GOVIS 2025 - Creative Digital Government
Mon-Tues 1-2 September 2025, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Wellington & online.
Conference programme
Our initial conference programme is now available. Please note that it is subject to change, and refer to this webpage for the most up-to-date information.
About the conference
The conference was held at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa on 1-2 September (Monday and Tuesday). Approximately 50% of the conference programme (e.g. keynote presentations) will also be available online. This year we explored some additional formats for our in-person attendees, including workshops, breakout discussions (unconference-style).
So, what do we mean by having a 'creative' conference, besides having some high-risk elements to our conference format?
There is a global narrative out there that the public service provides little in the way of value but is instead an expensive deadweight and encumbrance on progress. Perhaps the most colourful example of this is one recently appointed senior public official in a major democracy previously stating their wish (that certain elements are now trying to bring about) that public servants be “traumatically affected” and “not want to go to work”.
GOVIS readily accepts that the New Zealand public service contains plenty of examples of waste and intransigence (in fact, we spend an uncomfortable amount of time dissecting them). But we agree with Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche when he says that “people work hard and they are doing their best”, even while “a lot of things happen despite the system, not because people are enabled by it”. We are encouraged when he says "I want public servants to feel really good about themselves and feel valued. And I want the public sector to be a place where people want to work because they can make a difference.".
As public servants, we tend to focus a lot on knowing stuff. We spend time growing institutional knowledge, navigating technical details, and becoming respectable experts. We also tend to be deeply invested in the work that we do and care a lot about the outcomes we are aiming for. But this conference is a chance to go one further and inject some passion and creativity into the mix. This can help us to shake off the ‘deadweight’ narrative (in our own minds at least) and to demonstrate to the likes of Sir Brian and government ministers that the public service can indeed make a valuable difference.
A long time ago, Aristotle described four methods of persuasion: logos - argument from reason, evidence and logic; ethos - the speaker’s authority or credibility; pathos - appealing to the values and emotions of the audience; and kairos - the wider context, timing, or opportunity.
We learnt about the latest in digital government (logos) from the information, data and technology professionals who are doing the work (ethos). But that’s not all because the full creativity and passion of the public service will also be on display (pathos) – as we respond and adapt to the ever-challenging context that we find ourselves in (kairos).
Note: This conference draws inspiration from the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, which has now launched in Australia and New Zealand and aligns strongly with the GOVIS kaupapa.
Keynote announcements
Thanks to our Keynote speakers who presented at GOVIS 2025 - Creative Digital Government!
Murray Edridge - City Missioner at The Wellington City Mission
Reflections on breaking the mould [Keynote]
Reverend Murray Edridge has been the Wellington City Missioner since 2018. He has a commercial background as a Chartered Accountant, initially working in energy distribution and retail, media, and education.
Murray has worked with children and families throughout New Zealand for over 20 years; including 8 years as the Chief Executive of Barnardos New Zealand, 5 years as a Deputy Chief Executive in the Ministry of Social Development and being the inaugural Chief Executive of Genesis Youth Trust. Murray has had governance and leadership roles in a range of business, community, church, and sporting organisations for many years.
Annika Naschitzki - PhD Student, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington
What do public service restructures and technical debt have in common? [Keynote]
Annika Naschitzki is a doctoral student and Research Fellow at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, and a specialist in Customer Experience and Service Design. With over 15 years’ experience in user research, accessibility, and co-design, she has led service design initiatives across Aotearoa’s public sector. Her work includes contributions to SmartStart and Govt.nz, and involvement in the "Better Public Services – Result 10" programme, which sought to improve digital interactions between people and government. Her current research investigates the drivers and impacts of internal restructures in New Zealand’s public sector, focusing on how managerial culture, project management approaches, and staff participation shape change processes and their outcomes. Annika brings a design-led and people-centred lens to public management and reform. She shares her reflections on restructuring, public sector reform, and design in government each week in her Substack newsletter, Bowl of Fishhooks.
Rachael Hurren - Director Learning and Development, Inde Technology
Neurodivergence in IT: beyond the stereotypes [Keynote]
Rachael Hurren is the Director of Learning and Development at Inde Technology, an employee-owned, cloud-based enterprise IT consultancy renowned for its technically led, outcome-focused approach. For the last twenty years she has worked with organisations to build cultures and development programmes that empower people to play to their strengths and excel in their careers.
Holding postgraduate qualifications in psychology and education, Rachael is passionate about helping individuals understand how their brains work, what makes them unique, and how to leverage their strengths to thrive. Over the past five years, she has applied this approach to helping individuals and organisations develop a deeper, more accurate understanding of neurodivergence.
