The New Zealand Institute

The New Zealand Institute is a privately funded think-tank committed to generating ideas, debate and solutions that will improve economic prosperity, social well-being, environmental quality and environmental productivity for New Zealand and New Zealanders. The Institute produces creative, provocative and independent thinking, focusing on key issues that have a major impact on New Zealand’s economic, social and environmental future, and engages with New Zealanders in order to develop solutions to address these issues.

We believe that New Zealand is a country with vast potential and opportunity ahead of it.  But we have to overcome a number of challenges if New Zealand is to achieve its full potential.  Those challenges won’t be met by recycling the same old solutions.  We need new solutions and new ideas. We need a new generation of thinking.

Our work includes undertaking independent research on important issues, engaging with groups throughout the community on these issues, and working with the private and public sectors to identify and implement practical solutions.  By developing new, creative, non-partisan, and world-class ideas and solutions, we believe we can contribute to improved outcomes for all New Zealanders.

To that end, we draw on the best ideas and practice from around the world and feed these into the New Zealand debate.  We are committed to political neutrality and evidence-based analysis.  We recognise that great ideas can come from anywhere on the political spectrum - left, right, or centre. We are interested in ideas that work in the real world, not just ideas that have a certain political pedigree.  We expect to surprise rather than run a predictable party line.

The New Zealand Institute is a private, not for profit organisation, registered as a charitable trust.