Building on our reputation as a source of trusted information

What we want to achieve

We want to build on our reputation as a source of trusted information about public sector performance and accountability, which the public and Parliament can use to help hold public organisations to account.

Why this is important

An independent, authoritative, and balanced voice is a counter to misinformation. We need to do more to communicate our work to target audiences to ensure that it has impact, and for us to be seen more widely as an independent source of truth on matters of public sector performance and accountability.

The change we want to see after five years

Our target audiences will:

• see us as a source of truth and trusted information; and
• regularly use the information we have to help hold public organisations to account.

We will be:

• working to increase our target audiences' understanding of our role and what we stand for;
• seeking the perspectives of New Zealanders and communities of interest, and using these to inform our work and what we focus on;
• using a wider range of channels and tailored approaches to communicate the findings of our work;
• presenting our work and data about public sector performance in ways that are more useful to those interested in public sector performance; and
• maintaining stronger relationships with communities with a mutual interest in aspects of public sector performance and accountability.

What we will do

Raising our profile

Being a trusted voice does not mean we need a high public profile. However, we do need to increase understanding of our role and what we stand for among our target audiences to earn and maintain their trust.

To achieve this, we will be intentional in how we communicate our work, including:

• identifying our target audiences and communicating with them through a wider range of channels and approaches;
• more clearly explaining the roles of the Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General as independent Officers of Parliament and increasing, where appropriate, their public profile;
• more actively targeting our engagement with the media and other influential stakeholders; and
• publishing more data and information that will be useful for people interested in public sector performance and accountability.

Communications and engagement capability

To support a more strategic approach to communicating to, and engaging with, our target audiences, we will need to strengthen our capability as an organisation. This includes providing staff with tools to support effective engagement. We will also focus on building and maintaining relationships with our target audiences to raise awareness about our work and to learn from their perspectives on public sector performance and accountability.