Strategic direction 2023 to 2027
For 91 years Standards New Zealand has been New Zealand’s national standards body, and is responsible for managing the development, publication and access of standards. Due to changes occurring globally, we need to ensure that our standards continue to be accurate, accessible, affordable and relevant, meeting the needs of New Zealanders now and into the future.
Our strategy, with its focus on customer service, sustainability, climate change, and the digital economy, will help to make sure that our national standards body is best placed to support New Zealand’s industries and government agencies by adapting to changes in these areas.
Globally, climate change is rapidly affecting the lives of many around the world and standards are an important means of helping deliver new regulatory requirements and good industry practice. Digital economy developments are a core driver of global economic transformation, and standards can help ensure that this takes place responsibly across all facets of this transformation. Within the context of rapid changes in these areas, standards can help continue to keep New Zealanders safe and support businesses to make better business decisions, access new markets, and create new, value-added products and services.
Our vision
Prosperity and protection through trusted standards.
Our mission
Bringing leading experts together to develop high quality accessible standards to support New Zealand's economic growth and keep New Zealanders safe.
Our goals
Contribute to New Zealand's efforts to address climate change and New Zealand's digital economy and improve the sustainability and growth of our business.
Our principles
Consensus decision making, balanced representation, international first, and independence.
Our functions
- To develop, review, and sell standards.
- To adopt international standards.
- To represent New Zealand on an international stage.
Our values
- Māia - Bold and brave
- Mahi tahi - Better together
- Pae kahurangi - Build our future
- Pono me te tika - Own it
The way we work
- Independently
- Representatively
- By consensus
- Globally connected
Our products and services
- Trusted
- High quality
- Good practice
Our benefits
- Trade
- Productivity
- Innovation
- Protection
Strategic Priorities
Customer service
Goals
Having services and products that meet market needs – timely, relevant, affordable, accurate and accessible.
Key initiatives
- Diversify products and services to meet market needs more effectively, for example, developing codes of practice, technical specifications, guidelines, webinars, explanatory videos.
- Gain a deeper understanding of our customers, so that we can make our services easier to use. Provide our customers with the information they are searching for, meeting their diverse needs.
- Use plain language that customers can easily understand, so they can more confidently use standards.
- Maintain our existing, and build new, strategic partnerships with Government regulators and other organisations.
- Reduce cost barriers to market access by increasing sponsorship (pre-funded access) arrangements.
- Make our standards development service more attractive by identifying ways to speed up the process, without compromising quality, consensus and representation.
- Improve self-help functionality of our e-commerce business for our customers on our website.
- Digitalise Standards New Zealand catalogue to improve accessibility and functionality for customers.
What does success look like?
- We provide a high-quality customer experience to deliver value to New Zealand.
- Our services and products achieve strong customer satisfaction, with a large customer base, due to:
- high levels of trust and confidence in the standards development process and the standards themselves
- services and products that meet the needs of a diverse customer base, delivered in a timely manner, and which are relevant, affordable and easily accessible
- increasing our online self-help services and range of products
- effective marketing and communications that highlight the value of using standards.
Impact
- Our products and services offer greater value to what matters the most to New Zealand.
- Standards are easily understood by more customers and can be more readily used to support businesses.
- Greater international influence to support New Zealand economic interests.
Climate change
Goals
To make a valuable contribution to New Zealand’s efforts to address climate change and to reduce our carbon footprint.
Key initiatives
Develop standards that help deliver on government priorities, for example, renewable energies, carbon emissions reduction, waste minimisation, climate resilience and energy efficiency.
Promote and market standards products and services which support climate change action.
Share specialist knowledge and expertise on climate change standards domestically and internationally.
What does success look like?
- Widespread use of our existing products and services relating to climate change regulation, industry practice and performance requirements.
- Strong demand for new products and services relating to climate change regulation and best practice.
- Participation and influence on climate change issues on international standards development committees.
- Recognition of Māori as equal partners in the development of standards promoting Māori cultural and spiritual values.
Impact
- Reduced carbon footprint due to greater use of renewable energy sources, reduced waste, and more sustainable land management and business practices.
- Improved climate resilience in our built environment.
Digital economy
Goals
To make an active contribution to New Zealand’s evolving digital economy by helping define good practice, performance and protection requirements.
Key initiatives
Support through standards New Zealand Government and industry digital services and ambitions for example, data interoperability, cybersecurity, digital trade, AI application, information security.
Digitalise Standards New Zealand catalogue to improve accessibility and functionality for customers.
Continue to develop and evolve Standards NZ’s web-shop and website to meet changing market needs for example customised collections, feeds to international standards, multiple digital formats, increased subscription services.
Make better use of Standards New Zealand’s data and information holdings to generate more targeted business insights and operational intelligence.
What does success look like?
