Blog
New edition of ‘Nation Dates’ in progress
In September of last year the McGuinness Institute published Nation Dates: Significant events that have shaped the nation of New Zealand. The second edition of Nation Dates is under way! We want the book to be the best reflection of our history and identity as a...
Watch ‘The Big Idea’ on TVNZ7 7.30pm this week
This week, at 7.30pm each night,TVNZ7 will be airing a five-part finale series about big ideas that could transform New Zealand’s future. Hosted by Tim Wilson and a panel of experts, The Big Idea will tackle ambitious topics inspired by New Zealand’s leading minds. On...
New Resource for EmpowerNZ: Te Ara’s ‘Government and Nation’ pages
Te Ara’s new section ‘Government and Nation’ was launched by His Excellency Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, governor general, before an appreciative audience of 200 at Parliament on Wednesday night. The project has been overseen for the past two-and-a-half...
EmpowerNZ Workshop: Drafting a Constitution for the 21st Century
The McGuinness Institute has been closely following the developments of the current constitutional review. To this end, the Institute welcomes the recent release of the Constitutional Advisory Panel's Engagement Strategy, and wishes to advise the public of its...
Craig Nevill-Manning: Why New Zealand Needs Planes
At the Transit of Venus Forum we were fortunate enough to interview Craig Nevill-Manning, a kiwi computer scientist who founded Google's first remote engineering centre in New York. In this video he discusses how New Zealand business people benefit tremendously from...
David Skilling: The World is Lumpy
At the Transit of Venus forum last week inspired by Sir Paul Callaghan, we asked David Skilling, Director of Landfall Strategy Group, four questions: What is your current focus? What makes the world lumpy? Why over-invest in external relationships? What makes the...
Follow up to the Transit of Venus Forum
Rory and I spent three terrific days in Tolaga Bay and Gisborne. We have uploaded photos to our Facebook page for those interested in getting a feel for the event. In the next few weeks we will also be uploading interviews with some of the speakers to...
At Tolaga Bay for the Transit of Venus Forum
This week our CEO, Wendy McGuinness and our Head of Research, Rory Sarten joined the people of Te Aitanga a Hauiti and Tolaga Bay to celebrate the Transit of Venus. The forum, organised by the MacDiarmid Institute, Victoria University, and the Royal Society of New...
A Bit of Excitement for Friday Night!
Occasionally we come across something that really makes us laugh out loud. So just for fun, we thought we would do regular posts on something that has made us smile. Hope you enjoy it! This video shows a creative advertising stunt by a Belgian TV channel....
One Week Until the Transit of Venus
One week from today, on Wednesday 6th of June, we will have the last opportunity in our lifetime to witness the Transit of Venus. To coincide with this historic event, next week the Royal Society of New Zealand, Victoria University and the MacDiarmid Institute are...
Dr Ian Yeoman: Crystal Ball Gazer
On Wednesday 6th June the New Zealand Planning Institute is hosting a free lunchtime seminar with futurologist Dr Ian Yeoman, who will be speaking about his new book 2050: Tomorrows Tourism. The book explores the future of tourism, discussing complex topics such as...
National Science Challenges
We were pleased to see in the budget yesterday that the Government intends to establish funding ‘for a series of National Science Challenges to find innovative solutions to some of the most fundamental issues New Zealand faces in its future development.’ In our recent...
Courtesy Goes A Long Way
On Wednesday we presented our submission to the Wellington City Council on their Draft Long Term Plan 2012-22 for the city. We were really interested in the presentation from the another submitter – Allan Brown, Chair of the Great Harbour Way Trust – who discussed...
Ensuring the best deal from our strategic assets
We need real clarity in New Zealand about what characteristics make a government asset a ‘strategic asset’. Much of the public debate concerning asset sales has centred on the term ‘strategic asset’, yet this term is not defined within the Treasury glossary, in the...
The Public Law Toolbox Conference
Since attending ‘The Public Law Toolbox Conference’, I've been flicking through the book and have been thoroughly impressed. Mai Chen brought together a diverse and well-informed group of speakers to share their thoughts and insights on public law. Many of New...
JustSpeak launches their position paper.
This time last year the Wellington-based network of young thinkers JustSpeak didn’t exist. Yet on Tuesday night this week, the group launched their first position paper, Māori and the Criminal Justice System: A Youth Perspective to a crowd of Wellingtonians with the...
