real question we are being asked?
What has been tried in the past? Is there a better question to be asked?
What are the constraints? And which of these constraints are truly binding?
What is in and out of scope?
Complex problems cross multiple dimensions – to make the project tractable we need to agree on what is out of scope.
Some things may be out of scope for political or practical reasons
Clarifying scope is important in managing stakeholder expectations.
Can the problem be solved?
Sometimes the combination of constraints and scope mean that we cannot make a meaningful contribution – we should be honest and say that
We can still maximise our contribution by providing clarity on the issue and identifying the barriers to solving the problem
What is the interesting piece of work we can do?
In most projects we need to do more than review existing literature or data.
What is the different approach that we can take?
What is the distinctive piece of analysis or modeling that will illustrate an aspect of the problem in a different way – leading to a distinct solution?
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The first step is to get a preliminary understanding of the problem
Read background information
Search for relevant information
Discuss with colleagues & team
‘Get smart’ on the topic
Ask questions!
PM&C Library
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Case study exercise: Information Gathering
Exercise 1—Information gathering
Task: Read the available background
information and discuss to develop a
preliminary understanding of the issue
and context Tips: • Read all the materials provided
• Think through the questions provided
• Always keep in mind, ‘how big is this
issue’ and ‘what am I really trying to
address here?’ • Discuss within your team, this brings
out opinions and different ways of
looking at information very quickly
Time: This should take about 45
minutes, read through the material
yourself and then discuss for 30 minutes
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Once familiar with the problem and its context, we break it down into its component parts to structure our thinking
How can the government use non-traditional behavioural change tools to influence citizens to reduce GHGs when using energy?
Which behaviours are currently creating household GHGs?
What equipment/appliances are the main sources of GHGs?
Which citizens are creating GHGs? (audience)
What changes can citizens make to produce less GHGs?
Can citizens move to cleaner sources of energy?
Can citizens stop using energy?
Can citizens remove GHGs from the atmosphere?
Can they buy carbon offsets?
Can they contribute to others buying carbon offsets? Can they buy charcoal to remove carbon?
Can they remove carbon from other ways?
Can citizens use energy more efficiently?
Can we change some citizen behaviour to stop energy use?
Can we eliminate an appliance? Can we change some citizen behaviour to use less?
Can we switch to appliances/equipment that is more efficient?
Can we move citizens to all clean energy?
Can we move some citizens in part to cleaner energy?
What new behavioural change levers could be used to influence citizens to reduce GHG?
Where are the main sources of GHGs omitted (geography)?
How are citizen GHG emissions distributed throughout the year? Why are citizens indulging in GHG behaviour when alternatives exist?
Can we use financial tools? Can we use motivational tools? Can we use norm tools? Can we use effort tools?
What new proposals can we conceive (including drawn from non-energy efficiency initiatives)?
What has been done (or is planned ) in Australia to reduce household GHG emissions?
What has been done internationally to reduce citizen’s GHG?
Can we optimise the running of the appliance/ equipment?
Travel (34%) Home appliances (59%) Other uses (7%)
Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Other segments
Who was targeted?
What tools was used? How was it measured?
How effective was it?
Who was targeted?
What tools was used? How was it measured?
How effective was it? Who will be targeted?
Others?
Issue trees can be used for identifying and/or clarifying the problem
For illustrative purposes only
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Capturing all the relevant information on a single scoping slide supports a focused discussion with the sponsor or client
Overall question/problem Context
Probably the hardest part of the project
• What precisely is the problem – which is often very different to the problem that we have been presented with
• What precisely is the question that our project will seek to answer
Context is important as it illustrates that we have sufficient understanding of the issues to have a credible crack at the problem
It also allows us to check that we have correctly defined and understood the ‘universe’ in which the problem is situated
Scope Stakeholder Engagement
There are three key things in defining our scope:
• What issues are we going to focus on
• What issues are we not going to focus on (possibly more important)
• What is the ‘cool’ piece of analysis we are going to do that will separate our work from other work in the area
The focus of this section is on identifying the key stakeholders that we need to engage
A more detailed stakeholder engagement plan needs to be developed once the scope has been agreed
Governance and team resources End products
This is the “bottom line” of the scope for the sponsor and senior management. It tells them the resource cost, and the cost in their time to make the project a success. Don’t ‘cost pad’, but don’t fall into the trap of underestimating the true cost of the work
A clear focus on the end products is critical in framing all the work - it needs to identify the product and the audience
• Cabinet Submission;
• Briefing for the PM
Having a clear scoping document and then getting it agreed with the project sponsor and steering group is critical in ensuring that expectations are met on all sides
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Case study exercise: Project Scoping
Exercise 2—Project scoping
Task: Break the problem down into
manageable components by building an
issue tree Tips: • Use the MECE principle, trying to
ensure that the branches of the tree
are Mutually Exclusive and
Collectively Exhaustive, so that the
solution space is covered efficiently
• There’s no single correct answer,
there are many ways to break up any
problem • Can you break it down by cohort, by
barrier, by action, or some other
categorisation? Time: This should take about 60
minutes, though in a normal project it
might be revised many times over!