- Standards New Zealand’s products and services are digitalised (for example in web browser and app-accessible formats), making access easy for our customers.
- As the digital economy continues to be regulated, Standards New Zealand partners with a range of Government regulators to develop required standards and performance requirements.
- Standards New Zealand keeps pace with digital economy changes, achieving agility and speed to market, and is recognised as a preferred provider of standards.
Impact
- Increased public trust and confidence in the digital economy due to standards that support ethical practices in this area for example, privacy, security, and data protection.
- Increased accessibility and protection within the digital economy as a result of standards that specify website accessibility, digital literacy, and digital inclusion for underserved communities.
- Recognition and protection of Māori cultural and intellectual property rights in the digital space.
Business sustainability
Goals
To improve the sustainability and growth of our business by focusing on our services and products, operating and funding model, partnerships and business efficiencies.
To develop our people, including committee members, so that we have the right skills, capabilities, diversity and cultural awareness to serve the needs of our customers and stakeholders.
Key initiatives
Our operating model
- Explore opportunities for establishing new and sustainable funding models/sources.
- Explore and implement different ways for Standards New Zealand to deliver its business activities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing business resources, systems and processes.
- Explore options, then take steps, to reduce the over-reliance of specialist knowledge and expertise held in one place, including with vendors.
- Develop and adopt disciplined quality assurance systems, practices and processes, underpinned by ISO 9001 certification.
Our services and products
- Continue to implement necessary pricing adjustments to our products and services to recover our business costs.
- Build brand and value recognition, and increase understanding with industry of our products and services, and the value they can add, positioning Standards New Zealand as go-to organisation for standards.
Our partnerships
- Strengthen our iwi/Crown partnership capabilities, relationships and activities.
- Establish stronger domestic and international networks and partnerships.
- Strengthen Standards New Zealand’s relationship with and contribution to Standards Australia so that both organisations benefit equitably and contribute fairly to the development of standards.
- Identify current commercial arrangements that are detrimental to the business and resolve these.
Our people
- Provide greater recognition and acknowledgement of committee members, their work and contribution to New Zealand and international standards.
- Actively recruit, retain and plan succession for committee members, with a focus on growing diversity within committees.
- Take a stronger relationship management approach with committee members.
- Attract the right talent. Train and upskill staff with a particular focus on sharing knowledge and expertise across our people and fostering collaborative and people-centric leadership.
- Focus on health, well-being and safety by creating a safe, inclusive environment.
- Grow our Māori cultural and linguistic knowledge and capability.
What does success look like?
Standards New Zealand’s role as the national standards body is well- recognised, and we are widely regarded as the leading authority on standards in New Zealand, in both national and international settings.
- We are financially sustainable, with sufficient funding to fulfil our functions as defined by the Standards and Accreditation Act 2015. This means that we are appropriately resourced in the right areas to respond to a changing business environment.
- Our partnerships are wide-ranging and enduring, due to successful stakeholder engagement and improved standards development processes and support Māori to achieve their economic, employment and well-being aspirations.
- Through these partnerships, we are able to incorporate diverse perspectives into the development of standards and more readily adopt international standards to support trade and market access.
- Committee participation is seen as an attractive and valuable role resulting in high retention and easy resourcing of committees, with a high degree of diversity and inclusion of committee membership, resulting in innovative and representative standards. Strong relationship management practices are in place with committee members to support high levels of business efficiency.
- Standards New Zealand people are motivated, productive and skilled, and feel their work and voice matters.
- We have the skills and expertise needed to ensure our products and services meet the needs for Māori (for example, by representation on committees and applicable customs and protocols included).
Impact
Standards better reflect, and deliver tangible benefits to, more of the businesses and communities that they serve by:
- Contributing to improved personal safety and protection outcomes for New Zealanders and
- Supporting more of New Zealand’s international trade endeavours.
Standards New Zealand
Prosperity and protection through standards
- Climate change
- Digital economy
- Sustainability
- Customer service
Market Integrity
Delivering world-leading regulation to protect fairness and integrity of markets in New Zealand
- Self-help
- Smart regulation
- Sharp connections
- Sustainable model
Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery
Fair markets that thrive
- Impactful
- Accessible
- Data-driven
- Sustainable
- Encouraged
- Safe and well
- World-class stewards of our systems
- People and communities at the centre of what we do
- Fairness and respect
- Best-possible value from our services and regulatory systems
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
To grow Aotearoa New Zealand for all
- Digitally enabled
- Partnering with Māori
- Thought leadership
- Regulatory stewardship
- Empowered by data
- Financially sustainable
- Our people
- People-centred
- Transition pathways
The Government’s economic plan
- Unleashing business potential
- Strengthening international connections
- Increasing capabilities and opportunities
- Supporting Māori and Pacific aspirations
- Strengthening our foundations