Hui-tanguru | February 2024

Kia ora koutou, and welcome to our February panui | eNews for 2024

In this month’s edition

• Meet the Wellington Transport Analytics Unit (WTAU)
• Upcoming Webinars & Talks
• Inclusionary Housing Seminar recording available
• Regional Economic Development Plan (REDP) Update
• Careers in Tech Webinar series 
• Food Innovation Network Workshops

WRLC Communications Advisor Freda Wells recently sat down for a Q&A with Andy Ford, Unit Manager for the Wellington Transport Analytics Unit (WTAU – aka ‘the Unit’ – if you think that sounds a bit undercover, well, they do have an air of mystery!) – to find out about what they do. It turns out that their work covers so much more than transport…

Transport is an enabler of land use change, transport-oriented development and economic growth across the region, delivering improved accessibility and well-being for communities.

Examples of the Unit’s recent work include modelling and analytics to understand how different urban forms might affect travel demand, VKT, emissions and enabling infrastructure, to inform the Future Development Strategy.

WTAU are a team of highly skilled transport analysts and modellers who provide modelling and analytical services to their partner organisations to support transport planning and analytics.

Alec Tang is a leader in the field of sustainability, with a career in the domain spanning two decades, no small feat! In this presentation, he will cover:

• The current state of play in sustainability, including recent research findings
• Moving from transition to transformation, and key concepts to hold front of mind
• Some lessons from the frontline, the importance of people, organisational structures and shifting behaviours.

Following completion of his MSc (Hons) in Environmental Science, some of the roles he has held include: Environmental Scientist at AECOM, Manager – Environmental Knowledge Transfer Network at Oxford University, Principal Consultant and Global Technical Lead for Integrated Water Management Advisory at Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in the UK, Chief Sustainability Officer at Auckland Council, and Director of Sustainability at Kāinga Ora. He is now Partner – Sustainable Value at KPMG.

This topic is a priority area for the WRLC Work programme, and aligns with a key strategic direction of our region’s Future Development Strategy: “Prioritising nature, climate and culture through protection and restoration.”

How prepared is our region’s food system to cope with the estimated growth of 200,000 more people over the next 30 years? This upcoming webinar covers our latest work on Food System Planning for the region. 

Join us Thursday 21 March, 11am to hear from leading food-system thinkers Tessa Ackerson and Pete Russell, who will unpack the challenges and opportunities of our current food system. We’ll hear perspectives both at a national and global level, as well as at a local and regional level, as we discuss our region’s first Food System Plan.

Multiple interconnected factors are driving the need to develop a regional food system plan:

• our region’s population is estimated to grow by 200,000 people in the next 30 years. How do we plan to sustainably produce enough food to support this?
• Currently, 1 in 5 children in Aotearoa live in households that experience food insecurity, yet Aotearoa produces enough food for 40 million people.
• Quality food production relies on healthy soil and water – these are both vulnerable to climate change, and to some of our current food production practices.

This webinar will cover research and examples of how we can grow food in a way that supports a healthy environment, nourishes our communities, celebrates our diverse cultures, and strengthens our local economy.

In this webinar, Chris Glaudel discussed the ‘what, why and how’ of Inclusionary Housing in Aotearoa, and how it offers a positive pathway forward for housing in New Zealand. Thank you to those who joined and contributed excellent questions to the Q&A. Follow the link below to view his talk, and access the presentation, and related reports.

Housing affordability is one of the key challenges that our Regional Housing Action Plan is designed to address.

WellingtonNZ and initiative leads are continuing to progress implementation of the Regional Economic Development Plan (REDP) on behalf of the WRLC.

Expanding the reach of House of Science is one of the 37 initiatives in the REDP. House of Science provide bilingual science resource kits for primary and intermediate schools to provide students with consistent access to a foundational education in science. We are pleased to share that a recent report from ImpactLab shows House of Science delivers $25,496,052 of measurable good to society in New Zealand. When the operating costs are considered, the resulting social return on investment means that every dollar invested in House of Science delivers $10.20 of measurable good to New Zealand. House of Science relies on sponsorship and volunteers and would love to hear from anyone interested in providing support. Read more here: House of Science.

Upcoming Events

Tech-career advice sessions

Ever wondered what it’s like to work at a tech company? Technology is now New Zealand’s second biggest industry and is only just getting started. WellingtonNZ has created a four part education series to help school career advisors, teachers and parents learn about career paths in Wellington tech. Register online for the March sessions: Software Development & Cyber Security and Customer Success, Marketing & Entrepreneurship.

Food Innovation workshops – 13 & 14 March

WellingtonNZ are running a series of Food Innovation workshops in Lower Hutt, Kapiti and Wairarapa on 13 and 14 March. The workshops aim to help food and beverage businesses, ranging from start-ups and entrepreneurs to established businesses, to be inspired by the journey of other businesses and hear about support available. Please encourage any businesses who might be interested to register online.

About the Wellington Regional Leadership Committee

WRLC is a joint regional partnership which brings together Iwi leaders, Mayors, Ministers of Government, and an independent chair, to work collaboratively on cross-boundary, growth-related challenges in the Wellington-Wairarapa-Horowhenua region.

WRLC exists to find better ways of working together to cultivate a region where people want to live, work and thrive.

Our projects cover five broad key areas that are integral to our shared growth-related cross-boundary challenges. These five areas are iwi capacity, housing, climate, transport and economic development and recovery. Find out more about our work on our project page, and if you’d like to talk or collaborate – get in touch at hello@wrlc.org.nz.