Te Pūtahi Rauemi mō ngā Hinonga Karauna Crown Entity Resource Centre

The establishment of CERC demonstrates the commitment of Te Kawa Mataaho to increase the level of support for the Crown entity system.

Statutory Crown entities make up a big part of government service delivery, responsible for around 35% of central government expenditure, 45% of central government assets and 75% of the central government workforce. Services provided by statutory Crown entities touch the lives of New Zealanders every day.

Board appointments

Statutory Crown entities are governed by boards appointed by ministers (or by the Governor-General on advice from ministers). Appointing capable, diverse boards is a crucial way that ministers ensure that Crown entities are performing well. Government departments support ministers in making appointments by assisting in identification and assessment of potential candidates. The CERC provides advice on best-practice appointment processes. It is also looking at ways to ensure ministers have access to a strong and diverse pool of potential candidates across the system that reflects the rich make-up of the New Zealand population, now and in the future.

To monitor and track appointments the Public Service Commission has developed a new digital solution called AppointNet. This system will capture all board and committee appointment information on all ministerial and government agency appointments to provide a joined-up view across government and assist with required reporting.

Supporting board governance, alignment and performance

To be effective, boards need to have a clear understanding of ministers’ expectations, legal requirements, and the sector and operating environment within which they work. The CERC is working to ensure that statutory Crown entity boards are clear about this context, and in particular the expectations that government has of boards in relation to issues such as workforce relations, integrity, ethics, standards of conduct, diversity, inclusion, and working with a spirit of service. The CERC is also working to support the induction and ongoing development of individual board members.

Crown entity monitoring

Statutory Crown entities are generally subject to monitoring by a government department. The role of the monitor is to engage with the statutory Crown entity, and provide the minister with advice on alignment, performance, organisational culture and capability, and the management of risks. A good relationship between the minister, monitoring department and Crown entity, based on trusted engagement, is critical for effective monitoring. The CERC is working with monitoring departments and Crown entities to identify and promote monitoring best practice.

Engagement

The CERC engages widely with monitoring and appointing departments, and collectively with Crown entities. It also supports individual Crown entities to the extent that resources allow.

A core part of the work of CERC will be to refresh and keep updated the range of published guidance material and resources on the above areas.

All guidance material is available on the Te Kawa Mataaho website: Guidance