The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) says its study of established community-government partnerships has identified ways for organisations to strengthen their accountability practices when they work together to achieve shared goals.
Communities and government have a long history of working together to help improve New Zealanders’ lives and social outcomes. To ensure success, these partnerships need to be built on a foundation of trust and accountability, the Office said in a statement.
The OAG’s previous work has identified the elements that are essential for effective accountability when organisations work together:
- understanding each other and the nature of the working relationship;
- having clear objectives;
- sharing relevant accountability information;
- having suitable opportunities to discuss, challenge, and use that information; and
- agreeing what happens when things do not go as expected.
To better understand how these elements work in practice, the OAG spoke with people involved in three well-established community–government partnerships. The OAG has shared insights from these case studies in a new article, which also contains good practice tips and resources for public organisations to consider.
Read Supporting accountability through trusting relationships on the OAG website.
