NZ ICT Strategy & Framework - Sunit Prakash Submission to Hon Clare Curran 29 Nov 2018
The document is a policy submission prepared by Sunit Prakash (MBA, Member NZ IT Professionals) to inform the development of a refreshed national ICT strategy for New Zealand. It begins with a back‑story that explains how social‑media chatter, a government‑focused meetup, and Hon Clare Curran’s recent speeches highlighted a need for a coherent, cross‑government ICT plan. The author observes that existing initiatives are fragmented and lack a unifying framework. The submission then: 1. Presents three overseas ICT models – Canada’s four‑year IT Strategic Plan, Malaysia’s citizen‑centric ICT strategic plan, and Singapore’s iN2015 (to 2015) and iN2025 roadmaps – extracting their missions, guiding principles, goals and strategic thrusts. 2. Reviews New Zealand’s own 2015 Government ICT Strategy, summarising its opportunities, focus areas (digital services, information, technology, investment, leadership) and intended outcomes. 3. Proposes architectural foundations (TOGAF ADM and the Government Enterprise Architecture NZ) as a “vertical” stack linking vision, strategy, business, data, applications and infrastructure. 4. Aligns the ICT agenda with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Labour Party’s 2017‑2020 policy manifesto, identifying where ICT can enable housing, health, education, climate, etc. 5. Maps the full stakeholder landscape – ministerial portfolios, 319 government organisations, private‑sector suppliers, consulting firms, law firms, innovation hubs, and the wider Wellington startup ecosystem – presented as three “dot clusters”. 6. Provides a “horizontal” timeline view of national programmes across policy domains, and a detailed education‑sector example that layers outcomes, beneficiaries, access channels, data, and infrastructure. 7. Visualises the ecosystem with hotspot/white‑space diagrams to highlight under‑served areas and coordination gaps. 8. Concludes with a concise summary of four major deficiencies (no visionary strategy, missing architectural framework, siloed work, lack of holistic visibility) and a six‑step suggested path forward: create a new strategy & roadmap, publish architectural principles, prioritise actions, engage all stakeholders, build a real‑time graphical map, and cover the full spectrum from large government projects to incubators. 9. Lists the expected benefits (coherence, open architecture, impact identification, better market information, accelerated social outcomes) and adds appendices showing non‑ICT NZ frameworks (Performance Improvement Framework, Higher Living Standards, Four Capitals) and a Swedish RISE example. The submission is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 NZ and is intended to guide Hon Clare Curran and the new Chief Technology Officer in shaping a cohesive, future‑proof ICT strategy for New Zealand.
Topics
Backstory & Purpose: From Twitter Sparks to a Formal Submission
Describes the catalyst events – Rod Drury’s tweet, a government‑focused meetup, and Hon Clare Curran’s speeches – that revealed a fragmented ICT landscape and motivated the author to draft a submission.