Shivonne Londt - Senior Solution Architect, New Zealand Public Sector, AWS
At the cutting edge - where are AI tools heading next? [Keynote]
With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology, strategy, and transformation, Shivonne Londt helps public sector organizations harness the power of cloud and AI to deliver impact at scale. As a Senior Solution Architect at Amazon Web Services, Shivonne leads initiatives across Weather and Research, designing resilient, intelligent solutions that empower innovation.
Currently pursuing a PhD in AI, her research focuses on evolutionary algorithms and neural architecture search — exploring how large language models can supercharge genetic optimization. Shivonne is passionate about bridging cutting-edge research and real-world outcomes, especially in complex, high-stakes environments.
Previously Head of Engineering at ANZ NZ, Shivonne spearheaded omni-channel integration and process automation, transforming agile delivery across large-scale teams. Shivonne’s background spans technical leadership, cloud modernization, and platform engineering, with hands-on expertise in AWS, Salesforce, and scalable digital ecosystems.
CONFERENCE OPENING ADDRESS:
Paul James - Secretary and Government Chief Digital Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Te Tari Taiwhenua, New Zealand
After several senior roles in the New Zealand public service, Paul has extensive experience in strategic policy development, leading change, and working collaboratively and effectively across government and communities. In 2018, he was appointed Secretary for Internal Affairs, Secretary for Local Government and Chief Executive for Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs. Paul also holds the role of Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) with responsibility for digital leadership across government agencies.
The GCDO leads work to uplift the public service’s digital skills, and as the lead for the public service’s use of AI, he has issued guidance to support agencies to make more informed decisions about its benefits and risks. The GCDO supports agencies and Ministers to align with an All-of-Government investment direction and manages a portfolio of digital products and commercial services that is currently used by more than 330 public sector agencies and organisations. The GCDO is currently leading work to establish an innovative and secure digital identity ecosystem and supporting an increase in the use of data and modern digital platforms to make real-time, evidence-based decisions.
Prashant Bakshi - Deputy Chief Executive, NZQA
Practical ways of providing joined-up services [Closing Keynote]
Prashant joined NZQA in February 2018 as Chief Customer Officer and took the role of Deputy Chief Executive, Strategic and Corporate Services in December 2024. He has worked across the public and private sectors in New Zealand, Singapore and India.
Prashant has experience leading teams across customer channels, Customer Experience (CX), data science and AI, information technology, and corporate functions including regulatory reviews and digital transformation.
Prior to NZQA, Prashant worked in various roles at the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Prashant has an MBA from Victoria University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Singapore Institute of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and Zoology from University of Mumbai.
Richard Foy - Kaiwhakahaere, Pūnaha Mōhio, Te Puni Kōkiri
From Te Tiriti to ChatGPT [Keynote]
In this personal talk, Richard shares his thoughtful journey of exploration and discovery of AI. Through deep dives into its synthetic nature, various modalities, and seemingly magical properties, he shares his musing on the nature of consciousness and intelligence, trust, and the relationship we’re striking up with AI. This exploration culminates in a call for public servants to define our relationship with this technology, that demands our human judgment and ethical leadership.
Richard is an Aotearoa New Zealand-born son of Chinese immigrants, accomplished public speaker, failed comic-novelist and a public servant who’s enthusiastically committed to a career of public service and leadership. Richard is a former Chief Archivist of Archives NZ, our National Archives, an LDC (Leadership Development Centre) 2019 Fellow, 2018 Geoffrey Bolton lecturer (State Records Office, WA), President of ARANZ (Archives & Records Association of NZ) and a wannabe Starfleet Officer. Richard is currently Kaiārahi, Pūnaha Mōhiotanga (Knowledge Systems) at Te Puni Kōkiri.
Tahia Eaqub - Interim Director – Data and Economics, Social Investment Agency, Toi Hau Tāngata
Social investment: The importance of data and evidence [Keynote]
Social investment approach is a fundamental shift in the way social services are commissioned and delivered in New Zealand. Data and evidence infrastructure underpins this transformation by making it possible to robustly identify better investment choices, by enabling feedback loops for providers that identify which interventions are working for which people.
Tahia leads the Analytics, Data Systems and Economics teams at Social Investment Agency, which she joined in 2021. Tahia is passionate about connecting data with communities and decision makers. She has over 20 years of experience in data analytics and economic research and is experienced in leading teams to deliver high quality analysis in the social sector. She has previously worked at ACC, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, NZIER and Stats NZ. Tahia has a Master of Economics from Lincoln University.
GOVIS wishes to acknowledge and thank our conference sponsors for their support
