Two key lessons from a public sector internship: accountability in public sector contracting and client-level data

Abstract

I served as a research intern for the Ākina Foundation through the School of Government’s graduate pathway programme during the summer of 2016-17. Ākina, which is dedicated to fostering social enterprise in New Zealand, was contracted by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to facilitate and manage the co-design and implementation of its Acceleration for Results programme. This programme seeks to transition the providers with MSD contracts from output-based contracts (i.e. purchase agreements) to results-based contracts (i.e. contracts which specify desired changes in recipients’ quality of life according to prescribed measures).