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This chapter examines the implementation and delivery of the MTFS by TPK. It also discusses the link between this programme and related programmes operated by other providers. It then identifies key strengths of the MTFS which could provide useful learning for other business assistance programmes. This chapter concludes with the identification of key opportunities for improving the MTFS programme.

5.1 Programme cost

Table 3

Table 3 shows the budget for the MTFS programme in comparison with two other programmes, TPK's generic Maori Business Facilitation Service (MBFS) and NZTE's Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) programme. The 2005/06 budget for the MTFS programme is $650,000 which consists of $390,000 funded by Vote Tourism for assessment and mentoring services, and $260,000 in TPK resources for salaries and overheads for two FTE Account Managers. The MTFS budget from Vote Tourism is based on a per client allocation of an average of about $2000 worth of assessment time (i.e. 20 hours) and about $3000 worth of mentoring time (i.e. 30 hours) for a target of 80 clients. However, $235,000 of the funding allocated for mentoring has not been spent as of 30 June 2006 as due to the timing of delivery, many of the clients have not yet started this phase of the programme.

The MTFS is administered under TPK's MBFS infrastructure. The ability to "piggy-back" on existing infrastructure was one of the reasons the Ministry of Tourism selected TPK as the delivery agent for the MTFS. However, TPK advised that is unable to determine the additional administration costs specifically relating to the MTFS.

The direct cost of the MTFS works out to an average budget per client of $8,125 (based on 80 clients enrolled and completed assessments). In terms of assessing the efficiency of the MTFS compared to other programmes, there are no other programmes which are strictly comparable in terms of services delivered and type of businesses served. However, the closest comparisons may be the generic MBFS delivered by TPK and the EDG programme delivered by NZTE:

1. Cost comparison with MBFS: The MBFS programme is the main business assistance programme delivered by TPK. Like the MTFS, it provides assessment and mentoring to businesses. A key difference from the MTFS is that the MBFS serves businesses in all sectors (not just tourism) and is mainly aimed at start-up businesses. Data from TPK shows the total 2005/06 budget for the MBFS programme was $3.97 m with an average budget of $3,906 per client (based on 1016 clients enrolled and assessed) which is about half that of the MTFS programme (i.e. $8,125 per client). A key reason for the cost difference between the two programmes is likely to be intensity of support provided to the firms with MTFS being the more intensive programme. Another reason identified by TPK is that more travel by staff and contractors is involved in the delivery of the MTFS programme as there are only two MTFS Account Managers, both of whom are based in Auckland (compared to the MBFS which has Account Managers located throughout the country).
2. Cost comparison with EDG: The EDG programme has similar aims to the MTFS in that it is designed to help build the management capability of small, young firms. However the EDG does not target any specific sector. Data from NZTE shows the total 2004/05 budget for the EDG programme as $5.57m with an average budget of $11,399 per client (based on 489 clients who submitted grant applications) with is higher than the average budget for MTFS clients. The EDG administration cost averages at $675 per client which is slightly higher than the MBFS. A key difference between the EDG and both the MTFS and MBFS is in the delivery method - the EDG is a grant programme that provides successful grant applicants with co-funding of up to $20,000 to engage the services of a business mentor or undertake training.

The above cost comparisons provide some context in which to assess the efficiency of the MTFS programme. However, as noted, there are important differences between the three programmes in terms of intensity of services delivered, method of delivery, and type of businesses served. TPK should further examine the underlying reasons and implications of the significant cost differences between these programmes and continue to closely monitor the cost of the MTFS programme to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements.

5.2 Selection of participants

Entry into the MTFS programme is through referrals from the key stakeholder agencies. According to the September 2005 Implementation Review, identifying participants for the programme has not been difficult. For the pilot, a list of Maori tourism businesses in the Bay of Plenty and Auckland was compiled by TPK, after recommendations were made from the NZMTC, Poutama and MENZ. Thirty-five were invited to participate, of which 20 accepted. Of those who declined to participate in the pilot, most said they were not ready to engage and participate in the programme but would be keen to access the opportunity at a later date.

