Our History

The McGuinness Institute Te Hononga Waka is a non-partisan think tank based in Wellington, New Zealand. We contribute foresight through evidence-based research and policy analysis, and our overarching purpose is to advance education.

We are committed to positively influencing public policy by empowering New Zealanders to have the uncomfortable, but necessary, conversations to enable New Zealand to realise its potential.

As well as running workshops and other events, we produce research reports, think pieces, newsletters, submissions, working papers and presentations. We are also building a private library, which is open to the public on request.

A simple conversation between Wendy McGuinness and her husband Mark McGuinness led to the Institute’s founding.

At the time, Wendy was an accountant specialising in risk management. She had prepared the 1988 report Implementation of Accrual Accounting for Government Departments – providing Treasury with an action plan for implementing accrual accounting in government departments. This work contributed to New Zealand becoming one of the first governments in the world to prepare consolidated financial statements on an accrual basis.

Wendy also chaired the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants National Sustainable Development Reporting Committee and was a member of the Taskforce on Sustainable Development Reporting.

With her passion for risk management, she began searching for an independent organisation that was researching and exploring New Zealand’s long-term future. Instead, she found that most futures-type organisations were more interested in discussion and trends than in research.

Wendy’s concerns – about the lack of independent research organisations developing strategies to shape policy – grew persistent. One day in 2004 Mark asked, ‘Why don’t you create one?’

Initially, Wendy wanted to create a place where people could donate and contribute to research and outputs. She studied alternative models of non-profit public-policy think tanks based in the United Kingdom and United States, such as Demos and Brookings. In 2004, after evaluating the most effective and robust model for developing non-partisan research and policy recommendations, she created a privately funded, non-profit think-tank – the Sustainable Future Institute. Eight years later, it was renamed the McGuinness Institute.

We believe transparency about funding is central to developing trust and exposing perceived conflicts of interest. So, it’s relevant to present the relationships between the Institute, the McGuinness Foundation Trust, and Willis Bond & Co.

Mark McGuinness is Chairman of Willis Bond & Co, and Wendy and Mark are the primary funders of the McGuinness Institute, through the McGuinness Foundation Trust. This is a significant investment in both the Institute’s research team and this country. They hope it will pay benefits:  building the capability and skills of our young people; gathering new insights and ideas on the country’s future for wider discussion and dialogue; and becoming a repository for past New Zealand policies (both our successes and failures).

The Institute also works with other institutions and individuals to recover the direct costs of events. We aim to build working relationships to deliver shared outcomes.

We welcome financial donations without donor restrictions (e.g. no strings attached) and any book donations to our library. Please contact Wendy if you are interested in donating.

Examples include:

• Multiple educational grants to individuals and universities
• Gifts of our signature book Nation Dates

The Institute’s annual report

As a registered charitable trust, the McGuinness Institute voluntarily publishes annual reports (which include its financial statements). View the financial statements.

October 1999: Miro Foundation Trust becomes The New Zealand Sustainable Future Foundation Trust.

14 June 2007: The New Zealand Sustainable Future Foundation Trust becomes a registered charity. The Charities Registration Number is CC10457.

22 February 2012: The New Zealand Sustainable Future Foundation Trust becomes The McGuinness Foundation Trust. The trustees are Mark McGuinness and Wendy McGuinness.

October 2019: The McGuinness Foundation Trust celebrated 20 years of existence.

Our primary focus is on education of young New Zealanders between 5–25 years of age. Most of the funding is used to contribute to the McGuinness Institute, although significant donations have been made to schools and churches in the Wellington region.

The Foundation is funded by Mark and Wendy McGuinness. Together, they strongly believe in contributing to the local Wellington community as well as New Zealand as a country. You can view some of Mark’s Wellington projects at Willis Bond & Co.

Mark, Wendy and their family consider themselves proud Wellingtonians. Mark was born and raised in the capital and Wendy moved here early in her career to follow her passion for public policy.

As well as funding the McGuinness Institute, the Foundation provides financial donations to charities and other entities, with a special focus on young people.

Examples include:

• Auckland City Mission
• Bishop Viard College, Porirua
• Brendon Leitch
• Circa Theatre
• Festival of the Arts
• Gillies McIndoe
• GoFundMe
• Happiness House
• Holy Family School, Porirua
• Kiwi KARE Ukraine
• Mary Potter Hospice
• Massey University
• Michael Hill International Violin Competition
• New Zealand Political Studies Association
• Nikau Foundation
• Open Home Foundation
• SMART Medical Aid
• Sophia Michelle McMillan Crestani Scholarship
• St Mary of the Angels building restoration
• St Patrick’s College, Wellington
• Sweet Louise
• The Basilica refurb
• Tokomanawa Queens
• UP Foundation
• Various Givealittle campaigns
• Victoria University
• Waitangi Day Festival Tauranga
• Wakatipu Community Foundation
• Wakatipu High School Foundation
• Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust
• Wellington Phoenix
• Wellington Sculpture Trust

The Foundation’s financial statements

McGuinness Foundation Trust is a public benefit entity for the purposes of financial reporting in accordance with the Financial Reporting Act (2013). View the financial statements (see link under the relevant year of the McGuinness Institute annual reports).