RESEARCH

Partnership and Productivity in the Public Sector: A Review of the Literature
This report was commissioned by the Partnership Resource Centre to identify the key elements that lead to increased productivity in the public sector. The research was carried out during 2006, and the literature review included books, academic journals, specialist journals, official documents and publications by governments, unions and public sector organisations, in three languages (English, French and German). The report also includes international examples. A Summary Report is also available.

International Experiences of Partnership
This report documents international workplace partnership approaches and experience, in terms of its interest and relevance to New Zealand policy and practice.

The report illustrates the diversity of workplace partnerships by drawing on experiences in Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom.

With the current focus on partnership approaches and high performance workplaces, the question is not whether partnership will become a new way of organising work, but rather what particular forms of workplace partnership will be constructed in New Zealand workplaces. A Summary Report is also available.

Workplace Partnership in New Zealand: A Stocktake of Practice
In 2005, the Partnership Resource Centre commissioned a comprehensive review or ‘stocktake’ of union-management workplace partnership practices and behaviours in New Zealand.

The study found that the penetration of partnership practices has been sporadic and/or experimental, and set in an environment that is often abrasive to the concept. However, in many workplaces where collective bargaining has existed for a significant period, both unions and management are adopting some key features of the partnership approach.

The study concluded that, because attitudes on both sides are relatively open to the approach, the prospects for further penetration of partnership behaviours in unionised firms is positive. A Summary Report is also available.