The Implementation Review reported that the list of candidates for the wider rollout was compiled by TPK after recommendations were received from the NZMTC, Poutama, MENZ and directly from interested businesses. The Account Managers applied the eligibility criteria to select and prioritise the candidates for the 67 positions available for the wider rollout phase. Businesses that did not meet the eligibility criteria for the MTFS were referred to other business assistance programmes such as the MBFS, where appropriate. In addition to the eligibility criteria, the prioritisation of candidates for the MTFS also took into account their region, type of business and access to other TPK or other agency support. The aim was to get a reasonable spread in terms of region and type of tourism business represented.

5.3 Account Managers

Instead of using existing Account Managers from its generic MBFS programme, TPK hired two Account Managers dedicated to the MTFS who have tourism-specific expertise and funded these positions as part of their in-kind contribution to this programme. Both the Account Managers hired for the MTFS are highly experienced and have strong networks in Maori business and tourism through their involvement in the Community Employment Group, Auckland Maori Business Network, MaoriExprienNZ, Maori Tourism Advisory Group, and Rotorua MRTO. Both work well together and have complementary skills.

Each Account Manager works with half of the MTFS clients (i.e. 40 clients each) and serve as the key relationship manager which is the main point of contact for the clients on matters regarding the MTFS programme. The roles and responsibilities carried out by the Account Managers appear to be consistent with the intended programme design described in Table 1 (Chapter 1 of this report). Their key responsibilities include:

• assessing client's eligibility for the programme;
• explaining to clients what the programme provides and limits on how much assistance (e.g. assessor and mentor time) the programme can provide;
• enrolling clients in programme;
• helping clients fill out the Business Snapshot assessment;
• training assessors and mentors in the processes of the programme;
• assigning appropriate assessors and mentors to clients;
• checking that clients are satisfied with their BDPs and assigned mentors before signing-off the BDPs; and
• managing the assessment and mentoring resources among clients based on the guideline of 20 hours per client in assessment and follow-up time, and 30 hours per client in mentoring time. The Account Managers have some flexibility in moving hours from clients which have unused hours to clients who need extra hours.

5.4 Assessments

5.4.1 Recruitment of Assessors

Nine Assessors have been engaged to work with the MTFS clients. The Assessors were recruited from an initial list of suggestions provided by key tourism partner agencies, e.g. TMT, NZMTC, Poutama, and TPK. The Assessors were selected based on their skills and experience (in business or tourism and ability to work with Maori businesses), connections with other programmes, availability, and geographical coverage. The assessors are engaged on a per client basis and are not paid any retainer for their services.

5.4.2 Assigning Assessors to clients

Based on information from the client profile and business snapshot assessment, the Account Managers identify Assessors that could be appropriate for the clients. Considerations include not just location of client, but match in terms of personality, need, and Assessors' familiarity with the community. Account Managers present clients with options for Assessors and ask clients to indicate their preference. Account Managers report that in some situations where the client has raised an urgent and critical need during the initial assessment phase, the Account Managers have deferred the in-depth assessment phase and made a direct referral to a specialist mentor.

All of the 21 clients interviewed for this evaluation appeared satisfied with the Assessors who worked with them. Some of the clients (e.g. 40% of the evaluation interview sample) are already familiar with the Assessors or Mentors through other programmes e.g. NZTE's Enterprise Training workshops (particularly the Catalyst Tourism workshops in Taranaki and the Bruce Cheeseman workshops in Rotorua.) In cases where clients are already familiar or have an existing relationship with the Assessor or Mentor, the Account Managers present these options to clients to build upon these relationships and maximise effectiveness of delivery.

5.4.3 How assessments are conducted

The Business Snapshot information is provided to the Assessor as background prior to in-depth assessment of the client. The Account Managers reported that in some instances the Account Manager and Assessor have both visited clients at their premises together in an attempt to alleviate unnecessary time pressures on the client. This has proven useful in both discussing the initial issues with both the Assessor, Account Manager and client.⁹

Some Assessors found the onsite review template too rigid and detailed and they only use the headers in the template as the basis of the assessment for developing the BDP. The Account Managers recognise the need for flexibility and do not require strict adherence to all the details in the template.