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Focus on scoping STAIR approach to problem solving and policy development Inclusively engaging stakeholders Compellingly communicated Dedicated project management
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Our STAIR methodology employs private-sector techniques adjusted for our complex policy environment
State... ...what you think is the root cause of/ solution to, the problem
Test... ...your statement with key stakeholders
Analyse... ...the assumptions that underlie your statement by gathering evidence
Iterate... ...to progressively refine your statement to reflect new knowledge
Resolve... ...the project by agreeing recommendations & identifying next steps
You may find that you revisit the statement generation step as you gather more evidence and your thinking evolves – this is not evidence that your project is failing, to the contrary, it is a fundamental quality of the STAIR model.
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
In the STAIR approach we quickly generate an initial answer as a way of identifying key elements and then iteratively improve on that answer
Strengths of the STAIR approach
• Allows the team to come to a position quickly and to communicate an answer throughout the project
• Coming to a position early on means it is constantly tested – e.g. against beliefs, existing positions, data, stakeholders – which helps strengthen the veracity of the position
• Well targeted to the problem under consideration
• More flexible to changing commissioning environment (which often occurs in high stakes projects)
• Close and constant liaison with stakeholders means they are part of developing the solution, rather than merely being consumers of the end product
• Close liaison with stakeholders allows a more immediate assessment of which constraints are actually binding
The STAIR approach involves making the best assessment of the answer very early, and then undertaking the necessary analysis to see if the answer is supported
The initial answer statement is heavily informed by early consultation with senior stakeholders and subject matter experts. This approach brings the key elements to the surface quickly.
The process is iterative – the answer statement guides the analysis, but then the analysis usually leads to an amendment of the answer statement. Supporters of this kind of approach argue that this iterative approach closes on the right answer much more rapidly than a more comprehensive approach
By focusing on the statement, analysis is prioritised, so time is not wasted researching areas well away from the actual solution, nor is time wasted on ‘interesting’ areas of analysis that are not central to the real problem
What is the STAIR approach?
.
The key to the STAIR approach is that it surfaces rapidly the key issues and elements of the problem, by focusing stakeholders attention on whether they agree or disagree with your answer statement
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
While the STAIR approach has many benefits, we must account for the pitfalls and counter them wherever possible
• Deep and broad consultations with a diverse range of stakeholders is critical in developing the issues tree and the initial answer statement. The statement needs to be tested with project sponsors and subject matter experts before detailed analysis begins.
• Management practices need to support ‘left field thinking’ – particularly at the scoping stage. Alternative views can also be sought through broad consultations – not just talking to the usual experts
• Senior stakeholders and team members need to be familiar with the STAIR approach and the importance of iteration when they are using it – although even the strongest warnings to senior stakeholders will not fully mitigate this risk
• Avoiding demands for “policy-based evidence” is a challenge for all policymakers. The STAIR approach just makes this risk more explicit
• Sponsors and steering/reference group members need to be familiarised with the strengths and weaknesses of the STAIR approach – including that the first ‘go’ at the answer is to surface the key issues as much as to get it right
How to manage these risks
• Does not provide a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of all the options – which makes the approach inherently more risky.
