Like many policy teams under pressure to do more with less, the Ministry of Justice’s Policy Group found itself at a crossroads in 2021. Increasing demands, legacy inefficiencies, and unclear pathways to sustainable growth had begun to impact delivery capability - prompting Treasury to raise concerns about long-term viability.
In response, the Ministry launched the Sustainable Growth Project (SGP) - a phased, strategic initiative designed to build a more structured, resilient, and intelligence-led policy function.
The Challenge: A System Under Strain
The Policy Group was operating with:
- High demand and delivery expectations, but limited systems for prioritisation and planning
- Leadership misalignment and operational silos
- Inconsistent work practices and underdeveloped knowledge management
- A need to embed Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles in a meaningful and sustained way
Treasury's review made it clear: without structural improvements and stronger internal cohesion, securing long-term funding and delivery capacity would be difficult.
The Response: A Strategic Growth Roadmap
Over two connected phases, we worked with the Ministry to define and deliver a sustainable path forward. This included an initial discovery and planning stage, followed by the co-design and delivery of a Target Operating Model (TOM) and supporting leadership, governance, and capability frameworks.
Phase One: Discovery and Growth Planning
The first phase focused on:
- Stakeholder engagement to understand root causes of inefficiencies
- A structured discovery and analysis process, including SWOT and current-state assessments
- Development of a Sustainable Growth Plan, aligned with sector strategic priorities
- Support for the baseline funding bid, providing the rationale for investment
This phase clarified the “why” behind the transformation and created a strong platform for action.
Phase Two: TOM Design and Capability Development
With funding secured, the focus shifted to designing and embedding the capabilities required to support long-term growth.
Key interventions included:
- Target Operating Model Design: Defined new structures, processes, and accountability frameworks to create a scalable foundation for performance.
- Work Programme Management System: Introduced visibility into project pipelines, resource capacity, and delivery tracking - enabling better prioritisation and more informed decisions.
- Process Management System: Delivered a centralised process platform (Nintex Process Manager) and a Process Governance Framework to drive consistency, quality, and transparency across critical business processes.
- Leadership Development: Established a tailored framework for system, strategic, and delivery leadership, supported by coaching and ongoing assessment.
- Te Ao Māori Integration: Collaborated with te ao Māori leaders to embed tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations into daily work practices.
- Organisational Intelligence: Strengthened reporting and insight capability using Power BI and improved knowledge management maturity.
- Change Management: Delivered a change strategy that equipped leaders to engage staff, build confidence, and embed continuous improvement across teams.
- Continuous Improvement Framework: Implemented a best-practice framework to identify, prioritise, and manage ongoing business improvements - ensuring changes continue to deliver value over time.
The Outcome: A Stronger, Smarter Policy Function
The Sustainable Growth Project - later named Building Our Future - resulted in a more confident, data-driven, and well-aligned Policy Group.
Key outcomes included:
- Improved leadership cohesion and clarity of direction
- Greater visibility of work and smarter resource allocation
- Stronger process consistency and culture of continuous improvement
- Embedded capability to respond proactively to future pressures
- Alignment with Te Tiriti and sector priorities
The Takeaway
This transformation shows what’s possible when a policy function invests in both structure and people. With the right frameworks, leadership development, and systems thinking, even the most stretched teams can shift from reactive delivery to responsive, sustainable performance.
Want to future-proof your policy, planning or strategy function? Let’s talk.