---
title: McGuinness Institute
type: think-tank
status: active
country: NZ
website: https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org
logo: /assets/org-logos/mcguinness-institute.png
contact:
  checked: 2026-08-09
  form: https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/contact
  source: https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org
summary: A non-partisan New Zealand think tank applying foresight methods to long-term
  governance challenges — runs Project CivicsNZ (civic education, political agreements,
  government department strategies) and publishes on public sector governance and
  institutional design.
concepts:
- democracy
- representative-democracy
location:
  latitude: -41.2865
  longitude: 174.7762
  name: Wellington, New Zealand
  precision: city
events:
- date: '2004-01-01'
  title: Founded by Wendy McGuinness as the Sustainable Future Institute
  url: https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/about-us/history/
  quote: When Wendy started the McGuinness Institute in 2004, we called it the Sustainable
    Future Institute.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-17'
- date: '2010-01-01'
  title: CivicsNZ research project begins with a report on Māori representation in
    Parliament
  url: https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/research-projects/civics-nz/
  quote: 'CivicsNZ began in 2010 with the publication of Report 8: Effective Māori
    Representation in Parliament – Working towards a National Sustainable Development
    Strategy (2010).'
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-17'
- date: '2012-01-01'
  title: Renamed the McGuinness Institute
  url: https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/about-us/history/
  quote: Our 2012 name change was for several reasons.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-17'
activity:
  dod:
    checked: 2026-08-09
    date: 2026-08-09
    note: Site live and actively publishing as of August 2026
  rss:
    note: No feed found
    checked: 2026-08-17
last_checked: '2026-08-09'
---

The McGuinness Institute is a non-partisan think tank that applies "hindsight, insight, and foresight" to New Zealand's long-term governance challenges. Its distinctive contribution to the democracy landscape is a focus on institutional design and strategic foresight — not the mechanics of elections or the practice of deliberation, but the architecture of the governance systems themselves: how government departments set strategy, how political agreements are structured, how royal commissions and public inquiries function, and how civic education prepares citizens for democratic participation.

Project CivicsNZ is the Institute's flagship democratic-governance programme — documenting political agreements, tracking government department strategies (the Government Department Strategies Index), and publishing think pieces on institutional design. The Institute also runs Treaty of Waitangi-related governance work, foresight training, and publishes regular analysis. A newsletter was active as of August 2026.

The McGuinness Institute occupies a different space from the deliberative practitioners and civic-tech organisations in the Democracy Landscape. It is closer to the institutional-design tradition of organisations like newDemocracy (Australia) or Involve (UK) — focusing on the rules, structures, and long-term thinking that make democratic governance durable — but with a distinctive foresight methodology.

## Links

- Website: [mcguinnessinstitute.org](https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org)

## See also

- [Democracy](../concepts/democracy.md)
- [Representative Democracy](../concepts/representative-democracy.md)
- [Helen Clark Foundation](helen-clark-foundation.md)