“Faced with an urgent need to undertake public consultation as a result of a new Government’s coalition commitments, Global Research helped the Department of Internal Affairs to complete the consultation exercise effectively and in good time.
Global leveraged existing infrastructure and expertise from a related project to provide the Department with an end-to-end consultation package. Global were flexible and responsive during the process, and they took great care to provide clear and robust analysis of the consultation results, making it easier for the Department to incorporate those results into the broader information and advice provided to the Government.”
Background and aims
In December 2022, the New Zealand Government established a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government response to COVID-19. By identifying lessons learned, this inquiry sought to facilitate more effective responses to future pandemics.
After the October 2023 New Zealand general election, coalition agreements between the National, ACT, and NZ First parties actioned an examination of the terms of reference for the COVID-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry. A public consultation regarding the terms of reference was conducted concurrently with the public engagement portion of the Inquiry.
Our role
The Terms of Reference consultation was rapidly composed and rolled out alongside the public engagement facet of the Royal Commission of Inquiry. By accessing the designated website, submitters were able to complete either or both consultations. Global Research collaborated with the Department of Internal Affairs to determine the most effective approach to derive sentiment and meaning from public comments. Submissions were summarised in a report comprising hundreds of topics, enabling decision makers to understand the community’s views on the existing Terms of Reference.
Design and method
In collaboration with the Department of Internal Affairs, Global Research elected to extract as much information as possible with any relation to the terms of reference (direct or implied), granting decision makers the most holistic understanding of public opinions and sentiment. Submission points were organised under themes, topics, and sub-topics framed by the nine question prompts within the question posed to the public. Topics that diverged from those in the question prompts were also analysed and reported on.
Result
Over 13,000 submissions were received. Each was read by an analyst and coded (sorted) to themes and topics. Although almost 40% of submitters did not discuss the Terms of Reference at all (instead referencing general NZ Royal Commission COVID-19 Inquiry topics), analysis revealed that relevant submitter feedback primarily pertained to several of the themes presented in the question prompt. A comprehensive report was submitted to the Department of Internal Affairs and passed to the Minister of Internal Affairs to inform their decision making.
Outcome
Due to coalition agreements and the results of the public consultation, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon Brooke van Velden, announced in June 2024 that the Terms of Reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons Learned will be expanded. Consequently, Phase 2 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry will commence at the end of 2024, and is forecast to be delivered with recommendations in February 2026.