Published on 20 Aug 2025

Transforming Policy Development: Enhancing Kāinga Ora's policy operating model

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4 ANTON 1x1 PORTRAIT 1
Anton Davis Director Consulting (NZ) Contact me
17 JODIE 1x1 PORTRAIT 1
Jodie O'Neill Strategy + Planning Lead (NZ) Contact me
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Nick Leffler Organisational Design + Change Lead Contact me

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities was formed in 2019 through the merger of Housing New Zealand, KiwiBuild and Housing New Zealand Corporation. As a new organisation with significant public housing responsibilities Kāinga Ora needed effective policy processes to support their mandate of creating sustainable communities. Allen + Clarke facilitated the development of a new operating model working with a design group of stakeholders from across the organisation. Using our bespoke four-lens approach we developed an operating model which included the following components:

 

  • Compelling value proposition for the Policy Directorate, giving stakeholders a compelling reason to work with the Directorate. 

  • Tailored policy lifecycle for Kāinga Ora that reflected the organisation's unique operating context. 

  • Blueprint for transparent governance mechanisms and roles ensuring accountability through the policy process. 

  • Directorate behaviours and principles which link through to the overall organisational values. 
The operating model provided Kāinga Ora with a framework that balances analytical rigour with practical implementation and a way to work with the rest of the organisation to generate policy which is meaningful and drives desired impacts.

Driving impact through the four-lens approach

As a newly established Crown Entity, Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities faced a range of challenges: new legislation with broad operating principles and specific obligations to engage and partner with Māori, ongoing impacts of organisational change, and an ambitious build programme. Kāinga Ora commissioned Allen + Clarke to design a new policy operating model that enabled effective policy development in the new operating environment. 

We interviewed over 50 stakeholders to understand the current state and identify improvement opportunities. Our analysis showed several critical issues to be addressed by the operating model: 

  • Website Generic Icons 1200x1200 GREEN 31 The Policy Directorate lacked a clear value proposition meaning other teams were unclear on their role and the benefits of working with them.
  • Website Generic Icons 1200x1200 GREEN 31 The traditional policy cycle wasn't meeting Kāinga Ora's unique needs and context.
  • Website Generic Icons 1200x1200 GREEN 31 Roles and responsibilities between the Policy Directorate and operational teams were undefined and overlapping.
  • Website Generic Icons 1200x1200 GREEN 31 Consultation on policy was ad hoc and not well planned.
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An integrated policy team that delivers value to Kāinga Ora

We formed a Design Group with representatives from across the organisation to develop a new operating model. We facilitated the design group to formulate and test key aspects of the operating model through our interconnected four-lens framework: looking at value, governance, capability and culture. 

Our worked delivered a comprehensive operating model including:

 

  • Clear value proposition - we created a unique value proposition centred on an inclusive, collective approach to policy development. This gave the Directorate more purpose and meaning and clear expectations around when to work with them and why. 

  • Tailored policy lifecycle - building on the traditional policy cycle, we designed a bespoke policy process with particular focus on scoping, prioritisation and commissioning to ensure policy work was meeting priority organisational needs. 

  • Robust governance - we established a clear structure with defined roles and accountability for all stakeholders. This meant that teams understood their role and why their input was important. 

  • Enhanced capability framework - we identified six core capabilities for the Directorate and linked these to existing DPMC Policy Project resources, meaning the Directorate could access capability building tools without having to create their own from scratch. 

  • Values Alignment - we translated Kāinga Ora's organisational values into specific principles and behaviours for the Policy Directorate. This helped the Directorate to connect to the values on a day-to-day basis and show how it impacted it's work. 

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