• If there are multiple possible solutions we are not guaranteed of finding the best solution
• Choosing the initial (and often obvious) solution may preclude us from exploring the genuinely innovative solutions
• The team may become overly attached to the initial statement, which runs the risk of not fully interrogating all possible answers
• Senior stakeholders may become overly attached to the initial solution – particularly if it is compellingly communicated and they announce it publicly
• The approach runs the risk of generating “policy-based evidence” to support the initial disposition of project sponsors or key clients
• The STAIR approach requires the team to take risks – to have a go at the answer with only limited knowledge. To be successful there needs to be a trusting relationship between the team, the project sponsor and the steering/reference group
Risks of a STAIR approach
The STAIR approach is not without risks, but if these are well mitigated it provides a highly effective way to tackle complex problems against tight deadlines
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
We develop a statement tree to rapidly develop a testable answer that brings out the key elements of the problem
Government should automate service delivery
Statement of the answer:
Statement of the problem Satisfaction with service
delivery is declining
‘Facts’ to test answer statement:
Citizens prefer government
services to be automated
We can identify services that
should be automated
The benefits for government outweigh the
costs
This is feasible in the current
legislative framework
Sub elements:
Source: BCG experience
There’s nothing wrong with being wrong! The point of the answer statement is to test it and refine it, not get it right the first go
The statement and ‘facts’ (its underlying assumptions) need to be clear and testable
Be prepared to share you statement with as many people as possible, and get their input on what needs to change
Have your best go at getting it right, drawing on as much expertise as you can, but don’t anchor yourself to it; your first statement will change!
Tips for statement tree
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Answer statement Sub-Issue Analysis Output Resp/Due Date
It is feasible to reduce the number of factories
Some factories have excess capacity
Determine capabilities on an ‘equivalent unit’ basis
Capacity (Kg 13mm Equiv)
Demand is not rising at a significant rate to require new factories
Determine demand on an ‘equivalent unit’ basis
Demand (Proj)
Closing a factory saves more money that the cost of shutting down
From previous analysis Determine which factory provides greatest savings
Savings From Branch Closure
(Branch A)
There are no significant risks to shutting down factories
Determine risk of having fewer than three locations
Capacity can be increased in remaining factories
Ability to shift machinery
The STAIR approach supports good work planning and output management
Ulv MM SD Total
91 92 93 94
Kg
Reduction in FC
VC Savings In Other Plant
Other Trans- port etc
Total Sav- ings
How you are going
to find out?
What will you
produce?
Who will do it by when?
What you need to prove?
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
1 2 3Potential sources include:
Domestic
• Departments and agencies (e.g. Treasury, the Productivity Commission)
• Research organisations (e.g. ABS, CSIRO)
• Longitudinal data sets (e.g. HILDA)
International
• OECD
• World Bank
• UN Organisations
We can build on existing data by:
• Undertaking new modelling
• Scrutinising and then amending the assumptions underpinning data
• Building ‘driver trees’ and using the data to solve our specific questions
• Testing other people’s research findings with stakeholders
Potential methods include:
• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Workshops
• Case studies
• Interviews
• Discourse/textual analysis
We can test our statements using three broad sources of data
We should consider innovative ways to approach analyses and draw on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies
We can draw upon existing analyses
We can perform our own analyses using existing data
We can generate / commission our own data
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
When testing statements it also helps to consider them from different perspectives
These perspectives are not mutually exclusive and overlap
Top- down (e.g. institutional perspective) Bottom-up (e.g. individual citizen’s perspective)
Multi-disciplinary perspectives (e.g. economic, administrative anthropological and legal)
Multi-cohort perspectives (e.g. majority/minority groups)
1
2
3
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Statements can be tested using both top-down and bottom-up perspectives
1
From a bottom up perspective, the policy maker might consider: • What impact might an increase in the GST have on
Joanne, a working mum from Wollongong?
• Would an increase in the GST create further administrative burden for a particular small business operating in the retail sector?
• How would the increase in GST be explained to this particular small business?
Bottom up – focus on individuals
• Brings an individual’s perspective to policy problems and solutions
• It assesses the costs and benefits of policy options for particular individuals
• Focuses on local level circumstances and encourages thinking about what might be achieved on the ground for a particular individual or group of individuals
Top down – focus on systems • Brings a system-wide
perspective to policy problems and solutions
• It assess the costs and benefits of policy options in aggregate
• Focuses on international, national and state/territory actors
Hypothetical Statement: The GST needs to be increased
From a top down perspective, the policy maker might consider: • How might this influence total government revenue?
• What might be the administrative cost of the change?
• How might this influence Commonwealth and State financial relations?
• How might business groups (e.g. the Business Council of Australia) react?