Our submission on the King Salmon proposal.
The McGuinness Institute has just completed an in depth submission on New Zealand King Salmon's application for resource consent to expand their salmon aquaculture operation in the Marlborough Sounds. One of our key concerns is that there are many stakeholders who...
Gareth Morgan says salmon farming decision sets huge precedent. Submissions close today at 5pm.
Gareth Morgan believes the EPA decision on salmon farming in the Marlborough Sounds potentially sets a huge precedent. The Institute agrees with Gareth Morgan: We need a game plan for aquaculture. Make a submission to the EPA by 5pm today.
Prime Minister’s Science Prizes: Entries Open!
Entries opened today (Tuesday May 1st) for the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes. The awards aim to recognise the impact of science on New Zealander’s lives and celebrate the achievements of our current scientists and provide inspiration and encouragement for scientists...
Asset Sales Debate: An interesting segment on Morning Report
On Monday 30th April, Morning Report talked to investment banker Rob Cameron who asserts that the Government’s efforts to secure public support for the planned asset sales have been a ‘disaster’. Cameron served as the Chairmen of the Capital Market Development...
Book Review: Thinking Fast and Slow
If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 parts, how many minutes does it take 100 machines to make 100 parts? For most of us, the instinctual response to this question is ‘100 minutes’ – but our instincts are wrong. The answer is actually 5 minutes. This problem...
Book Review: Where Good Ideas Come From
In Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From, he argues that open platforms, collaboration and experimentation are more facilitative to innovation than market forces and competition. The book has a sizeable appendix which presents a fascinating chronology of...
Important salmon farming submissions close 5pm, Wednesday 2nd May!
New Zealand King Salmon plans to establish nine new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds. We think this proposal deserves informed public debate. It is not only important for Marlborough, but for all of New Zealand as it is a national treasure worth preserving for...
Transit of Venus Forum, Gisborne, 5-8th June 2012
“Science lets us see the way nature is: we experience this again as we glimpse the workings of the same great celestial clock James Cook saw when the transit of Venus began at the predicted moment on that June day in 1769. Science is the compass on the voyage we must...
An Update on Asset Sales
The ongoing assets sales debate presents interesting questions for New Zealand’s future and is a debate we should all be interested in. To keep you up to date with the process, this post presents some of the key points of the proposed legislation and where it stands...
JustSpeak launches its Position Paper
Wellington-based network of young, independent thinkers, JustSpeak are officially releasing their position paper, Māori and the Criminal Justice System: A Youth Perspective. An evening launch will be held at the start of next month, and attendees will join Hon Dr Pita...
The McGuinness Institute
The McGuinness Institute is a Wellington based non-partisan think tank working towards a sustainable future, contributing strategic foresight through evidence-based research and policy analysis.
Sir Paul’s Message Lives On
Sir Paul’s Message Lives On Sir Paul’s life impacted on the lives of many different people. For the team at the Institute, it was his message and his generosity of spirit that will continue to inspire us. He believed New Zealand could be a better place if we...
On our funding, our new name and our origin
An article by George Monbiot, titled ‘Secretive thinktanks are crushing our democracy’, was recently brought to our attention by Nick Tucker. The article, published in The Guardian in September 2011, highlights the difficulties of uncovering funding sources for...
Report 9: Science Embraced: Government-funded Science under the Microscope
We are pleased to announce the publication of Science Embraced: Government-funded Science under the Microscope. It is the first report published under our new name, the McGuinness Institute (previously the Sustainable Future Institute), and is the ninth report of...
Sustainable Future Institute Changes Name to McGuinness Institute
Since the end of February, the Sustainable Future Institute has been operating under a new name, the McGuinness Institute. As our Chief Executive, Wendy McGuinness, explains, the new name is reflective of both where our principal funding comes from, and our purpose;...
Sustainable Future Institute Agenda 2012:
2012 is the Chinese year of the dragon and is believed to bring abundance, prosperity and good fortune to those born under its sign; a timely prospect as global economic woes and civil unrest continue into the New Year. It also looks set to be another busy and...
