In this paper we consider the innovative practice and relationship that underpins the Families Commission’s Families Panels. Our intention is to explore how a different, more flexible and equitable relationship with social service and support organisations works in practice.
Following an overview of the Families Panels and the principles that underpin the approach, we show how they work in practice, and then signpost their effectiveness to briefly indicate the rich and multi-layered benefits emerging from this genuinely collaborative way of working.
This paper should be considered together with the companion paper, Families Panels – What’s the difference that’s making a difference, and for whom? outlines the key elements of how implementing the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique (a qualitative participatory monitoring and evaluation tool) has provided some ideas on the impact and the type of change that has occurred within the Families Panels.
Purpose
The Families Panels (originally called Parents Panels) were established in March 2008 primarily to meet the requirements of sub-section 13.1 of the Families Commission Act 2003.
In the exercise and performance of its powers and functions, the Commission must maintain mechanisms (for example, by appointing advisory committees or forming consultation forums) to ensure that there are at all times readily accessible to it the views of
- 1. Māori as tangata whenua
- 2. the Pacific Islands peoples of New Zealand
- 3. other ethnic and cultural groups in New Zealand
- 4. groups that represent families, of one or more kinds of family members, and of groups that have a particular interest in families or in any one or more matters related to the Commission's functions.
Families Panels provided an opportunity to hear directly from a wide cross-section of families in New Zealand on issues that the Families Commission considered significant. The Panels also provided a forum for the Commission to become aware of, and learn more about, emerging issues for families around New Zealand.
From the beginning, the approach to the Families Panels was different from other groups the Commission had convened. Rather than bringing people together with a specific outcome in mind (focus groups), Families Panels were conceived as discussion groups. As such, the Panels provided an inquiring space where conversations with families provided an opportunity to work in an authentically collaborative way to the mutual benefit of all those concerned.