Newsletter: November 2017

Council Chair Robin Whyman and Deputy Chair Andrew Gray talk to the Auckland forum Between July and August the Council held ten forums around the country to enable face-to-face discussions with practitioners and stakeholders about our review of recertification.

Council Chair Robin Whyman and Deputy Chair Andrew Gray talk to the Auckland forum

Between July and August the Council held ten forums around the country to enable face-to-face discussions with practitioners and stakeholders about our review of recertification. We followed this roadshow up with two webinars. Over 500 people attended either in person or online.

The forums were an opportunity to share the thinking, research and work we had done so far on our recertification review. Our Chair Robin Whyman and Deputy Chair Andrew Gray gave our presentation which provided background to the review and our current thinking and then took attendees through the consultation document questions.

They also started a conversation with practitioners about their experiences and ideas regarding recertification and talked about some of the issues and potential opportunities for change to the current framework.

Feedback from participants who attended the forums

At the end of each forum, we asked participants to provide feedback on the event via a quick paper-based survey. Across the board, participants appreciated the opportunity to engage with the Council and their peers and colleagues about recertification. The vast majority of participants felt the forums were informative and encouraged discussion in an open-minded and non-threatening manner.

Here are a selection of comments from some of the participants:

• “Collegial and sharing, speakers well informed and interesting” - New Plymouth forum
• “Liked explanation of research plus explanation of risk profiling—excellent approach” - Hamilton forum
• “Opportunity for open and frank discussion. Appreciate the DCNZ wants input” - Nelson forum
• “Honest open discussion and conversation” - Christchurch forum
• “Difficult subject made accessible and interesting” - Napier forum
• “Face-to-face [is] better way of engaging, start thought processes and helps develop productive submissions to move forward—not go round in circles” - Palmerston North forum

We want to thank everyone for taking the time to come along to a forum or participate in one of our webinars. We appreciate the enthusiasm and engagement from all participants and value the feedback we received through the process.

Thank you also to everyone who made a submission. We received 250 in total, and we expect to spend the next few months analysing them and developing some options for a new recertification framework.

We will continue to post updates on the recertification review in our newsletter and on our website.