Improving the Management of MAF Biosecurity New Zealand Responses

MAF Biosecurity New Zealand has a new response system. It is focused on effective and efficient decision-making processes, and ensuring sufficient capacity and skills. It uses MAF Biosecurity New Zealand’s decision making framework, and works with the whole-of-government Co-ordinated Incident Management Response System (CIMS)¹approach.

Why change?

MAF Biosecurity New Zealand’s traditional “all hands on deck” way of managing responses to biosecurity risks has worked well for New Zealand. However, there is always room for improvement.

As well as managing ongoing local risks, growth in trade and travel is constantly increasing the probability of incursions, and climate change is extending the range of organisims that may pose a biosecurity risk.

Escalating biosecurity risks, and the increasing pressure these place on staff and resources, means a better response management system is needed to give stakeholders and MAF Biosecurity New Zealand consistency and certainty.

What’s new?

The most significant change is the move to a single, generic management approach covering all sectors and replacing animal, plant, forestry and marine focused policies. It covers both new to New Zealand and existing risk organisms. The new response system can be scaled up or down as appropriate for almost any situation.

The new response system is aligned to the new response policy, Preparing for and responding to risk organisms, and sets out what the Crown will do and what people can expect in respect of responses to pests and diseases (called “risk organisms”). It reaffirms MAF Biosecurity New Zealand’s leadership role, while anticipating that there other stakeholders who will participate in a response.

The new system has a number of underpinning principles:

• Risk-based decision making – considers and decisions made on the risks to the values of New Zealand (economic, environmental, socio-cultural, human health) at each stage of the response.

• Whole-of-government approach – works with the Co-ordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) approach.

• Scalable and consistent – response phases and core management approach are the same for a large response as for a small response.

•Project management – underpins the approach with a focus on planning the work and working to the to plan.

•A response organisation structure dictated by the work – organisation charts are based on response activities, not on role-holders, which allows responses to be easily scaled up or down.

•Activities – defined by the work that is required to be completed, not by the responsibilities of role-holders.

Irrespective of the approach, it is people working well together who achieve results.

Good management processes help people do their job well.

What does this mean for stakeholders?

It emphasises MAF Biosecurity New Zealand’s ongoing commitment to clear and timely communication, consultation and liaison with stakeholders, (government agencies, regional councils and other local government bodies, industry, environmental groups, and the public etc).

For people with a particular interest in biosecurity, the new system will support greater opportunities for early and ongoing involvement in responses and will meet increasing expectations for:

* timely, transparent and information-based response decision-making;

* response programmes that meet their objectives and performance measures;

* effective management of response programmes;

* stakeholders having confidence in the response system, making useful contributions and supporting the system;

* enhancing the response system over time.

To achieve this, the new system provides MAF Biosecurity New Zealand with well-defined and accessible response processes, systems to support the technical side of the new processes, and enhanced training and support for staff and managers.

¹ CIMS is an operational or field approach to emergency management that allows various organisations to work closely together using common management structures, functions and language, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Incident_Management_System

Page last updated: 16 September 2008