Volume 2 Issue 3 of Practice: The New Zealand Corrections Journal focuses on Collaboration and Partnerships and includes:

• Editorial - Ben Clark
• Custodial / case management practice collaboration in a custodial environment - Sarah Symonds, Neil Beales
• Collaborating at the frontline – the Frontline Flagships Programme - Karin Schofield
• Addressing the Drivers of Crime – increasing access to alcohol and drug treatment for community offenders - Tangihaere Walker
• The Youth Crime Action Plan – the evolution of a successful approach - Megan Davis
• New Zealand Gangs: A collaborative approach to reducing re-offending and the harms caused by gangs - Jeanette Schlemmer
• The Chair in Restorative Justice at Victoria University of Wellington: An exercise in interagency collaboration - Professor Chris Marshall
• Partnering for results: Designing a custodial public/private partnership (PPP) - Karen Mitchell, Rachael Cole
• ‘Out of Gate’: Collaboration supports reintegration - Grace Smit, Maree O’Regan & Marianne Bevan
• Practice note: Road safety days for offenders – a case study of a collaborative project in Whanganui/Taranaki district - Annette Perrett
• Nudge: A cause for international collaboration in public policy - Marcus Smith

You can download Volume 2 Issue 3 (PDF, 2.5MB) or read the editorial here:

Editorial

Welcome to our issue on collaboration and partnerships

The Government’s Better Public Services targets require government agencies to collaborate better than they have in the past in order to meet the needs of the citizen. To support this collaboration, the State Services Commission  has made achieving a ‘collective impact’ one of its three key strategic portfolios.

This edition of the Practice Journal celebrates examples of the type of collaboration that the Government is pursuing. The articles reflect some of the many levels at which collaboration can occur. They highlight that the challenge is not in bringing different people together around a shared purpose; the challenge lies in getting  them to operate effectively when they do, without creating dependency. As Charles Darwin put it, “it is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed”.

This edition opens with an article on the collaboration taking place at the front-line in prisons that is critical in striking the balance between maintaining public safety and supporting rehabilitation. Tangihaere Walker’s article on the work to achieve more joined-up health services, as well as the Youth Crime Action Plan and Gang Strategy articles, emphasise how shared strategic priorities across Government agencies have helped to turn good intentions into action. To collaborate and build an effective partnership, all sides need a stake, not just good will.

A key aspect of collaboration that comes through in several of the articles is the importance of giving people a voice. The Practice Note on Road Safety from one of our Gold Make a Difference Award winners, shows how collaboration can build from the ground up with multiple stakeholders, so long as everyone understands the expectations of the endeavour. Similarly, the article on the Public Private Partnership with SecureFuture reveals how that ‘voice’ has been built into the contract: the contract sets out the what, not the how. The review of the Department’s new Out of Gate service highlights the potential for providers to evolve the extent of their collaboration over time, as trust grows with increased understanding.

The Frontline Flagships article builds on the theme of collective impact. It ends with an outline of the five key conditions of collective success and a toolkit to support collaboration. Professor Chris Marshall discusses the unique arrangement that has seen several government agencies, along with a private charitable trust, fund a dedicated senior academic post in restorative justice.

The edition ends with an intriguing article written by Marcus Smith on the ‘nudge’ phenomenon, arguing that we should develop our approach by collaborating with those in other countries who are already experimenting.

All the articles in this edition reinforce the notion that, “the secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other” (Thomas Stallkamp). To frame the challenge of collaboration according to the nudge principles: almost everyone is doing it – why not you?

Ben Clark
Assistant General Manager Programme & Implementation, Department of Corrections