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Statements can be tested using multi-disciplinary perspectives – applying different problem-solving frames to a single issue
2
Policy Problem
Institutional • Map institutions and their
functions • Explore connections and
disconnections between institutions
Administrative • Map the processes that
exist around a problem • Consider issues of system
capability
Legal • Consider the rules,
regulations and sanctions that may apply to a problem
• Explore whether there are too many rules or not enough
Anthropological • Examine the social and
cultural conditions that underpin a problem
• Seek to understand the history of a group of people
Economic • Explore the operation
of markets and incentives
• Identify market failures and consider interventions and their consequences
Hypothetical Statement: There is a lack of financial services in remote Indigenous communities
Institutional • Which financial institutions have a presence in remote
communities and what services are they providing?
Legal • Are there any legal obligations on financial institutions to
provide services in remote locations?
• Are appropriate regulatory and law enforcement arrangements in place to prevent fraud associated with financial products?
Anthropological • How do particular remote Indigenous communities
currently save and trade money? How have they saved and traded resources in the past?
Administrative • What processes do people undertake to access, save and
spend Centrelink payments?
Economic
• What is the market failure leading to a lack of financial services in communities?
• What incentives might lead to the provision and use of these services?
Statements that are proved valid from a number of disciplinary perspectives are more likely to be correct and hold significant weight in a policy development process
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Statements can be tested using a multi-cohort perspective, exploring the views of majority and minority groups
3
Policy Problem
Majority Group
Majority Perspective
A majority perspective would ask whether the proposed policy provides an overall benefit to the community. ‘The greatest good for the greatest number’
Minority Perspective A minority group perspective would ask what impact the policy has on groups in the community, and whether particular groups are advantaged or disadvantaged more than others by the policy.
Age group
Ethnic group
Income bracket
Family type
Geographic group
Hypothetical Statement: We should create more jobs in service industries to reduce unemployment
From a majority group perspective, the policy maker might consider: • Are the majority of Australians now employed in
service industries?
• Will increasing employment in service industries have the maximum flow-on effect for GDP?
• Will inflation increase?
When considering various minority groups the policy maker might consider:
• Will this measure assist older Australians?
• Will this largely affect employment figures in lower income brackets?
• Are there more casual / part-time workers in service industries?
• Will this measure work to improve unemployment rates in the bush?
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Iteration is an important component of our approach—we will revise our answer many times before the final version
First answer statement First draft of your deck Successive revisions Final version
SDD experience tells us there will be MANY iterations This is normal – if the solution to the problem was known, we wouldn’t be working in this space!
Structure
Cabinet In Confidence
Strategy and Delivery
First Draft of deck
2 July 2010
Cabinet-In-Confidence
Cabinet In Confidence
Strategy and Delivery
Final Version of Deck
24 September 2010
Cabinet-In-Confidence
Answer
Situation
Complication
Resolution
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Case study exercise: Statement Generation
Exercise 3—Statement generation
Task: Have a first attempt at the answer by
converting the issue tree into a statement tree.
Then decide what analysis might be necessary
to prove each statement correct or incorrect
Tips: • Turn your issue tree from questions into
statements • Use the first three steps of the STAIR
method • Be creative about the way you can prove
each statement correct or incorrect—this is
the time to decide what the real work you will
do is, and how you will do it
• There are many different ways to prove your
point, think of qualitative and quantitative
methods Time: This is the most important part of
problem solving, it should take about 45
minutes today, but may take a week in a
normal project
State...
Test...
Analyse...
Iterate...
Resolve...
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Focus on scoping STAIR approach to problem solving and policy development Inclusively engaging stakeholders Compellingly communicated Dedicated project management
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Stakeholders are often thought to be the senior people in key decision-making roles, but in reality they are a subset of our stakeholders A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in, has influence on, or is impacted by the outcomes of a decision or action Stakeholder management can be thought of as the planning and execution of how we engage with stakeholders
Good stakeholder management means we engage effectively with people with an interest in, or an influence on, our project
Stakeholder management links to and supports other parts of the SDD methodology: • STAIR approach – helps form and test the answer • Evidence-based approach – helps gather evidence and ensure
representativeness • Systems thinking – helps manage complexity
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The complexity of the issues, the tight deadlines and our iterative approach put a higher premium on good stakeholder engagement
Good stakeholder management is important
for good policy
Identifying and working closely with content experts delivers a higher quality product
Working with the key decision-makers to build their support is critical to getting any proposals accepted
Engaging with opponents mean that their concerns can either be addressed or rebutted
BUT
Our issues are often complex
So we need to engage more deeply
We work to tight deadlines
So we need to engage more frequently
We take an iterative approach
So our answers can change significantly and rapidly
SO
We need to place a higher premium on good stakeholder management and ensure that we do it in a systematic and effective way We also need to do it in the right way to ensure that we build the relationship of trust that underpins the use of a STAIR approach
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Who are our stakeholders and why do we engage with them?
