Practical Guidance: Interdepartmental Executive Boards

Interdepartmental executive boards (IEBs) are an organisational form enabled under the Public Service Act 2020 (although they draw on characteristics and lessons from earlier non-legislative governance models). An IEB is a board of chief executives used to improve collaboration on complex issues by aligning policy, planning, and budgeting across relevant departments in relation to a specific issue or issue area. Individual agencies remain responsible for delivery in line with the IEB’s priorities.

IEBs are classified as public service agencies under the Public Service Act 2020 and therefore have many of the same responsibilities under that Act as an individual public service chief executive. These include the responsibility to uphold public service principles (s 12); preserve, protect, and nurture the spirit of service to community (s 13); support the Crown in its relationships with Māori (s 14); and other general responsibilities and powers (s 27). IEBs report to a responsible minister designated by the Prime Minister. They can enter into contracts, administer appropriations, manage assets and liabilities, and employ staff. IEBs are supported by a servicing department and usually also some dedicated staff.

Figure 1: Structure of an interdepartmental executive board

The IEB model is an alternative to either voluntary coordination of agencies, or structural reorganisation of relevant agencies and functions into a new agency, balancing the pros and cons of each. IEBs are most appropriate for addressing important issues with high consensus around objectives (e.g. a shared government result), as these issues are most likely to warrant the specific ministerial responsibility and additional visibility, along with the cost and resource required to establish and operate an IEB. Further detail on how the IEB model was developed and when to use it is available in our Supplementary Guidance Note.

This guidance functions as a first port of call for IEB members, servicing departments, and staff once the decision to establish an IEB has been made. It is organised into three sections. The first section sets out the immediate considerations for IEBs to get up and running. The second section guides an IEB through thinking about how it will deliver on its priorities and work programme. The final section sets out options available to the IEB in setting up its supporting arrangements, focusing mainly on the relationship to the servicing department.

IEBs are required to report on their performance under the Public Finance Act 1989 and meet other public accountability obligations. To help meet these obligations, this guidance should be read alongside the Treasury’s guidance: Public Finance Act: Guidance for Specified Agencies (interdepartmental executive boards, interdepartmental ventures and departmental agencies). Questions about the financial functions and responsibilities of IEBs can be directed to boardsandventures@treasury.govt.nz and more general questions about IEBs can be directed to commission@publicservice.govt.nz.