Project CivicsNZ Project CivicsNZ aims to build the social capital and empowerment of New Zealand citizens. Work in this project has involved building a constitution for the twenty-first century in the EmpowerNZ initiative, with workshops in 2012 and 2013, and more recently involves discussion around civic education. The CivicsNZ project is also linked to the TacklingPovertyNZ project and included a workshop evening in 2017 and publication of a think piece and working paper in 2018. CivicsNZ works to promote good civics education that showcases the machinery of government and empowers citizens through a shared understanding of our common rights and responsibilities.
Project ClimateChangeNZ Project ClimateChangeNZ aims to explore a climate strategy for New Zealand. This project works to provide young people with a platform to enable them to amplify their thinking and have their voices heard. See, for example, the 2019 KiMuaNZ: Exploring Climate Futures workshop. In 2019, the Institute published a discussion paper on a Climate Reporting Emergency. In 2020, the Institute hosted a webinar with Mark Carney in conversation with
Adrian Orr (Reserve Bank) and Hon James Shaw. They discussed rapid pathways to achieve New Zealand’s transition to a low-carbon future, with a particular focus on the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The current work programme also includes a number of climate-related papers, including a Project 2058 report on climate change reporting.
Project EcologicalCorridorsNZ EcologicalCorridorsNZ aims to contribute to the discussion on how Aotearoa New Zealand might implement ecological corridors. Ecological corridors (also known as biological or wildlife corridors) are protected areas that connect species’ habitats (or link protected areas, such as reserves or national parks). The Institute is working on a project to develop ecological corridors which would connect national parks along the length of Aotearoa.
Project GlobalConflictNZ GlobalConflictNZ aims to contribute to the discussion on how to improve New Zealand's resilience to international conflict and war (including nuclear war).
Project OneOceanNZ Project One Ocean NZ aims to contribute to a wider discussion on how we might best manage our oceans, and exercise stewardship in order to maintain a healthy and productive ocean. It looks at public policy solutions around
ocean governance as an important long-term issue for New Zealand. The Institute has a particular focus on conservation efforts in the
Cook Strait and
Marlborough Sounds regions, due to an ongoing case study of New Zealand King Salmon’s (NZKS) Blue Endeavour application. As a part of this case study, the Institute has developed a series of infographics designed to be read in conjunction with one another, highlighting key information about NZKS’s salmon farming, the biodiversity and existing conservation efforts in the area, as well as around Aotearoa New Zealand generally. The Institute has made a number of submissions as part of this project and also facilitated the formation of the New Zealand Antarctic Youth Council.
Project PandemicNZ Pandemic NZ is a McGuinness Institute project that aims to help New Zealand prepare for future pandemics, as well as manage and learn from the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws together early Institute publications as well as an increasingly comprehensive suite of research and publications into the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this project the Institute has also published two editions of COVID-19 Nation Dates: A New Zealand timeline of significant events during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project PublicScienceNZ PublicScienceNZ is a project that aims to contribute to the limited dialogue concerning the government-funded science system, in the hope that New Zealand invests its research dollar well and delivers sustainable outcomes for current and future generations. The project was established in 2012 and is ongoing. PublicScienceNZ also brings together the Institute's previous work on genetic modification policy and regulations, and pandemic management. In 2020, The Institute made headlines as it publicly called for the country's hospitals to release their full stocktake lists of all protective equipment supplies, due to concerns that the country was not sufficiently prepared for a pandemic.
Project ScenariosNZ Scenarios NZ aims to contribute to the discussions that help inform decision-makers using scenarios to explore the long-term future. One publication on this project is Working Paper 2023/01 – List of publicly available national and local scenarios as at 31 December 2022.
Project TacklingPovertyNZ The Tackling Poverty NZ research project aims to contribute to a national conversation on how to reduce poverty in New Zealand. This project began in 2015 with a workshop in December at the New Zealand Treasury. Since then, the Institute has held six more workshops throughout New Zealand, with the goal of gathering local perspectives on poverty. From this tour, the Institute sent a proposal to Prime Minister Bill English at the end of 2016 concerning the creation of demarcated zones for public policy innovation in three of the areas visited on the workshop tour. The proposal garnered some coverage in the New Zealand media.
Project TalentNZ Project TalentNZ aims to contribute to Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of making New Zealand ‘a place where talent wants to live’. Project TalentNZ began in 2011 at a StrategyNZ workshop with Sir Paul Callaghan’s keynote speech. Since then, the Institute has published the TalentNZ Journal and developed a Menu of Initiatives, which illustrates New Zealand’s talent ecosystem and lays out action points for growing, attracting, retaining and connecting talented individuals.
Project WaterFuturesNZ WaterFuturesNZ is a research project that aims to contribute to the wider discussion on how we might design safe, accessible and reliable water services for Aotearoa New Zealand. One of the publications in this project was Think Piece 39 – Three Waters: New body corporate model reduces government accountability. ==Project Nation Dates==