A summer reading list for the Prime Minister
We really like the idea from the Grattan Institute of creating a reading list for our leaders. Every year, the Grattan Institute produces a Reading List for the Australian Prime Minister; the books and articles that they recommend Australia's leaders read over...
Time to Treat our Constitution as a Blank Canvas – www.EmpowerNZ.co.nz Project Launch
www.EmpowerNZ.co.nz Project Launch Today is three years since the Relationship and Confidence and Supply Agreement between the National Party and the Māori Party (16 November 2008) agreed to establish a group to consider constitutional issues, including Māori...
New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute presentation tonight
This evening the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute will host a presentation at Victoria University on climate change and the opportunities for New Zealand’s economy: ‘Preparing for White Swans: Climate Change and opportunities for the economy’. The...
Interview with Chris Laidlaw on Radio NZ
Wendy was invited to join Chris Laidlaw on yesterday’s Sunday programme on Radio New Zealand to discuss Nation Dates. Chris and Wendy had a lively discussion about the significance of New Zealand’s history to our future. Chris also quizzed Wendy about her passion for...
Referendum Debate at Te Papa Tonight
Radio New Zealand, in conjunction with Te Papa and Victoria University, is hosting an MMP Referendum Debate at Te Papa. The debate will be moderated by Philippa Tolley and Julian Robins, and guests include Former National Prime Minister Jim Bolger, Former Labour...
Environmental Reporting Bill Submission
The Ministry for the Environment recently released Measuring up: Environmental reporting – a discussion document. This document outlines the Government’s Environmental Reporting Bill and their proposed means for achieving its goals. Submissions for this paper closed...
October Newsletter
Check out our latest newsletter and find out about our plans for the next six months and what we have been doing since May. We've been busy launching books, travelling the globe, delivering presentations, researching the future and much more. If you are interested in...
‘Mastering talent’ in Unlimited magazine
Lesley Springall of Unlimited magazine has published an article 'Mastering talent' after attending the Otago MBA meeting in Auckland that featured Wendy's presentation on StrategyNZ: Mapping our Future. Lesley's article focuses on the points made by Wendy in her...
Strategy Mapping at Kristin School
Over the 23/24 September, Wendy McGuinness and Diane White attended a strategy mapping event at Kristin School, Auckland. Kristin is an independent co-educational school of approximately 1600 students ranging from Kindergarten to Year 13. The event was organised by...
Victoria University Tourism 411 – What is a sustainable future for New Zealand’s tourism industry by 2050?
Yesterday, students from the Victoria University tourism futures programme, coordinated by Ian Yeoman, gave presentations to the team at the Institute on scenario analysis, issues and implications. This presentation followed on from a presentation to the Institute, 3...
Nation Dates Launched
Thank you to everyone who came to the launch of Nation Dates last night at Unity Books. We hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as the team from the Sustainable Future Institute. It was great to see so many familiar faces and Wendy and Miriam were overwhelmed with...
SFI Book Launch
Tomorrow Sustainable Future Institute launches its first book. If you get the opportunity please join us to celebrate.
Tipping Point for the Spread of Ideas
Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. The scientists, who are members of the Social Cognitive Networks...
Avoid holding bad workshops
Every day there are people at work that would prefer to spend a day looking at their Uncle's holiday photos rather than endure another bad corporate workshop. Roger Dennis runs workshops globally, and has just released Really bad workshops (and how to avoid them)....
Humans disturb Antarctica’s marine ecosystems
The introduction of alien species, pollution, overfishing and a mix of other human activities is degrading the marine ecosystems in Antarctica. There is an Antarctic Treaty system in place which sets out a framework for the continent’s management and protection....
China’s 12th Five-Year Plan
China is now prioritising strategies and measures to ensure long-term prosperity in the form of ‘higher quality’ and ‘inclusive’ growth. Specifically, China intends to concentrate on the following industries over the next five years: new energy, energy conservation...
Iceland’s Constitutional Review
The internet has become a recognised human right. Now Iceland is using social media as a platform to allow the public to comment on potential constitutional changes. The process which started earlier this year is estimated to take 3 or 4 months and so far has produced...
James Hansen asks Key to lead on climate change
Below is a press release following NASA climate scientist James Hansen's talks in New Zealand. Only minor variations have been made for the purposes of this blog. At the end of his tour of New Zealand, eminent climate scientist Dr James Hansen has written an open...