Blog
TalentNZ presents Kaila Colbin 9/30
Kaila is the founder and chief executive of a number of initiatives, including Missing Link and Ministry of Awesome in Christchurch. A native New Yorker, she has been an entrepreneur since she was 22 and is fluent in four languages. Kaila loves to see ideas turned...
TalentNZ presents Rachel Carrell 8/30
Rachel is the chief executive at DrThom, the world’s largest online doctor service, located in the United Kingdom. Originally from Invercargill, she completed a doctorate at Oxford then worked in various sectors across theworld before taking up her role at DrThom....
TalentNZ presents Anna Campbell 7/30
Anna is a Director and Partner of AbacusBio Ltd, an agri-consulting company based in Dunedin. An innovative and strategic thinker, with a PhD in biotechnology, she endorses commercially focused science. Here Anna discusses how to promote the synergies between science...
TalentNZ presents Vicki Buck 6/30
Vicki is someone that likes getting out into the community and making things happen. From 1989 to 1998 Vicki was mayor of Christchurch and in 2008 she was voted by The Guardian as one of the ‘50 people who could save the planet’. Today Vicki is co-founder of the...
TalentNZ presents Tim Bennett 5/30
Tim is the chief executive of the securities market company NZX. He has extensive experience in capital- and commodity-market development in Asia, the Middle East and North America. He has advised a broad range of financial institutions on topics such as strategy and...
TalentNZ presents Anne Barnett 4/30
Anne is the Senior Commercialisation Manager at Viclink, a company focused on commercialising research and technology generated at Victoria University of Wellington. Trained as a physical scientist, she has transitioned to marketing and business development roles and...
TalentNZ presents Jamie Band 3/30
Jamie is a 19-year-old, currently studying at Duke University in the United States. He still calls New Zealand home, and would like to find a professional reason to live here once he graduates. Visit the TalentNZ website to read Jamie’s full summary. The...
TalentNZ presents David Band 2/30
David Band is an experienced international businessman who has spent the past twenty years in management consulting and in directing and investing in technology-based companies. He has held senior positions in three global consulting firms and has founded two start-up...
TalentNZ presents Rik Athorne 1/30
Rik Athorne is the Design Studio Supervisor at Weta Workshop. Having moved from the UK in 2006, Rik runs a team of conceptual thinkers and artists. He provides us with view inside one of New Zealand’s talent hubs. Visit the TalentNZ website to read Rik’s...
TalentNZ initiative officially launched today
The TalentNZ initiative builds on the thinking of Sir Paul Callaghan who envisioned New Zealand as ‘a place where talent wants to live’. Through our Sir Paul Callaghan Science Meets Humanities Scholarship two young scholarship recipients asked 30 Kiwis seven...
Working Paper – Exploring Talent
Exploring Talent, a precursor to TalentNZ, offers a brief overview of talent, synthesising current research and discussing ideas on how talent can be managed. From the research, author Gillian McCarthy drew seven big ideas through which talent might be viewed and...
A new home for our books!
As our library has been growing considerably over the past few months we realised the need for more shelves to house the collection. After talking to many people and looking through numerous books about book shelves we decided to go for a custom build. These shelves...
The UK think tank Reform is visiting the Institute – 5th November 2013
Strengthening our long-term fiscal position – comparing New Zealand and the United Kingdom Tara Macpherson and Kimberley Trewhitt, researchers from Reform a UK based think tank, will be visiting the Institute on the 5 November. Reform’s mission is to develop better...
What’s In The Farmed Salmon You Eat?
Earlier than I had expected, King Salmon is again in the news – this time for 'not delivering' on levels of Omega 3 promised on packaging and 'delivering copper and zinc levels' that exceed guidelines in the environment. This week Consumer Magazine, in their article...
Patriotism verses Corporatism
A lot can be learnt about the America’s Cup experience, not just about boat design but about kiwis. I am proud Dean Barker and his crew did not crow too early and did not complain at the end. There is nothing harder than falling from a great height, so to carry this...
Think Piece 18 – For me it is not enough
Last November I attended the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar. With the 2013 WISE Summit approaching, our latest think piece presents my reflections on my trip to Doha and thoughts on the future of education. Click here to read our latest...
Thinking about foresight
Next Monday the Institute will be meeting with Professor Shaun Hendy, author of the recently released Get Off the Grass; Bryce Johnson, Fish and Game; and some representatives from youth climate change organisation Generation Zero, to discuss progress of our joint...
