Ethnic Perspectives In Policy

The Ethnic Perspectives in Policy (EPP) framework was approved by Cabinet in 2002. OEA Policy wrote it as a guide for policy makers in the Public Service. It provides an approach to policy and service delivery that is responsive to New Zealand’s increasing ethnic diversity.

The EPP includes:

Information about the sector including common views and needs and demographic data from the 2001 Census;
The rationale for taking the ethnic sector into account when developing policy; and
Guidelines for doing so.

Ethnic people contribute to our society in every way - economically, socially and culturally. It is important that these contributions are recognised and that the Government, and all its departments talk to ethnic people, listen to their needs, and incorporate ethnic perspectives into the formation of policy and services. Ethnic Perspectives in Policy has the endorsement of Cabinet and is a critical instrument in achieving that goal. It provides useful information about ethnic diversity in New Zealand, the role of government departments, and guidelines to develop policies and services that are more responsive to the views and needs of ethnic communities.

Part I - Policy advice

Sets out an approach to policy analysis. It describes assumptions that underlie policy development for ethnic communities. It sets out the need to include ethnic perspectives in policy advice; government goals for the public sector and the values aligned with those goals. The goals and values define a framework within which all policies and implications for the ethnic sector can be commonly understood and developed. The policy section concludes with an outline of the key outcomes the government hopes to achieve for ethnic communities, and of the role of government. All government departments need to respond to the needs of ethnic people, and to coordinate their efforts, to achieve the government’s goals and outcomes.

Part 1 - Policy Advice This file is in PDF format, file size 252kb.

Part II - Appendicies

Provides additional statistical information and reference materials about ethnic groups including a summary of statutory obligations and key United Nations Conventions.

Part II - Appendicies This file is in PDF format, file size 280kb.

Part III - Guidelines

Provides guidelines in three important areas: policy development, consultation and responsiveness. The guidelines will help agencies to identify, plan and evaluate policy and services for the ethnic sector. The policy guidelines pose questions that will identify and clarify issues for ethnic people. The consultation guidelines provide information about how to engage ethnic communities to hear their views. The responsiveness guidelines provide a set of self-help standards to enable any agency to review its operations and services to determine how well it is responding to ethnic communities.

Part III - Guidelines This file is in PDF format, file size 166kb.

These papers provide a resource for those in government working with people from ethnic communities in policy or service delivery. They will also be useful to people in human resources. People from other fields may also find these resources useful.

These documents are in pdf format. You need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download a free version from the Adobe site.