On the contrary, the original template for the BDP was considered too simple and insufficient. The Account Managers have since worked with the Assessors to develop a more comprehensive template to provide guidance to Assessors and increase consistency across BDPs. However, Assessors are not required to conform to this template. The focus of Account Managers is mainly on client satisfaction and ensuring that Assessors have the flexibility to prepare BDPs which meet the needs and preferences of the individual client (e.g. some clients may prefer a comprehensive BDP while others may prefer a concise one).

5.5 Mentoring

5.5.1 Recruitment of Mentors

TPK has engaged 16 mentors for the MTFS programme. These mentors were selected based on their skills and experience in business, tourism, and ability to work with Maori businesses. This pool of mentors consists of both general business mentors (from TPK's generic MBFS programme) as well as tourism or cultural experts (called Sector Experts), many of whom were selected from other organisations such as MRTOs and the Poutama Trust.

5.5.2 Assigning Mentors to clients

According to the policy design of the MTFS, a Lead Mentor is to be assigned to provide the primary mentoring to assist the client in implementing the recommendations in their BDP and meet three-monthly goals. If required by the client, the Lead Mentor should engage specialist mentors and/or other service providers (e.g. NZTE, Poutama) in conjunction with the Account Manager. The intention is for the Lead Mentor to be available to guide and support the client for up to 12 months (or a maximum of 30 hours). The Assessor has the responsibility for providing three monthly follow up on client progress against the goals set in their BDPs.

The Account Managers reported that in practice, the Assessors have been considered to be the Lead Mentor. The involvement of specialist mentors is more narrowly focused on particular BDP areas. The Account Manager is the overseer of whole process and monitors Mentors' accountability to TPK and the client.¹⁰

The role of the Assessor as "lead mentor" is focused on BDP development which takes up about 85% of their time with the 15% remainder of their time allocated to follow-up and monitoring of client progress in implementing the recommendations in their BDPs. The Assessor makes recommendations in the BDPs on what priorities clients need to work on. The Assessor may also make recommendations on appropriate mentors to work with the client. Depending on the needs and preferences of the clients, the Assessors may recommend that they receive mentoring from an Accredited Business Mentor (ABM) from TPK's generic MBFS programme or a specialist (Sector Expert) in tourism or cultural matters. There are cases where the Assessor is deemed to be the most appropriate Sector Expert for the client, as the Assessor has the necessary skills and expertise and has gained the trust of the client.

The Account Manager checks the BDP recommendations with the clients, and examines key strategic themes, in priority, to best manage the distribution of resources to accommodate these needs. This process enables them to identify common generic issues that may well be addressed in workshop type activities where two or more clients with similar issues (for example reading financial statements) can be accommodated in group activities rather than one-on-one specialist mentoring which is taxing on both the budget and administration.¹¹ Such proactive efforts by the Account Managers help increase the efficiency of the mentoring resource which is limited to about 30 hours of mentor time per client.

The Account Manager then assigns appropriate Mentors to work with clients on a one on one basis, as needed. As of June 30, 2006, only 28 (40%) of the clients have been assigned Mentors. The Account Managers reported that they experienced some delays in finding and assigning Mentors to clients. These delays are mainly due to trying to fit the MTFS work around other commitments that Mentors have and trying to familiarise Mentors with the MTFS administrative process (e.g. recording engagements with client into the MTFS database, SmartFund). Therefore, the quality of the mentoring provided by the MTFS could not be assessed in the present evaluation.

During the interviews conducted for this evaluation, many (60%) of the clients indicated they preferred mentoring in the form of "a little assistance often", rather than a situation of "diagnosis and treatment" which tends to become "a lot all at once". The policy design of MTFS allows for mentoring to be flexible, where the timing, intensity, and nature is determined based on client need. Within the budget constraints of the programme, it is important to ensure that the MTFS programme provides mentoring which meets the needs of clients in terms of timing, intensity, and duration.

5.6 Exit strategy

In addition to providing direct assistance to Maori tourism businesses, the MTFS is also intended to provide a pathway to help these businesses access further assistance, if needed, from mainstream services. For example, it could improve the ability of Maori tourism businesses to access funding from NZTE grant programmes such as the Enterprise Development Fund which provides co-funding up to $20,000 to undertake further mentoring or training. If the business develops the necessary capability and potential for high growth, it may be eligible for larger grants from the NZTE's Growth Services Fund. According to the MTFS Account Managers and Assessors, most MTFS participants are currently unable to prepare a strong application for an NZTE grant as it requires a good business case which identifies the needs and constraints of the business and a plan to address these issues. The MTFS Business Development Plan process helps these businesses identify their needs and the necessary action steps to address these needs.