Young programmer tells us about his new project: Decode
Decode is a New Zealand based project aimed at promoting programming in the youth of the world. Our concerns lie in what we call the rising consumerism in technology, where people are just consuming the world's most powerful development and not actually making good...
An Overview of Genetic Modification in New Zealand 1973-2013: The first forty years
Today the McGuinness Institute is pleased to announce the publication of An Overview of Genetic Modification in New Zealand 1973–2013: The first forty years, a report which forms part of the Institute’s flagship project, Project 2058. Forty years since the invention...
Marking a year since the EmpowerNZ workshop
A year ago today 50 participants, supported by 8 facilitators and 10 speakers, gathered at parliament and began drafting a constitution for New Zealand 'fit for the 21st century'. At the completion of this ambitious exercise, the 50 participants became constitutional...
Prof Shaun Hendy launches ‘Get Off the Grass’
Last night we went along to the launch of 'Get Off the Grass', a new book by Professor Shaun Hendy and the late Sir Paul Callaghan, which builds on the work of Paul's 2009 book 'Wool to Weta'. 'Get Off the Grass' investigates why New Zealanders work harder and earn...
Done and dusted!
I am very pleased (and relieved) to announce the Institute's submission to the Constitutional Advisory Panel is now on the website. It has been a big piece of work - starting at StrategyNZ in 2011, developing into EmpowerNZ in late August 2012 and culminating with a...
We have all heard of ‘green wash’, but what about ‘job wash’!
The High Court Judge Dobson has rejected the appeals by residents group Sustain Our Sounds and the Environmental Defence Society, meaning that the four new salmon farms approved earlier this year will go ahead. At the heart of the matter is whether the national...
Singaporean ‘Future Deck’ useful tool for thinking about the future
We have been thinking a lot about foresight at the Institute recently. Earlier this month we met with Professor Shaun Hendy from the New Zealand Association of Scientists, Bryce Johnson from Fish & Game and Madeleine Foreman and Miranda Corin from Generation Zero...
We should be able to do better than this!
This is the entrance to Bowen House - the 22-storey office building on the corner of Lambton Quay and Bowen Street in Wellington home to many members of Parliament and parliamentary support staff. I was there yesterday visiting an MP and was stuck by how unceremonious...
Is the Treasury a hedgehog or more like a fox?
Big congrats to Treasury for launching their Affording Our Future: Statement on New Zealand’s Long-Term Fiscal Position earlier this month (you can watch the release here). This is a great initiative, thinking forty years into the future. This report reminded me of...
EmpowerNZ Survey submitted to Constitutional Advisory Panel
The window for submitting on the current constitutional review comes to an end this month, so we thought it might be timely to let you know that we are now preparing and co-ordinating submissions both from (A) the Institute and from (B) the EmpowerNZ participants (the...
‘What’s the hold up?’ – Generation Zero begin speaking tour
Next week Generation Zero will begin their nationwide speaking tour which aims to 'get NZ moving on climate change' and showcase opportunities for New Zealand to move beyond our reliance on fossil fuels. The group will travel to 13 centres around New Zealand,...
Treasury launches ‘Affording Our Future’
Today the Treasury officially launched their 2013 statement on New Zealand’s long-term fiscal position, titled Affording Our Future. This document looks ahead 40 years and provides a snapshot of what challenges New Zealand will likely face in the future. The document...
EmpowerNZ group complete their submission!
Last week the Institute had the pleasure of providing twenty EmpowerNZ participants with a space (and a large jar of jelly beans) so that they could work together to draft a submission to the Constitutional Advisory Panel (CAP). Supported by Mihiata Pirini and Marcelo...
EmpowerNZ participants reconvene in Wellington!
A group of 22 participants from last years EmpowerNZ workshop have arrived at the Institute today to begin work on their group submission on the constitutional review. This afternoon the group will be visiting the Constitution Room at Archives New Zealand and then...
Sick of writing essays? What about for $2,500?
Last week, the Treasury announced an essay competition open to both undergraduate and postgraduate university students. The University Challenge 2013 was developed by a team at Treasury interested in provoking young minds and encouraging students to get more involved...
Is there a place for the environment in the constitutional conversation?
As we get deeper into our constitutional korero, it is fitting that we draw on the experiences of other countries especially other democracies with strong constitutional cultures. Our Chief Executive, Wendy McGuinness, has just attended a conference facilitated by the...
