Economic Strategy Branch
[ Last Updated 6 November 2006 ]
Deputy Secretary: Lewis Holden
The Economic Strategy branch supports MED, government and other departments to develop and implement strategy that improves New Zealand's long-term economic development. The branch has a number of roles to carry out this purpose.
Primary goals for the branch are to shape the economic development agenda for government, MED and other agencies and to advise the Minister of Economic Development on a coherent set of strategic priorities for economic development. In pursuing these goals, the branch aims to complement the work of other branches and departments by contributing whole-of-system and medium term perspectives on critical economic development issues.
Doing this effectively requires a deep understanding of the dynamics of economic development and the business environment in New Zealand, and its connection to society. To help build this understanding, the Economic Strategy branch undertakes research and analysis into the drivers of sustainable economic development, the constraints that New Zealand faces, and aims to identify important emerging and future issues and their implications. This helps us to understand the best points of leverage that the Government can influence to achieve its economic growth objective. As well as undertaking analysis and research, the branch builds its understanding of the New Zealand economy by engaging, challenging, influencing and learning from researchers, policy staff, and business stakeholders, both in New Zealand and offshore.
MED has a leadership role in working with other agencies to shape advice to government on economic development strategy. The Economic Strategy branch contributes to this by actively ensuring that MED and cross-departmental work programmes and policy development are consistent with and support agreed economic development goals.
The branch also has a role in improving the quality of economic and strategic thinking and analysis across the Ministry, and building our strategic capability so that it supports high quality thinking and learning. This includes working collaboratively with other parts of MED and other agencies on selected economic development policy issues, to help develop policy and strategy that is based on a clear and well-founded understanding of how best to influence economic growth in New Zealand.
The branch establishes and improves organisational and whole-of-government systems to support the development, implementation and review of economic development strategy. As part of this, the branch works with the Chief Executive, the Strategic Leadership Team and across the Ministry's other branches to help scan the environment, synthesise relevant learning, and make judgements about the Ministry's priorities over the medium term. The Ministry's senior economic voice, the Chief Economist, is part of this branch and works closely with the Chief Executive on matters of economic strategy and policy.
Part of the branch (primarily through the activities of the Government Urban and Economic Development Office located in Auckland) focuses on carrying out the strategic roles described above, but in the specific context of supporting the economic development of the Auckland/upper North Island region.
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