This book offers a practical guide for policy advisors and their managers, grounded in the author's extensive experience as a senior policy practitioner in New Zealand's Westminster-style system of government. A key message is that effective policy advising is less about cycles, stages and steps, and more about relationships, integrity and communication. Policy making is incremental social problem solving. Policy advising is mostly learned on the job, like an apprenticeship. It starts with careful listening, knowing one's place in the constitutional scheme of things, winning the confidence of decision makers, skillfully communicating what they need to hear and not only what they want to hear, and learning to lead from behind, scheme virtuously and play nicely with others. The author introduces a public value approach to policy advising that uses collective thinking to address complex policy problems, evidence-informed policy analysis that also factors in emotions and values, and the practice of "gifting and gaining" (rather than "trade-offs") in the long-term public interest. Theory is illustrated by personal anecdote and each chapter offers practical processes, tools, techniques and questions for reflection, to help readers master the art and craft of policy advising. This second edition has been substantially revised and updated. It provides an expanded, step-by-step approach to stakeholder analysis and prioritisation in relation to an agency's own strategic frame; it aligns and integrates theory about the public interest, public value and anticipatory governance; and it updates a "fair go" multi-criteria decision analysis matrix with the latest iteration of the N.Z. Treasury's Living Standards Framework.

This book offers a practical guide for policy advisors and their managers, grounded in the author's extensive experience as a senior policy practitioner in central and local government. Effective policy advising does not proceed in 'cycles' or neatly ordered 'stages' and 'steps', but is first and foremost a relationship built on careful listening, knowing one's place in the constitutional scheme of things, becoming useful and winning the confidence of decision makers. The author introduces readers to a public value approach to policy advising that uses collective thinking to address complex policy problems; evidence-informed policy analysis that factors in emotions and values; and the practice of 'gifting and gaining' (rather than 'trade-offs') in collaborative governing for the long term. Theory is balanced with practical illustration and processes, tools and techniques, helping readers master the art of communicating what decision-makers need to hear, as well as what they want to hear.

This book offers a practical guide for policy advisors and their managers, grounded in the author’s extensive experience as a senior policy practitioner in New Zealand’s Westminster-style system of government. A key message is that effective policy advising is less about cycles, stages and steps, and more about relationships, integrity and communication. Policy making is incremental social problem solving. Policy advising is mostly learned on the job, like an apprenticeship. It starts with careful listening, knowing one’s place in the constitutional scheme of things, winning the confidence of decision makers, skillfully communicating what they need to hear and not only what they want to hear, and learning to lead from behind, scheme virtuously and play nicely with others. The author introduces a public value approach to policy advising that uses collective thinking to address complex policy problems, evidence-informed policy analysis that also factors in emotions and values, and the practice of “gifting and gaining� (rather than “trade-offs�) in the long-term public interest. Theory is illustrated by personal anecdote and each chapter offers practical processes, tools, techniques and questions for reflection, to help readers master the art and craft of policy advising. This second edition has been substantially revised and updated. It provides an expanded, step-by-step approach to stakeholder analysis and prioritisation in relation to an agency’s own strategic frame; it aligns and integrates theory about the public interest, public value and anticipatory governance; and it updates a “fair go� multi-criteria decision analysis matrix with the latest iteration of the N.Z. Treasury’s Living Standards Framework.

Hateful thoughts and words can lead to harmful actions like the March 2019 terrorist attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. In free, open and democratic societies, governments cannot justifiably regulate what citizens think, feel, believe or value, but do have a duty to protect citizens from harmful communication that incites discrimination, active hostility and violence. Written by a public policy advisor for fellow practitioners in politics and public life, this book discusses significant practical and moral challenges regarding internet governance and freedom of speech, particularly when responding to content that is legal but harmful. Policy makers and professionals working for governmental institutions need to strike a fair balance between protecting from harm and preserving the right to freedom of expression. And because merely passing laws does not solve complex social problems, governments need to invest, not just regulate. Governments, big tech and the private sector, civil society, individual citizens and the fourth estate all have roles to play, and counter-speech is everyone's responsibility. This book tackles hard questions about internet governance, hate speech, cancel culture and the loss of civility, and illustrates principled pragmatism applied to perplexing policy problems. Furthermore, it presents counter-speech strategies as alternatives and complements to censorship and criminalisation.