The Tech Sector Aotearoa New Zealand Strategic Alignment Wānanga, held on 15 April 2025, brought together 18 leading organisations across Aotearoa’s tech, innovation, digital inclusion, and economic development sectors.
Our goal was simple but ambitious: strengthen collaboration, reduce duplication, define tangible partnerships, and move from fragmented efforts to a coordinated digital excellence movement.
The purpose of this wānanga was to develop shared vision, strategic alignments, governance and operational commitments, and immediate next steps identified by participants. It proposes a living strategy – a Digital Excellence Ecosystem Framework – to empower Aotearoa New Zealand’s collective digital future.
This mahi is not an endpoint. It is an invitation: to lead, to act, and to thrive together.
Designed using a highly participatory and structured methodology to surface the collective voice, strategic priorities, and operational opportunities of Aotearoa New Zealand’s technology ecosystem.
The approach was grounded in three principles:
- Whakawhanaungatanga (relationship-building and trust)
- Wānanga-Style Deep Dialogue (purposeful discussion and reflection)
- Action-Oriented Co-Design (moving beyond ideas to actionable outcomes)
Click here for full report:
Tech Sector Aotearoa New Zealand Strategic Alignment Report May 25
Our Shared Vision
Participants identified various commonalities within each entity aspirational vision (refer Appendix B.1), these have been structured into a unified sector vision:
Aotearoa thrives through digitally empowered communities, where coordinated excellence, innovation, and full participation in the digital economy fuel national prosperity, resilience, and global leadership.
We commit to transitioning from access to excellence, ensuring that every individual, regardless of postcode, ethnicity, or background, can fully participate and succeed in the digital world.
Strategic Themes
To translate our shared vision into action, participants identified six interconnected strategic themes that form the backbone of our digital excellence ecosystem.
- Enable Digital Participation and Excellence: Enabling tools, skills, and opportunities for all communities.
- Grow Future-Ready Digital Workforce: Growing digital skills pipelines and future talent across Aotearoa.
- Cultural Sovereignty and Innovation: Amplifying Māori, Pacific, and Ethnic innovation leadership.
- Drive Cross-Sector Collaboration: Strengthening governance and operational connections to reduce duplication.
- Build Trustworthy Digital Infrastructure: Building resilient digital ecosystems with shared platforms and frameworks.
- Global Impact and Local Strength: Elevating local innovation into global markets, while supporting regional prosperity.
Future Strategic Recommendations
Beyond immediate actions, participants outlined key strategic recommendations to sustain alignment, leadership, and innovation through to 2030 and beyond.
- Frame this mahi as living, evolving strategy – Wānanga One, not the end.
- Propose a light-touch Ecosystem Stewardship Group.
- Develop a Shared Digital Excellence Roadmap to 2030.
- Pilot a national Digital Excellence Measurement Tool (DIS, based on iMASTS).
- Invite the Minister and funders into partnership, not just observation.
- Control the narrative – strategic launch and public communications.
Full participant list
- Ako Ōtautahi – Learning City Christchurch (AO-LCC)
- AI Forum New Zealand (part of the NZTech Group)
- Canterbury Tech
- ChristchurchNZ, Economic Development Agency (CNZ)
- Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa (DECA)
- Digital Future Aotearoa
- Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ)(part of the NZTech Group)
- Fibre Fale
- InternetNZ (INZ)
- Kātoa Connect
- NZTech Group (umbrella, including AI Forum, AgriTechNZ, BlockchainNZ, BioTechNZ, Digital Identity NZ, EdTechNZ, FinTechNZ, InsurtechNZ, IoT Alliance, kiwiSaaS, RegTechNZ,
- WealthTechNZ, TechWomen, Tech Marketers EdTechNZ, BlockchainNZ)
- Recycle A Device (RAD)
- SMART Christchurch (Christchurch City Council CCC)
- Tagata Moana
- Technology Users Association of NZ (TUANZ)
- Te Hapori Matihiko (THM) – Te Matarau (TM) Māori in DigiTech
- Tū Ātea
- University of Canterbury (UC)
- Waitaha Digital Equity Network (WDEN)
