Published on 19 Aug 2025

Optimising Youth Support: Youth Service Operating Model Review

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Charlene Harvey Regulatory Strategy + Practice Lead (NZ) Contact me

The Ministry of Social Development's Youth Service had successfully supported young people since 2012 but needed a fresh perspective after a decade of operation.

Allen + Clarke delivered a comprehensive review that revealed both strong foundations and clear opportunities for enhancement. Our structured four-lens approach identified 40 practical recommendations that are now helping Youth Service improve outcomes for young people navigating education, training, and employment pathways.

Our practical recommendations focused on integration, alignment with other services, and better support for young people with complex needs.

Evaluating a decade of service delivery

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) needed to determine if their Youth Service operating model remained fit-for-purpose after ten years of supporting vulnerable young people aged 16 - 19. The service helps youth access education, training and employment through both in-house teams and 47 contracted community organisations nationwide. 

Despite improvements in 2020, the operating model had never undergone a comprehensive review. MSD needed to understand whether their mixed delivery model effectively served three target groups; youth payment recipients, young parent recipients and NEET (not in education, employment and training) participants. 

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A structured review with diverse perspectives

Allen + Clarke's expertise in operating model design made us an ideal partner for this project. Our team brought extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, operating model review and design, and a strong understanding of te ao Māori perspectives - crucial given the service's significant impact on many young Māori and their families. 

Our project team engaged with multiple stakeholders (youth service staff, external providers, and young people using the service) to build a comprehensive understanding of the current model through our bespoke four-lens methodology:

  • Value - we assessed whether key activities effectively delivered the required impact. 

  • Governance - we examined organisation and governance arrangements. 

  • Capability - we evaluated whether processes, resources and expertise were sufficient. 

  • Culture - we considered whether current values and principles supported desired outcomes. 

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Strong foundations with room to grow

The review found that overall, the Youth Service functioned well.  While areas of concern were raised throughout the review, they provided the opportunity to streamline and improve the current model, rather than reflect a need for a complete redesign. 

We identified several areas for improvement and developed 40 actionable recommendations focus on three key areas. 

  • Increasing internal integration within Youth Service and MSD operations to create efficiencies. 

  • Improving external alignment with other youth-related programmes to enhance coordination. 

  • Adapting to evolving needs of young people facing increasingly complex challenges. 

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By applying a structured yet youth centric approach to the review, we delivered actionable insights that help Youth Service build on its successful foundations. The recommendations provide a pathway for the next evolution of the Youth Service operating model, ensuring it continues to effectively support young people in their journey toward education, training, employment and independence.

Practical, implementable improvements

Our final report provided MSD with a set of practical recommendations could be easily implemented. 

  • A Youth Service Strategy 

  • Improved governance structures 

  • Clearer role definitions 

  • Enhanced training for youth coaches 

  • Better incorporation of te ao Māori approaches 

  • Improved coordination with other youth-focused community programmes. 

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Interconnected coloured pathways forming abstract network diagram