Who stakeholders are may range
from project sponsor to end
users
The purposes of engagement
will vary
The nature of the engagement will depend on how the project
is set up
• Goals • Audience • Timeframe • Subject
1. Increase the quality of inputs (evidence) for our work
• Need varying perspectives on complex problems to get a comprehensive understanding of issues (and solutions)
2. Communication and selling of ideas • Demonstrate breadth of input
(inclusiveness) • Get people onside • Get commitment of resources • Achieve consensus where we can • Where we can’t get consensus, clearly
identify the points of difference – and propose options
• Project sponsor • Within PM&C • Within the Commonwealth • States and Territories • Implementers, workforce • Interest groups, end users • Any others affected by a
decision
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
There are a range of tools that we use
It is important to note there is no set way, or mandated tools to do stakeholder management as each project will have a unique set of stakeholders
Govt funders
Teacher pay
Classroom conditions
Unions
Co-located nurses
Health system
Disadva-ntagedchildren
Parents
Example: Schools
Stakeh-older
Issue
inform
consult
collaborate
empower
listen
Decide in favour of A
B becomes hostile
B does XXX
YYYXXX??End results
Potential consequences
Initial decision
B does XXX, but A does YYY
ZZZYYY
Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2
Stakeholder 3
Stakeholder 4
Issue 1 Position Position Position Position
Issue 2 Position Position Position Position
Issue 3 Position Position Position Position
Issue 4 Position Position Position Position
Potential trade-off
Decision trees Understand the consequences of decisions
Stakeholder framework Understand where tradeoffs can be made
Stakeholder heat map Understand support and challenges
Venn diagram Understand how interests overlap
Network map Understand connections and nodes of influence
Stakeholder engagement ladder Decide on the appropriate level of engagement
Degree of buy in -
Importance
of stakeholders
Attention needed – manage risk
Limit input – filter unneeded information
Champions – actively involve
Supporters – keep engaged
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Case study exercise: Stakeholder Mapping (Group exercise)
Exercise 4—Stakeholder mapping
Task: Identify important stakeholders for
the project and how you will engage
them using the ladder model
Tips: • Think of this broadly, not just in terms
of the process of doing the project,
but also in terms of content—who will
be impacted by your
recommendations, which citizens
does the project affect
• List both those that will be in favour
as well as those you will have to work
hard to convince
• Discuss how you will engage each
group of stakeholders
Time: 30 minute group discussion
inform
consult
collaborate
empower
listen
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Focus on scoping STAIR approach to problem solving and policy development Inclusively engaging stakeholders Compellingly communicated Dedicated project management
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Storytelling is a critical element to SDD’s methodology
Why we tell stories
How we tell stories
Good stories should...
However, evidence must always drive the story
• Increasingly, advice must look to persuade as well as inform
• Stories are relatable and compelling
• Presenting evidence in a story makes complex things easier to understand and more memorable
• There is an appropriate blend of structure and flow, evidence and anecdote
• Involves arguing why the recommended approach is more compelling than alternative recommendations
• Emphasises what is new, different and innovative in our recommendations – because this is ultimately more interesting than the status quo and will stay with the reader
• Situates the decision maker within the story
• Provide an impetus to their action
• Assist the decision maker visualise new possibilities and anticipate future reform directions
• Open up vision and imagination
• There is a fine balance between evidence dictating story and story dictating evidence – and it is imperative this is managed to ensure evidence always informs the story being told
• And we don’t omit critical information to support a more compelling story
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Good analysis is not enough – it needs to be communicated compellingly to stand up against well communicated poor analysis
In a contestable environment, policy advice has to be persuasive. Good policy advice is compelling. It is embraced by Ministers, even if not immediately, and is impervious to the assaults of other players in the game, including those motivated by vested interests. Public policy advisers who appreciate this point pay as much attention to the construction and presentation of an argument as they do the quality of the analytical content and the soundness of its strategic perspective.
