The Productivity Commission has released an issues paper calling for submissions to its inquiry into state sector productivity.

"State sector productivity matters because it tells us how many public services are delivered for the government’s investment in them. That might sound simple, but measuring government productivity is notoriously difficult," says Inquiry Director, Judy Kavanagh.

The Government has asked the Commission to investigate how to improve measurement of state sector productivity in the health, education, justice and social development sectors.

Ms Kavanagh says the inquiry process will also investigate what capability, culture and systems are necessary to support government agencies to better measure, understand and improve productivity.

"We know that performance measurement frameworks exist across all core agencies. The Commission is interested in what is currently in place, what works well, and what measures can be used to improve productivity and efficiency."

Ms Kavanagh says the success of the inquiry will rely on the input, knowledge and advice of the sectors concerned. "This issues paper raises a number of technical questions about measuring productivity in core public services. We’re looking for submissions from anyone with an interest in how public sector productivity is measured, and how productivity improvement can be supported."

The issues paper is now available at www.productivity.govt.nz and anyone interested in the topic can subscribe to receive regular updates. Submissions on the inquiry are due by 8 September 2017. The Productivity Commission’s final report to the Government is due on 30 August 2018.

For further information see the state sector productivity inquiry page, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Robyn Sadlier on 04 903 5167.

|  A Productivity Commission release  ||  July 27,  2017   |||