Plenty of work still to be done – Financial Literacy Summit, 14 June 2013
On 14 June, McGuinness Institute interns Jeremy Todd and Susie Krieble attended the 2013 Financial Literacy Summit in Auckland hosted by the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income. Although New Zealand has come out on top in a study comparing average...
Forest and Bird includes aquaculture in latest Best Fish Guide
Today Forest and Bird launched their 2013-14 Best Fish Guide. For the first time the guide includes farmed fish (aquaculture) as well as wild fisheries. The guide aims to promote sustainable fisheries. Forest and Bird's marine scientists assess a wide range of...
VIDEO: How geeks opened up government in the UK
For anyone interested in open government, data management and development of digital services, we recommend you check out this video from the Guardian. As the description notes: 'An elite team of digital experts has sparked a radical shake-up in the way the government...
Many questions remain unanswered in New Zealand King Salmon case
Today the McGuinness Institute issued a media release announcing the publication of Working Paper 2013/01: Notes on the New Zealand King Salmon Decision. The release also raises five key questions we believe remain unanswered following the Board of Inquiry hearing...
What’s your burning question?
Last night the Institute had the pleasure of attending an event hosted by Megan Salole and her team at ActionStation to launch their new website www.wethepeople.kiwi.nz. "There is a constitutional review taking place in Aotearoa New Zealand. In the past, it has been...
LongTermNZ Treasury presentation now online
Last month the participants from LongTermNZ reconvened in Wellington to put together a short presentation for the staff at the Treasury. The video of that presentation is now on our YouTube channel. The participants did a fantastic job and we're glad we can now share...
The World Peace Game
We've been thinking a lot about civics education at the Institute this week and it reminded us of this fantastic TED talk. Be inspired as US primary school teacher John Hunter explains how his 'World Peace Game' empowered fourth graders so solve all the world's...
EmpowerNZ featured in the NZ Journal of Public and International Law
The latest volume of the New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law (2012 10 NZJPIL) has a distinctly EmpowerNZ theme, with a copy of the workshop’s draft Constitution featured at the end of the journal. Accompanying the draft Constitution is a description by...
The McGuinness Institute Discusses Civics Teaching with the Centre for Citizenship Education
Within the many conversations members of the Institute overhear around political, policy and constitutional issues, one commonly voiced sentiment is the frustration of New Zealanders over the lack of learning that takes place in our curriculum around civics and the...
“Twenty-five percent? That’s a bit mental.”
Thirteen of the LongTermNZ participants reconvened today to make a follow up presentation to the Treasury on the youth perspective of NZ’s long term fiscal policy. Over muesli and coffee, we kicked off by brainstorming key elements that had stuck with us in the months...
Paul Callaghan: Luminous Moments
Today Bridget Williams Books (BWB) launched the new BWB Text series of short digital books bringing together the best of the past, present and future of thought in New Zealand. The first of the series to be released is Paul Callaghan: Luminous Moments: Selected...
Sir Paul Callaghan Science Meets Humanities Scholarship recipients
Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of New Zealand as ‘a place where talent wants to live’ will be developed by two young scholars. To mark the anniversary of Sir Paul's death on 24 March 2012, the we have announced today that Charlotte Greenfield and Darren Zhang are the...
Forum for the Future: Living in two worlds
Tomorrow night a discussion entitled “Living in Two Worlds: Multiculturalism with bi-cultural foundations (the New Zealand-Canadian dialogue)” will take place at Te Papa. The event has been organised by the Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research’s as part of the...
New Zealand King Salmon: Was it a good decision for New Zealand?
On 22 February 2013, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) published the Board of Inquiry’s final report and decision on New Zealand King Salmon’s (NZKS) application to establish nine new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds. The Board approved four of the...
Book Review: Quiet
Closeted introverts rejoice! Susan Cain’s Quiet draws some needed attention to the extroversion ideal we find in today’s society. When over a third of people are introverts, including notables such as Steve Jobs and Rosa Parks, why are we writing off an entire...
Big Data discussion series: Growing up digital
Last night fellow research analyst Ryan Gallagher and I went along to the penultimate session of the Big Data Discussion Series at the Royal Society. The series is being run alongside the National Library’s Big Data exhibition and explores the nature and implications...
Book Review: Antifragile
Have you found the book Antifragile yet? It’s worthwhile tracking one down even if it’s simply to read the prologue. Nassim Nicholas Taleb (the author) previously wrote The Black Swan. He is trying to...