Industry and Regional Development Branch
[ Last Updated 13 November 2006 ]
Deputy Secretary: Mark Steel
The Industry and Regional Development branch (I&RD) has principal responsibility for the provision of policy advice concerning the development, overview and implementation of the government's economic, regional and industry development objectives. It monitors and researches trends and issues related to these objectives, and evaluates government policies and programmes to determine their contribution towards meeting them. It also advises on the performance and governance of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) and, jointly with CCMAU, the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund Ltd (NZVIF). The Ministry of Tourism is part of this branch.
Regional Development Team
The Regional Development team provides advice on regional economic development policy, develops regional development programmes and maintains a policy perspective on NZTE's implementation of regional development programmes. It also co-ordinates and manages policy issues related to regional economic development across the public sector and often provides second opinion advice on issues that may affect regional development. The team's contribution to the economic transformation agenda includes working with GUEDO to develop Auckland as an internationally competitive city.
Sector Development Team
The Sector Development team is responsible for developing policy on the role of industry sectors in achieving sustainable economic growth and economic transformation. It focuses on government engagement with industry sectors as a mechanism for identifying and addressing issues that are common to firms in these sectors. The team works closely with NZTE and other parts of government on the implementation of this policy. This includes policy and programmes to build global connections and help sectors develop the capability to actively participate in the global economy.
Firm Capability Team
The team provides advice on issues affecting management and business capability at the firm level to enable them to become more globally competitive. It focuses its efforts on: innovation; access to finance; market development; skills and management capability. It has responsibility for the design, implementation and ongoing operation of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise programmes, including the: Enterprise Development Fund; Growth Services Fund and Market Development Assistance Scheme. It provides advice on the design and operation of the Venture Investment Fund and the Seed Co-investment Fund.
The specific contributions to the economic transformation agenda are:
- lifting the capacity of firms to innovate;
- improving business access to finance;
- providing advice on initiatives for Export Year 2007; and
- ensuring a supportive regulatory environment and strong supporting infrastructure is available to firms.
External Relations Unit (ERU)
The ERU identifies and coordinates opportunities for effective external engagement at both a Ministerial and official level (domestically and internationally). It focuses on initiatives to build branch capability and practice of stakeholder engagement as part of the policy cycle and may be involved with scoping emerging economic development issues and overseeing coordination with stakeholders.
Research and Evaluation Team
The team contributes to the economic transformation agenda through monitoring and evaluating the performance of industry and regional development policies and programmes. The I&RD branch's evaluation and related research programme is designed to inform policy development by providing feedback on past and current performance. This includes working with the policy teams to form useful evidence-based conclusions and policy recommendations.
Evaluations will cover the performance of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund and Tourism New Zealand and in some instances can provide operational conclusions and recommendations.
Monitoring Unit
The monitoring unit monitors and assesses the quality of the way in which New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Tourism New Zealand deliver programmes and their organisational effectiveness as a whole. The Unit also monitors aspects of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund Ltd, jointly with CCMAU.
Ministry of Tourism
The Ministry of Tourism was established on 1 January 2002 to provide policy advice (including advice on Crown entities and grants), to manage the tourism core data set and to carry out other tourism research. A key focus of the Ministry is the implementation of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010. The Ministry of Tourism also administers the Major Events Development Fund and runs the New Zealand Major Events website.
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