Establishing and working as an IEB

Because IEBs are Public Service agencies, establishing an IEB requires Cabinet decisions on purpose, scope of work, functions, and any appropriations the IEB might administer or use. Once Cabinet decisions have been made, the IEB is established through an Order in Council (a legislative instrument, required under section 26 of the Public Service Act 2020). The Order in Council specifies the name of the IEB, the agencies in its remit (departments with responsibilities and functions relevant to the subject matter or issue the IEB is intended to address), and the servicing department. This section outlines the initial considerations for a newly established IEB.

The membership of an IEB is determined based on the remit set by Cabinet, decided in the policy process to set up the IEB. Departments with responsibility in the subject area the IEB is intended to focus on will be listed in the Order in Council (the legislative instrument that formally establishes an IEB). The Public Service Commissioner will then select the membership of the IEB from the chief executives of agencies listed in the remit. Remit agencies who are not selected in the final membership of the IEB do not have any responsibilities or requirements for involvement in the work of that IEB. However, being included in the remit signals that the agency does have existing functions that may be relevant to the work of the IEB. Therefore, there is a general expectation that the IEB will consider how to involve non-member agencies from the wider remit (e.g. through membership in working groups or voluntary contribution of resources). 

The Commissioner can also appoint independent advisors to the IEB, or the IEB can use its own advisors not appointed by the Commissioner. These advisors have no decision-making authority but may have expertise that the IEB otherwise does not have access to. They may include representatives of Crown entities or external stakeholders. These representatives are not part of the core public service and are therefore unable to be IEB members, but they may still have delivery responsibilities relevant to the IEB’s work. The remuneration of independent advisors who are not representing public sector agencies should be set in line with the Cabinet fees framework. The IEB can also invite attendees to their meetings to support specific agenda items, regardless of whether these attendees are from member or non-member agencies. 

The chair of an IEB is designated by the Public Service Commissioner from among the members of the IEB, taking into account any matters identified by the Minister for the Public Service and the responsible minister for the IEB. 

The letters of designation for chairs generally convey that they have a role in leading the IEB. This may involve acting as the main point of contact for the IEB to key stakeholders, including the responsible minister and related portfolio ministers. The role of the chair is not prescribed in legislation and therefore does not have any associated legislative requirements. New IEBs should consider and agree the specific role of their chair, alongside other key roles like a director of the unit supporting the IEB. This information can be set out in the IEB’s operating procedures or servicing department agreement (discussed below). 

The IEB should also consider who will act as chair when the designated chair is absent. The recommended approach is for the IEB to specify arrangements for when the chair is absent through its operating procedures (discussed further below) for example by nominating a deputy chair and providing that they take on chair responsibilities in periods of unexpected absence (i.e. when the chair is unable to attend a meeting but has not formally delegated their responsibilities). If the chair has formally delegated their substantive (chief executive) role in accordance with the Public Service Act 2020, the person who is acting for the chair in their substantive chief executive role also assumes the IEB chair role by default. Depending on the acting individual’s familiarity with the IEB’s work and the length of the absence, it may be more appropriate to separate the delegation of the chair role (for example, to the deputy chair for the IEB). The secretariat should talk with the servicing department’s legal team to ensure delegation of the chair role has been considered and appropriately reflected in delegations policies.  

One of the first tasks for the IEB should be to agree on its operating procedures. IEBs are required to publish their operating procedures on an internet site maintained by, or on behalf of, the IEB. Operating procedures will likely vary for each IEB but should set out some core matters like roles and responsibilities, and meeting processes. A draft outline of generic operating procedures for an IEB is provided, along with links to some operating procedures of existing boards.

The IEB is responsible for determining the kind of support they need from any secretariat or support unit and therefore for authorizing its size and scope. The IEB should consider whether they want to appoint a director to lead the work of their secretariat or support unit. Once appointed, that director would likely set up the rest of the secretariat in accordance with the IEB’s specifications.  

The IEB should also work through what role that director might have in representing the work of the IEB externally. For example, the director may hold a relationship with the responsible minister on behalf of the IEB, or they may manage relationships with stakeholders external to either the IEB or the public service. This could be outlined in the operating procedures. 

Practically, the limits for the size and scope of the IEB’s support unit may be determined by the amount of dedicated funding that the IEB has access to. There may be an expectation that the IEB resources the secretariat through secondments from member agencies. Secondments may provide positive opportunities for existing public service employees to bring cross-agency perspectives and wider systems thinking to the work of the IEB. High-level expectations around resourcing would usually be determined early in the process to establish the IEB, in discussion with the Treasury and Public Service Commission. 

In appointing staff to the support unit, the IEB and/or director should consider the skills that are relevant to the core areas of the IEB’s work. These might include governance skills; experience with public service accountabilities like ministerial servicing, annual reporting, and select committee processes; and subject specific skills like programme management, policy expertise and briefing writing. The ability to work across a range of activities and hold strong relationships across agencies and levels will likely be invaluable to the success of the IEB, especially in early stages where there may be more ambiguity during establishment.  

The secretariat will not necessarily hold individual relationships with each of the IEB members. They are more likely to work primarily with the chair of the IEB and any DCE groups or working groups of officials at other levels. Employment arrangements for secretariat staff are discussed in the ‘Employment’ section on the next page.