In order to deliver on the expectations of the next iteration of the Plan, the NIU has developed a work programme around a 'Pressure-State-Response' model. This model provides a useful framework for considering some of the questions that drive to the heart of a long-term infrastructure plan:
» Pressure - future infrastructure demands and drivers of this demand
» State - the current state and performance of our existing infrastructure
» Response - the policy, regulatory and financial settings
The work programme is by necessity multi-year, with the initial focus on building the evidence base around the 'Pressure' and the 'State' questions. This lack of evidence was a major constraint in producing the 2011 Plan and a barrier to holding effective conversations on how we are placed and where we need to respond differently.
Plan workstreams that contribute to building this evidence base are the Performance indicators (State); Trends and scenario modelling (Pressure); Resilience (Pressure and State); and the delivery of the first ten-year Capital Intentions Plan (Response).
Good progress has been made over the past year on these workstreams, sector workshops were held in December 2012 to refine the performance indicator framework accompanied by the commissioning of Covec and BECA to develop the indicators further. NIU has been coordinating across agencies to finalise the indicators and undertake the initial data collection and analysis.
A second series of sector workshops were held in June 2013 to develop the Trends and scenario modelling workstream, facilitated by members of the National Infrastructure Advisory Board. With over 130 people involved, the workshops have provided a solid platform to refine the significant trends and identify the key scenarios for further development.
The Resilience workstream has remained a priority, particularly in coordinating a large number of post-Christchurch projects across government agencies. A focus for us has been better understanding the interdependencies across the different sectors. Excitingly, we have seen a number of agencies look to implement the lessons from Christchurch and ensure that resilience is a key consideration when planning and operating infrastructure. The joint resilience operational policy project across NZTA, Kiwirail and Transpower is a good example.
We are on track to deliver the first 10-year Capital Intentions Plan before the end of the year. Being able to publish this data reflects the major improvements that have been made across government agencies in the overall management, planning and allocation of capital.
All of these workstreams will come together early in 2014 when we will release the first cut of a collated evidence base and the initial story it depicts. This will provide the basis for the 2014 work programme - focussing on digging deeper into and refining this story, and starting discussions on the optimal 'Response'.
To advance discussion and widen the debate around the Response theme, we will shortly post an initial Demand Management discussion document from the Board on our website, including a number of examples. It is clear already that the appropriate 'Response' to meeting New Zealand's future infrastructure demands will need to be a combination of both demand side and supply side strategies |