Ken Henry Secretary of the Treasury, 2007
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Though we use different formats, the approach to communication must always be clear and compelling
Slide decks Public policy papers Speeches
Cabinet submissions Briefs to PM Emails
SOME TIPS Set out your argument in one line: what is the one idea you want people to take from
your work? Write for an intelligent outsider. Write as if you’re talking to someone at a dinner party. Stories stick: are there any stories that can enliven your work?
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Good writing is good story-telling: a template for our work
This template can be modified or embellished but it is the basic structure of many (perhaps most) stories, and of our policy work
We are here:
We want to go there:
Why do we want to go there?
How do we get there?
What difficulties lie along the way?
How will we know when we have got there? The Secretary: what will success look like?
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Two stories: very different and yet the same a) Health policy b) Lord of the Rings
We are here:
a) Our health system is under pressure and faces mounting challenges
b) Sauron wants his Ring of Power but Frodo has it
We want to go there:
a) We need to build a health system for the 21st century
b) Frodo must throw the Ring into Mount Doom
Why do we want to go there?
a) Because a strong health system is essential to a strong, fair society
b) Because it is good to save the world from evil
How do we get there?
a) By an alliance with states, a stronger Commonwealth role, better hospitals, and a good map
b) By an alliance with elves, dwarves and wizards, and a good map
Difficulties along the way?
a) Potential cost blowouts, arguments with the states, a shrinking budget
b) Black Riders, orcs, and a giant spider – all require rigorous policy responses
How will we know?
a) Patients get excellent service at an acceptable cost; society is healthy
b) The Ring destroyed, Middle Earth saved
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Storyboarding the titles and then preparing a simple ghost deck lets you check whether you have a good story
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Exercise 4—Ghost deck
Task: Put together a ghost deck to
describe your early narrative, and to
give an outline of what analysis you will
do throughout the project
Tips: • This is not a final answer, it is a first
attempt at how you will describe the
problem and the solution
• There are different methods to writing
a story, discuss a number of them, for
example ‘situation, complication,
resolution’ or ‘where are we, where to
we want to be, how do we get there’
Time: 1 hour, but leave some time to
discuss how you will present it to your
project sponsor and other stakeholders
to get their early input
Case study exercise: Ghost Deck
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Focus on scoping STAIR approach to problem solving and policy development Inclusively engaging stakeholders Compellingly communicated Dedicated project management
43
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Good project management is critical if we are going to find solutions to complex problems in tight timeframes
• Our projects are often extremely complex
• We work in multi-disciplinary teams with people from diverse backgrounds including other departments, other divisions and the private sector
• We work to tight deadlines, our projects require rapid responses
• We need input from a wide range of experts to get to the right answer
• We need to engage a large number of stakeholders along the way to ensure agreement
• Each project is unique—there is no set formula for getting to the right answer
There are a number of factors that mean our projects require dedicated project management
There is always more work that could be done on a difficult problem. Good project management ensures that we consciously choose what level of resourcing to invest – and that we get the best answer we can with that investment
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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Project planning requires thinking through all the interactions and deliverables ahead of time
Project planning
• Good project planning is more than just a Gantt chart (pictured)
• The chart is a tool to help sequence and arrange all of the activities and considerations for a project
• Good project planning requires
• Consideration of resourcing
• Booking meetings in calendars
• Considering of the project ‘rhythm’—can it be achieved on time, how hard will the team be working
• Agreeing on interim deliverables and dates
15. 05.22. 12. 19.Mar Apr
29.01. 08.
Meetings with Portfolio Secretaries
Work Stream
Other meetings
NP/IP Process Diagram & Checklists
Developing Transition Plan Scoping Deck
Drafting IP Circular
Drafting IP Concept Paper
Final Project Report for PM
Final Project Report for SCoSP
Consistent Script
Develop Transition Plan
Ongoing Support to DPG
Report for Treasury HoTs (Backpack)
SDD Drafting
SDD Consulting
Non-SDD Responsibility
Confirmed Meeting
Meeting TBCFinal Deliverable
SCoSP Meeting
Lisa Paul
Jeff Harmer
Jane Halton
?
Steering Group
COAGDeputy SOM
Reference Group
??
? ? ?
with Treasury
with Treasury
?
Interim Deliverable
Interim products and interim deadlines play a critical role in our project approach – we use them to drive our output and drive our stakeholder engagement . We know we will have to iterate, so let’s plan for it
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