Enhancing our impact in te ao Māori

What we want to achieve

Our role is to help Parliament and the public hold public organisations to account in a way that iwi, hapū, and whānau Māori, as well as Parliament and the wider public, have trust and confidence in.

We want to continue to build trust and confidence among Māori in our role, and for our work to have increased relevance to, and impact for, Māori. We also want to influence the public sector to improve the public accountability system to reflect the uniqueness of New Zealand.

Why this is important

As a statutory body performing a public function, our work should be carried out in a way that upholds te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi (the Treaty). We recognise that policies, programmes, and services that produce quality outcomes for iwi, hapū, and whānau Māori will ultimately benefit all New Zealanders.

The change we want to see after five years

In our organisation:

• our staff will have an understanding of the Treaty, our history as an Office, and the role we have played in the Treaty relationship;
• we will have expanded views on public accountability through a deeper understanding of, and engagement with, te ao Māori and Māori concepts and traditions;
• we will understand the value that Māori perspectives bring to our work, and our work programme will routinely incorporate those perspectives;
• our staff will be more confident engaging with Māori;
• there will be wider use of te reo Māori and recognition of tikanga in our organisation, evident in the way we communicate and the look and feel of our work environments;
• we can relate Māori values to our "what we stand for" statements, both of which underpin the way we work; and
• we will have more Māori staff, who will feel supported to realise their aspirations in the organisation.

After five years:

• we will be working with a well-established external rōpū Māori;
• we will have stronger relationships with Māori, greater coverage in Māori media, and more awareness among Māori about our role; 
• Māori will see our work as useful and relevant to their aspirations; and
• public organisations will be more accountable for improving outcomes for Māori.

What we will do

We have outlined our position in respect of the Treaty for our staff, and are also developing a te ao Māori strategy to help us to continue to build our capacity and capability as an organisation.

We will advance our aspirations and implement our te ao Māori strategy. This includes work to:

• understand and document the history of our organisation in relation to Māori;
• enhance our organisational competency framework to include competencies in te ao Māori tailored to different roles within our organisation;
• develop learning pathways in te reo Māori, tikanga, matauranga Māori, and understanding of the Treaty, tailored to the different needs of our staff. This will include a mix of training, self-directed learning, and experiential activities; and
• adapt our working styles and practices to enable effective and respectful engagement on matters of importance to iwi, hapū, and whānau Māori.

We will also work to:

• build meaningful relationships with iwi, Māori organisations, and individuals, including through the establishment of an external rōpū Māori;
• actively seek Māori perspectives on public accountability and input from Māori into our annual work programme planning; and
• integrate Māori perspectives into how we work and what we focus on.