The Ministry is developing the Generational Investment Approach, or GIA, with other organisations in the transport system and related sectors to help decision-makers take a 30-50 year view of transport investment choices.
Transport investments, especially infrastructure like roads, railways, and bridges, last for generations. This means that today’s investment decisions need to anticipate how future generations may want to live and move around and also consider changes in the environment, technology and society.
To support this, the Ministry of Transport has developed the Generational Investment Approach, or GIA, which takes a 30-50 year view of investment choices. GIA enables organisations investing in the transport system to work together to identify and prioritise future choices at the earliest stage in the investment cycle. This complements the existing 3-10 year planning cycle by allowing decision-makers to see how current investment choices align with possible future needs.
GIA Explained
We’ve put together a short video to explain what GIA is, why we need it, and how we are working with partners across the transport system
We’ve put together a short video to explain what GIA is, why we need it, and how we are working with partners across the transport system
Bringing the future into focus
The old adage ‘start with the end in mind’ is important when it comes to thinking about the long-term transport choices including investments that will support the wellbeing of future New Zealanders.
To help shape our understanding of possible future requirements of the transport system, the Ministry is working with a range of other agencies including the transport agencies, Te Waihanga The Infrastructure Commission, and partner central government agencies like the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to identify medium and longer term options that also frame the choices we need to make today.
As these are developed, we will provide links to that work on this page.
Starting with the end in mind, two workshops facilitated by Professor Sohail Inayatullah with input from the Chief Science Advisors and some government officials, explored alternative futures for Aotearoa New Zealand. The workshops were designed to test a range of futures foresight methodologies taken from the Policy Methods Toolbox developed by the DPMC-led Policy Project. It is anticipated the tools demonstrated in the resulting report would also be used by others in a wide range of contexts to inform any shifts towards taking a longer-term approach to policy decisions, including transport and infrastructure investment decisions. This document does not aim to convey a widely shared, or fixed, view on what the future will look like for the future aspirations of all New Zealanders. This report does not represent government policy, advice, or the views of any government agencies mentioned in this document.
The GIA is supporting the development of a National Supply Chain and Freight Strategy. Material on this will be available by early 2022
Next steps for GIA
It will take 2-3 years to integrate the GIA into the way transport planning is carried out to the extent that it provides a view across the transport system, working with partner agencies in central and local government. It is already being used to drive some of the most important medium- and longer-term planning in the system, such as New Zealand’s first National Supply Chain and Freight Strategy.
The GIA will provide a useful process for those working across the transport system to capture and share ideas about possible future transport interventions and investments at an early stage. Some interventions identified through the GIA will become part of the NZ Infrastructure Pipeline that is maintained by Te Waihanga The Infrastructure Commission.
