There are lots of ways for you to connect with your policy colleagues across the New Zealand Public Service and overseas.
On this page:
International policy community
New Zealand policy community
Connecting with the Policy Project
Newsletters
Our newsletter can keep you up to date with our latest workshops, publications, and events. If you're a policy professional in the public sector, please use this link to sign up to Policy Project newsletters for the latest offerings.
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- October 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- October 2024
- August 2024
Social media
For updates and highlights of the Policy Project's work, see our LinkedIn page at linkedin.com/company/the-policy-project-nz.
Policy forums
The Policy Project holds policy forums for policy managers and principal policy analysts and advisors. These forums cover the Policy Project’s tools and frameworks, best practice, and policy topics of interest across the Public Service. Subscribe to Policy Project newsletters to stay informed about future Policy Project forums, and see the links below for two of our recent online events.
- Policy Project Masterclass: David Bent – Applying innovative frameworks and forward-thinking approaches to policy making
David Bent, UK based policy expert and founder of Atelier What’s Next, speaks about how different types of frameworks can be applied to policy problems.
- Policy Project Online: Dr Jaakko Kuosmanen – Innovating at the science and policy interface
Dr Jaakko Kuosmanen, strategic advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office in Finland, discusses strategic approaches to building foresight and innovation into policy making.
Networks and Communities of Practice
The Policy Project supports a number of networks and communities of practice across the public sector that provide an opportunity for the policy community to practise policy methods, share expertise, and collaborate on projects.
They include:
- New Zealand Behavioural Insights Community of Practice is a group of behavioural insights practitioners and those interested in behavioural insights. The group shares expertise, collaborates on projects, and promotes the use of behavioural insights to support robust policy outcomes. Email [email protected] to be added to the mailing list.
- Strategic Futures Group is a group of foresight practitioners and those interested in foresight. The forum provides an opportunity for members to practice foresighting, build capability and apply futures as a discipline into public sector activities. Email Cathy Swanson at [email protected] to be included in emails and events.
In addition, other government networks you may wish to connect with include:
- Government Economics Network promotes the better use of economics in the public sector in New Zealand. It caters to economists and non-economists through a range of events and training opportunities focused on using economics in policy advice.
- Government Legal Network comprises over 1000 lawyers in central government and Crown entities, and is supported by the System Leadership Team within Crown Law. The Government Legal Network addresses a broad spectrum of complex legal matters, promotes rewarding career pathways for government lawyers, and assists the Crown in the delivery of better public services to people in New Zealand.
- Government Analytics Network is a community of practice for New Zealand public servants working with data. The group provides opportunities for learning and sharing good practice, and linking people and their work to the broader government data analytics community.
International policy community
The Policy Project has built links to its counterparts in other jurisdictions, particularly Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Australian policy professionals
There are more than 7000 policy advisors in the Australian Public Service. Their vision is to work together to deliver great policy advice to create better outcomes for all Australians. A cross-agency team was set up in 2018 to support the delivery of great policy advice. The team works with policy professionals and through networks to test thinking and to try new approaches and ways of working.
They have an online Policy Hub to support people to deliver great policy advice. It includes a growing number of tools, processes, best practice methodologies, and learning opportunities sourced from across the Australian Public Service and beyond. Keep an eye out for resources from New Zealand’s own Policy Project when exploring the Australian Policy Hub.
They have also co-designed with practitioners a model of great policy advice: Delivering great policy. It defines the four core elements that make up great policy advice and the underpinning foundations for readiness that need to be in place.
Canadian policy community
The Policy Community Partnerships Office is an inclusive and cross-functional community comprising policy-makers from across departments and agencies. Their common purpose is to be modern, relevant and responsive in how they work to address the needs of Canadians. A small Policy Community Partnership Office was set up in 2017 to help deliver supports for the policy community.
United Kingdom Policy Profession
The United Kingdom Policy Profession is part of the Civil Service and is made up of over 18,000 civil servants working in the United Kingdom who recognise themselves as policy professionals.
Like New Zealand, our UK counterparts have a Head of the Policy Profession and a framework for describing a professional development pathway called the Policy profession standards. The Policy profession standards describe the full breadth of knowledge needed by a good policy-maker, covering 18 skill and knowledge areas under three themes – evidence, politics, and delivery.
UK Policy Lab
The UK Policy Lab is a small team set up in 2014 as part of the Civil Service Reform plan to make policy-making more open. The team sits within the Cabinet Office but serves the whole of government, primarily responding to requests from policy teams.
It uses design, data, and digital tools, and acts as a testing ground for policy innovation across government. The UK Lab’s support is best suited to tackling intractable, complex, systemic policy problems that require fresh thinking and can lead to potentially transformative solutions.
You can read about the work of the UK Policy Lab and see its Open Policy Making Toolkit.