Chief Executive Barry Matthews (second from left)
listening in at the Christchurch staff planning workshop.
What should Corrections’ priorities be for the next five years? What strategies should we use to make our priorities happen? If we’ve got a thousand good ideas and resources for half of them, which should we implement?
Big questions – but Corrections’ Manager of Planning and Monitoring David Gurney says the development of our Strategic Business Plan 2008-13 is well underway.
David says the strategic business plan will be high-level, with the individual groups’ and services’ annual planning cycles being the place for “nitty-gritty stuff” about specific initiatives.
“Things change, so while Corrections as a whole needs a clear direction, we don’t want to lock ourselves into anything too tightly. What we need is an agile organisation that can respond to voices from the regions,” David says.
Five broad outcome areas have already been defined for Corrections by the Minister (see diagram). How we prioritise within these outcome areas, and the strategies we put in place to make the outcomes happen is where our Strategic Business Plan 2008-13 comes in.
A key part of our planning process has been a series of five consultation workshops for over 400 staff members across the country. The attendees were chosen by the Regional Management Committees as people who think deeply and would have valuable input.
The workshops have been attended by Chief Executive Barry Matthews and Senior Managers so they can hear first-hand the discussions of the risks, issues and priorities as staff see them.
“The workshops have been an opportunity for the Department to empower front-line staff to have more input in the planning process – and it’s been very useful,” says Barry.
“We’ve got a lot of very clued-up people with a lot of insight about Corrections and the wider environment, and we’re harnessing that knowledge,” says David.
Community Probation Service Manager Jane Hurdle, who took part in the Christchurch workshop, says it was a wonderful opportunity to give feedback.
“It was interesting that the different groups at my workshop came up with very similar priorities, such as the importance of good communication across groups and services.
“I’m now looking forward to receiving the draft plan. The opportunity to have input really helps staff to feel part of the plan and understand where the vision came from,” says Jane.
Corrections is also consulting widely with managers and stakeholders such as our Maori and Pacific Island networks. In addition, we are considering the impact of possible changes in legislation, projected offender numbers, research and other sources of information as part of the strategic planning process.
We’re also making sure we link our plan to that of the wider Justice Sector to ensure our goals fit in with those of other key agencies with which we work.
As part of the five-year planning process, Corrections is also developing Maori and Pacific Island peoples’ strategic plans which will link into our over-arching strategic plan.
The Department of Corrections' Primary Outcomes
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ISSN 1178-8453