We develop, design and implement public policy and legislation, both in-house as members of our clients’ teams, and on projects externally. We work in all sectors, including in Māori and Pacific peoples policy.

Our work includes project managing significant programmes of work in the public policy area. We work across both strategic and operational policy design and review.

Our work includes:

• Research Services
• Design and development of policy, services and programmes
• Legislation design, development, implementation and review
• Policy, research and development strategies

Our staff are a mix of strategic thinkers and operational policy experts.

We can lead a green fields review of policy, or come in and assist with a discrete task, such as an analysis of submissions or a literature review.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

Allen + Clarke can assist you with planning and implementing substantive change projects.

Whether it is a policy, business change, or service design or implementation programme of work, we can apply our considerable experience to make sure it is systematically and thoroughly planned and implemented.

Our senior staff can pull together and lead teams to define and achieve your change goals.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

Click here to view our Policy team members.

Allen + Clarke has undertaken over 150 projects that have had a substantive focus on applying business change processes and methodologies to ensure that business changes are successfully planned and executed.

Business Change Planning and Implementation: we have undertaken the development and review of strategies for a number of clients and worked with executive teams and boards to change business processes.

Business Process Improvement: our work has included reviews of service delivery and the development of options for improvement.

Customer Service Improvement: our work includes testing expectations and experiences of service providers and consumers to improve service and processes. This involves applying our extensive toolbox of consultation and engagement methodologies in a wide range of sectors and settings.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

Click here to view our Policy team members.

We take pride in our ability to engage and work in a variety of cultural settings. Our experience ranges from engaging with Māori and Pasifika communities, sector groups, businesses and individuals to engaging in other countries to working alongside vulnerable people within a community (for example, those with disabilities or those who have experienced violence or discrimination).

With every group, we tailor our approach. This usually involves discussing options for engagement with the client and then reaching out to the group to seek their advice on how they would like the engagement to occur. We know our limitations – we bring in partners to assist or lead engagements where communities or groups have very specific engagement preferences (e.g. kaumatua or community leaders taking a lead role).

Our staff have experience in managing some very important, and sometimes rather fraught, public meetings as well as small community group consultation meetings. Such meetings have been quite difficult and, in some cases, very emotional for all concerned, and have necessitated very careful planning and execution. We have needed to be flexible and allow meetings to ‘go where they need to go’ but still be able to bring them back on track when needed.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

Click here to view our Policy team members.

Allen + Clarke helps its clients develop Strategic and Operational Plans, Action Plans, Output Plans, and other planning documents. We have experience across a broad range of sectors (including working for government and non-government entities) and in focussing entities on identifying where they want to head, and how they can get there.

We have considerable experience in assisting government agencies to review or develop inter-sectoral strategies with multiple stakeholders. We help to unite different sectors and stakeholders towards common goals.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

Click here to view our Policy team members.

For Government agencies:

Allen + Clarke staff have worked across the entire public sector (as public servants, and as consultants).

We can:

• Provide our clients with hands-on support getting stuff done – developing Cabinet papers, departmental reports to select committees, responses to Law Commission reports and petitions, Official Information Act responses, briefings to Ministers, budget bids, planning processes, regulatory impact statements, etc
• Provide advice on wider public sector/state sector processes and expectations, and the best means of advancing priority interventions
• Support staff with training and mentoring on machinery of government topics

See our free desk guides.

For businesses and Non-government organisations:

We can assist with you to understand political, institutional and regulatory developments and will provide clear, strategic advice tailored to achieve your goals.

We offer a blend of policy, legal and political expertise and can assist in preparing position papers, business cases, responding to public consultations, advising on the parliamentary and political process, and devising suggested amendments to proposed legislation.

Allen + Clarke is well placed to advise our private sector clients on how best to interface with the bureaucracy – and with Ministers and Members of Parliament. We are not a public relations company but rather focus on helping our clients develop sound business cases that are framed how the Government likes to see them, and submitted at the right time.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

Click here to view our Policy team members.

We regularly undertake international development assistance projects in the Pacific and Asia.

We have also worked further afield in countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. We help with projects aimed at improving the social and economic conditions in developing countries, whether through developing local policy and drafting regulation, undertaking reviews and evaluations to identify areas for improvement, or increasing local policy capability through training.

We work collaboratively with people, partners, and organisations in-country along with external funding agencies such as the World Health Organization, the New Zealand Aid Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

Our approach to International Development is based on respect, humility and service. We recognise and strive to operate effectively under internationally-recognised aid principles including the OECD’s “Development Assistance Committee (DAC)” criteria and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

Click here to view our Policy team members.

We have significant experience in the provision of policy advice and government support across all stages of the policy cycle. Our staff are highly experienced in research and problem definition; design and implementation of policy, regulation and programmes; and review and evaluation.

We have staff with expertise in constitutional policy, human rights law, privacy impact assessment, gender analysis and other cross cutting themes which can be applied to ensure all our work meets statutory and government policy requirements.  We have hands-on experience with a broad range of institutional, operational and business models that government agencies apply.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

We undertake evaluation + research work in New Zealand, Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. Our work spans health, international development, education, social services, transport, workplace health and safety, indigenous peoples’ development, justice, environment and local government sectors.

Our experience ranges from completing rapid reviews of stand-alone programmes or projects, specific data collection or analysis tasks, through to multi-year evaluations of complex and complicated policies and suites of programmes. We are experts in a full range of qualitative and quantitative techniques and tools.

To see some examples of our work, click here.

We have extensive experience providing public and private sector organisations with bespoke secretariat, governance and programme design, management and implementation services. Our approach to service delivery means that clients can choose what they need from the full range of secretariat services we offer.

Meeting management services

We:

• Prepare agendas, develop meeting papers, draft minutes and actions/resolutions
• Provide advice on appointments processes and inductions
• Undertake robust project management
• Develop and monitor work plans
• Support effective communications within the group and with its stakeholders
• Complete all day-to-day administrative tasks
• Undertake prudent financial management
• Provide research and policy support
• Develop terms of reference, terms and conditions papers and registers, and
• Undertake all meeting logistics including travel bookings, venue hire and catering.

Grants + contract management

We:

• Undertake robust project management
• Develop and implement all aspects of grants management processes
• Support effective communications between the funder and with its stakeholders
• Complete all day-to-day administrative tasks
• Draw up contracts for services
• Undertake prudent financial management and monitoring
• Have a practical understanding of the Government’s rules of procurement
• Undertake effective contract management
• Ensure compliance with clients’ financial systems and processes, and
• Complete end of contract reviews.

Inquiries, reviews, hearing panels and Royal Commissions

We:

• Support Chairs and Panels to meet their terms of reference
• Set-up facilities and procure services
• Undertake recruitment
• Manage finances
• Establish policies and procedures
• Develop schedules and registers, and
• Prepare all necessary reports to ensure that the terms of reference are met (including thematic summaries and policy advice).

Governance advice and board support

We:

• Manage appointment processes and inductions
• Develop terms of references, registers and other key governance documents
• Develop governance manuals
• Provide impartial advice to Boards and Chairs
• Complete all secretariat and meeting management functions, and
• Prepare necessary reports to ensure that terms of reference are met (including thematic summaries and policy advice).

To see some examples of our work, click here.