---
title: Helen Clark Foundation
type: think-tank
status: active
country: NZ
website: https://helenclark.foundation
logo: /assets/org-logos/helen-clark-foundation.png
logo_bg: light
contact:
  checked: 2026-08-09
  email: contact@helenclark.foundation
  form: https://helenclark.foundation/contact
  source: https://helenclark.foundation/contact
summary: An independent public policy think tank based at AUT Auckland — one of four
  research streams is 'public policy, governance and the future of democracy,' publishing
  major work on democratic reform ahead of the 2026 New Zealand general election.
concepts:
- democracy
- representative-democracy
location:
  latitude: -36.8485
  longitude: 174.7633
  name: Auckland, New Zealand
  precision: city
events:
- date: '2019-01-01'
  title: Foundation established as an independent public policy think tank hosted
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Helen_Clark_Foundation
  quote: The Helen Clark Foundation is a New Zealand-based independent, non-partisan
    public policy think tank hosted by Auckland University of Technology. by AUT,
    named after former PM Helen Clark
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-12'
  notable: true
activity:
  sitemap:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    note: Sitemap found, no lastmod
last_checked: '2026-08-09'
---

The Helen Clark Foundation is an independent public policy think tank based at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Its research spans four streams: public policy, governance and the future of democracy; sustainability and climate change; inclusive economic development; and a fourth focusing on social wellbeing. The governance and democracy stream positions the Foundation as New Zealand's most prominent institutional voice on democratic reform — distinct from the transparency-and-integrity focus of TINZ and the youth-voting-rights focus of Make It 16.

The Foundation's June 2026 publication "Facing Up to Our Future" — a 20-chapter book challenging New Zealand ahead of the general election — signals an institution willing to frame democratic questions broadly: not just electoral rules or transparency mechanisms, but the structural long-term challenges that representative democracy struggles to address (fiscal sustainability, climate adaptation, intergenerational equity). The Foundation runs an active events programme and newsletter, connecting policy research to public conversation.

Named after Helen Clark, New Zealand's former Prime Minister and UN Development Programme Administrator, the Foundation inherits a tradition of internationally-minded, institutionally-grounded democratic reform advocacy — the kind embodied by Clark's own leadership of the UN's democratic governance work.

## Links

- Website: [helenclark.foundation](https://helenclark.foundation)

## See also

- [Democracy](../concepts/democracy.md)
- [Representative Democracy](../concepts/representative-democracy.md)
- [McGuinness Institute](mcguinness-institute.md)