Results-oriented Budget Practice in oecd countries odi working Papers 209

2.8 
Exhibit 1: The case of the Maori education strategy 
The Maori education strategy is part of a broader strategy to reduce inequalities that Maoris face 
and to improve their participation in society and their achievement. Because the strategy involves 
reduction of social inequalities, outcomes can only be achieved in the long term, which is defined at 
10-15 years. Key indicators are set, following research, as the best indicators of ongoing 
improvement (see Table 4). Kibblewhite and Ussher comment on the relationship between the 
political cycle and the policy cycle: 
“The outcome goals and targets in the Maori education strategy have considerable 
political buy-in. Although the eventual goals are often long-term ones, achievable two- 
to three-year intermediate goals have been included. This enables ministers to focus on 
delivering tangible results within the electoral cycle.” 

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Departments report annually on effectiveness in reducing inequalities, including the amount of 
expenditure and its effectiveness. This information is included in a ‘whole-of-government’ report 
which is audited and tabled in Parliament. 
Table 4: How goals, measures and targets relate to each other in New Zealand
Goal Measure 
Target 
Increase participation of Maori 
students in tertiary education. 
Percentage of students who are 
Maori. 
13.8% by 2002, up to 16.7% by 
2006. 
Increase achievement of Maori 
students in tertiary education. 
Percentage of graduates who are 
Maori. 
15.1% by 2002, up to 18.2% by 
2006. 
Source: Kibblewhite and Ussher, 2002. 
2.9 Summary 
In summary, it can be stated that there is widespread recognition of the shortcomings of traditional 
budgetary approaches and that there is much to be learnt from experimentation with new 
approaches. The experience of PPBS alerts us to a number of technical difficulties that need to be 
overcome, for example the need to define goals properly and overcome departmental resistance by, 
ensuring that incentives and reward systems are in place. The United Nations’ experience of 
transferring such systems to developing countries shows that, even with limited empirical data, 
there are certain preconditions of implementation of such systems that need to be met. The 
experience of PPBS in the USA and output budgeting in the UK demonstrates the problem of 
linking outputs to long-term outcomes, especially in policy areas which demand the 
accomplishment of social results as opposed to economic or military results. There are several 
examples of initiatives being implemented in a top-down fashion with little attention being paid to 
the resources and capacity of departments to implement them. Finally, governments and 
legislatures need to be committed to the accomplishment of results across policy areas and 
programmes, as opposed to achieving budgetary retrenchment as an end in itself. 

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