In terms of a strategy for exiting or graduating clients from the MTFS programme, the Account Managers indicated that they expect clients to be in the MTFS programme for up to 12 months (i.e. time taken to complete the Assessment and Mentoring phases). After that their progress would be monitored for another year. However, it is important to allow clients to call up if they need to and be considered for further assistance at another time.

5.7 Quality and accuracy of reporting by service providers

All client information and engagement with clients is recorded in to SmartFund, which is TPK's client information database. Some Assessors have commented that they found SmartFund difficult and time consuming to use (e.g. one Assessor estimated it takes about 2 hours to record information on SmartFund from 20 hours of work with a client, i.e. 10% of assessment time).

However, after much training and help from the Account Managers, Assessors are improving in their ability to use this database. The Account Managers reported in March 2006 that minimal input is required to prompt Assessor in reporting and any discrepancies or absence of reporting is generally picked up during the invoice periods.

5.8 Relationship with key stakeholders and related providers of assistance for Maori businesses

5.8.1 Key stakeholders and related service providers

Key stakeholders of the MTFS programme include the following:

• New Zealand Maori Tourism Council (NZMTC)- serves as a national Maori tourism organisation to promote Maori tourism by supporting and developing member Maori Regional Tourism Organisations (MRTOs) throughout the country.
• Maori Regional Tourism Organisations (MRTOs)- self-identified collectives of mainly Maori tourism operators in a particular region. While the role and function of the MRTOs varies from region to region, key functions may include: facilitating co-ordination and co-operation among members, educating members about the industry, providing networking opportunities, linking Maori operators with relevant assistance programmes, providing Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) with an avenue into Maori tourism product in their area, working with RTOs to ensure Maori operators are represented well in the RTOs marketing and product development activities.
• Qualmark New Zealand Ltd - licenses New Zealand tourism businesses to use the Qualmark® - tourism's official quality mark - to help international and domestic travellers select places to stay, things to do and ways to get around. It is a government-private sector partnership between Tourism New Zealand and the New Zealand Automobile Association.
• Tourism New Zealand - an international marketing agency responsible for marketing destination New Zealand offshore.
• Poutama Maori Business Trust (Poutama) - provides a range of assistance to develop Maori tourism businesses including workshops and assistance on getting Qualmark license, general industry information, assistance with product development and international marketing.
• New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE)- The government's national economic development agency providing a wide range of information and assistance to businesses from start-ups to experienced exporters.
• Maori ExperienNZ (MENZ) – a consortium of Maori tourism operators who have come together for the express purpose of marketing their collective offshore.

5.8.2 Involvement and support of key stakeholder agencies

It was identified early in the design of the MTFS that a key success factor for this initiative was the ongoing support of key stakeholders.¹² The September 2005 Implementation Review found that the MTFS programme has received significant support from these stakeholders in terms providing input into developing the programme, promoting the programme among Maori businesses, and referring participants to the programme.

Stakeholder involvement and support has been achieved through presentations at relevant fora and individual agency meetings. Presentations and workshop sessions at NZMTC's inaugural hui, Poutama Hui and Associate Minister Samuels' regional hui provided good opportunities to strategically target participants and to promote the MTFS.

Support for the MTFS by stakeholders is evidenced by their active participation in the development of programme content, invitations to profile the MTFS at their hui, and promotion of the programme to their members. Additionally, key Maori tourism stakeholders, the NZMTC, the Poutama Maori Business Trust and MENZ have been instrumental in identifying participants for the programme.

5.8.3 Coordination and complementarity

The MTFS appears to be playing an important role in helping Maori tourism businesses access the services they need to improve business capability. The programme seems to be well coordinated with and complement the role of key stakeholders and related service providers in three key aspects:

• Participant selection - businesses participating in the MTFS were selected by TPK based on recommendations from the New Zealand Maori Tourism Council, Poutama and Maori ExperienNZ.
• Assessment and mentoring – most of the assessors and mentors engaged to work with MTFS clients have experience with other business assistance providers such as Poutama, Maori Business Facilitation Service, Qualmark, and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. They are also actively involved with Maori Regional Tourism Organisations and/or are known within the tourism industry as tourism consultants.
• Referrals – In addition to providing direct assistance to Maori tourism businesses, one of the key aims of the MTFS is to increase the ability of these businesses to access mainstream business assistance programmes as needed. Among the 21 clients in the interview sample, client feedback and reviews of their BDP indicated that the majority (62%) received referrals for assistance with more generic business issues from other government and/or private programmes such as NZTE's Enterprise Training Programme, TPK's generic Maori Business Facilitation Service, and Poutama Maori Business Trust. The MTFS is intended to serve as a stepping stone which helps prepare businesses to access more advanced programmes when needed, such as funding from NZTE's business assistance grants.

There is also opportunity for the MTFS programme to improve its information exchange with key stakeholder organisations. In particular the NZMTC emphasised it would find information collected by the MTFS on the business capabilities and performance of participating businesses to be useful input to their analysis of the needs and trends of the sector.

5.8.4 Can the MTFS model be applied to other parts of the tourism industry?

There seemed general agreement among the Account Managers and key stakeholder organisations that the MTFS model of assessment and mentoring can benefit non-Maori tourism businesses as well. Tourism New Zealand emphasised that a particular strength of the MTFS model is the use of "tourism experts to deliver tourism specific assistance to tourism operators."

5.8.5 Can the MTFS model or lessons from it be applied to other business assistance programmes?

TPK Programme Managers commented that based on the experience of operating the MTFS programme, they have made improvements to its other programme, the generic MBFS programme. Some of the key strengths of the MTFS programme which could provide useful learning for other business assistance programmes include:

1. Consultation in programme development
   • Prior to the development of the programme, feedback was gathered from Maori businesses and key stakeholder groups on key issues facing Maori tourism.
   • Development of the detailed programme design was based on discussions with five service providers with expertise and experience in providing general business and/or Maori tourism specific capability building assistance.
2. Public-private partnership in programme delivery
   • The MTFS programme delivers assessments and customised mentoring through public-private partnership. The programme is managed by government employees but the actual assessment and mentoring is conducted by experienced business people in the private sector contracted by the programme for specific types and hours of service for specific clients. The hours of service delivered are recorded in the client database and monitored by the Account Manager.
   • The MTFS programme works closely with key stakeholder agencies and other public and private organisations providing related services to maximise complementarity and support in terms of cross-referral of participants.
   • The MTFS involves many relationships at multiple levels e.g. the Ministry of Tourism as purchasing agent, TPK as delivery agent, Account Manager as overseer of programme, Assessor and Mentors to deliver the programme, and other agencies e.g. Poutama Maori Business Trust, Maori Regional Tourism Organisations as partners. These many relationships worked well because they were mostly based upon existing rather than new relationships, which enabled faster and smoother programme implementation.
3. Commitment of delivery agency to programme success
   • The September 2005 Implementation Review found a good collaboration between TPK and the Ministry of Tourism in the implementation of the MTFS programme. TPK as the delivery agency appears to have strong commitment to the success of this programme. This is evidenced by the additional resources TPK has contributed to this programme, beyond the funding allocated by the Ministry of Tourism (as shown in the Programme Cost section in this chapter). The additional contribution by TPK includes- the appointment of two new Account Manager positions dedicated to the MTFS, additional administration support for the programme, the modification of the MBFS recording system (SmartFund) to monitor MTFS data, and one-on-one training for the Assessors.
   • Through TPK's efforts of hiring two Account Managers for the MTFS who are experienced, committed, and well networked within the Maori tourism industry, the programme now benefits from having Account Managers who appear to be proactive and committed to the success of the programme.
4. Programme pilot and implementation review
   • Implementation of the new MTFS programme began with a pilot which was reviewed after five months (i.e. in September 2005). The review reported on progress to date, identified what has worked well (including early feedback from participants), and areas for improvement.
5. Accountability, monitoring, and evaluation
   • The MTFS programme has a strong focus on accountability. The roles of Account Manager, Assessor and Mentor are deliberately separated to provide for quality assurance checks, increase consistency of delivery, and managing potential conflicts of interest (e.g. to avoid the situation of consultants feathering their own nests where the consultant develops a BDP which recommends to clients services that s/he wants to provide, rather than what the client actually needs).
   • The MTFS uses its client information database (SmartFund) systematically to record important client information and interactions with the client. Quantitative results from assessments are also recorded in this database which enables monitoring of the progress of individual participants as well as the programme as a whole.
   • The Account Managers submit a monthly report to the Ministry of Tourism on the progress of the MTFS programme. This report includes quantitative data on number of participants, status in the programme, and identifies key accomplishments as well as key issues for attention and/or follow-up.

5.9 Opportunities for improvement

5.9.1 Improving transition and minimising duplication between Account Managers, Assessors, and Mentors

One Account Manager describes the distinction between the three roles as being that the Account Manager's role is mainly descriptive, the Assessor is mainly diagnostic, and the Mentor, a specialist. However in order for the programme to be effective and efficient, the transition between these three roles need to be smooth and the momentum kept up through regular follow-up and communication with clients.

Among the 21 clients interviewed for this evaluation, approximately 80% appeared to be satisfied with the programme delivery, and the split between responsibilities among the three roles. However, as noted earlier, at the time of the interviews, most of these clients have not yet started working with a mentor.

The 20% (4 clients) who were not happy with the programme were concerned with what seemed like duplication between the roles and having to work with too many different people. Their comments included:

"Either account rep or assessor could do the mentoring job. Is this a waste of resource?"

"Not too bad, but not terribly clear on Account rep's role. Could have been done by one person."

"Too many faces. Happy with just one."

Some of the Assessors and Account Managers suggested that the transition between the three roles could be improved and duplication minimised through better briefing among the parties at the key transition points, i.e. from Account Manager to Assessor, and from Assessor to Mentor. For example, the Account Manager could convene a meeting with the Assessor and Mentor to discuss the client before the Mentor starts working with the client in implementing the recommendations in the BDP.

Compared to the MTFS, the generic MBFS programme also delivered by TPK has one less person working with each client. In the MBFS programme, the Account Manager conducts client engagement phase, followed by assessment and concept development. Upon completion of these phases, the client is referred to the Mentor (called the Accredited Business Mentor) to undertake the development of their business plan and receive mentoring.

As the mentoring phase of the MTFS programme has only just started at the time of this evaluation, the relative effectiveness and efficiency of having two versus three distinct roles in the programme could not be examined. However, once the current MTFS participants have completed the mentoring phase of the programme, it is recommended that TPK review the separate roles of Account Manager, Assessor, and Mentor to identify if there are opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

5.9.2 Initial assessment needs to better identify critical issues

Interviews with Assessors and clients revealed that the existing Business Snapshot tool used by Account Managers for initial assessment does not adequately identify all of the critical issues for the business. While this tool currently consists of over 100 questions which take the clients about an hour to complete, Assessors are concerned it misses out significant issues such as the financial status (e.g. profitability, debt levels), ownership, governance, and growth potential of the business.

One Assessor pointed out that sometimes clients may be reluctant to talk about the financial situation of their business, particularly when they have not yet build a trusting relationship with the Assessor/Account Manager. The Assessor suggested that one way to deal with this issue is to require clients to show their financial statements for the past two years, as a condition of participating in the programme. This requirement is made by Poutama Maori Business Trust even for small, $500 grants.

5.9.3 Being up to date with list of mentors and other programmes/services available to work with MTFS clients

To ensure that Account Managers and Assessors are able to make appropriate and timely referrals when necessary, it is important that there is a systematic process to keep them up to date with the list of mentors and programmes or services of other providers available to work with MTFS clients.

5.9.4 Conclusion: To what extent is programme implementation and delivery consistent with policy intention?

The September 2005 Implementation Review noted that as the MTFS programme has evolved through the pilot, the appropriateness of any changes has been filtered against the programme's original guiding principles and considerations. The Review concluded that although there have been a number of procedural and administrative adjustments, the MTFS concept remains unchanged since its inception.

This present evaluation was not able to assess the delivery of the mentoring phase of the programme as most clients have not yet started this phase. However this evaluation concludes that the overall delivery of the programme appears to be progressing well with room for some refinement and improvement noted in the previous section.