Thank you for the invitation to open the second annual PRINCE2 Managing Successful Programmes and Office of Government Commerce Gateway project and programme management conference.

First, there are some people whom I would like to acknowledge:

• Andy Murray, from Outperform in the UK, who has come out here to give practitioners an update to the PRINCE2 2009 standard


• Peter Foster from CC Learning, who has brought practitioners, suppliers and learners of the OGC methodologies together to achieve best practice


• the Wellington PRINCE2 user group, for maintaining a useful and helpful environment for the sharing of lessons learned and ideas


• the Office of Government Commerce, an independent office within Treasury in the UK for providing, free of charge, the methodologies to be used in the public and private sector in New Zealand.
  
  

The range of attendees will enable effective sharing of innovation and building knowledge.  Of course, this will continue beyond the conference among users and practitioners.

This ultimately improves New Zealand's competitiveness in a global economic environment.

PRINCE2, MSP (managing successful programmes) and Gateway methodologies have all evolved to improve the efficiency of delivery on projects and programmes across all sectors.

It is a sophisticated management tool that will enable the efficient management of large scale projects.  Such projects are a common feature of modern government.

You only have to think of the complexity involved in building large hospitals and introducing sophisticated data systems.  Their use has since spread beyond the UK to more than 50 countries, including New Zealand.  Our natural fit with UK management practices has meant we are early adopters.

Five of the 13 organisations that piloted the 2009 version of PRINCE2 were from New Zealand and are credited in the PRINCE2 manual. The Ministry of Economic Development is one; the others are the Capital Coast District Health Board, the Department of Labour, the Ministry of Education, and Fishserve.

Their contribution gave New Zealand a head start. It demonstrated those organisations' willingness to innovate, to try new things, and to contribute what they learnt directly to the British Government for wider dissemination.  The willingness to experiment fits with our No 8 wire heritage.

MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) is gaining ground within the New Zealand landscape.

The Gateway methodology is being championed by the State Services Commission Gateway Unit.

I understand that approximately 18 Gateway reviews have been carried out in New Zealand to date.

Standardising on project and programme management methods within the public sector enables like-for-like comparisons and forms the basis for continuous improvement. This, in turn, improves our Value for Money proposition.

Applying best practice means that in New Zealand we are competitive and positioned well to make the most of the economic recovery.

These methods provide a common language between industry and the public sector to facilitate the transfer of ideas and implementation of projects and programmes.

PRINCE2 2009 has been developed to meet the challenge of projects to innovate, deliver more with less, and to deliver greater value for money.

As you know many New Zealand organisations both public and private have tailored the methods to suit their environments.

The Ministry of Economic Development's Companies Office/Companies Registry project is a real PRINCE2 success story, and Justin Hygate, who is managing this project, will be speaking later in the conference.

As a key pilot project that is currently under way, the use of the PRINCE2 method has brought strong discipline to both the Ministry and the vendors involved. This project aims to build on an already successful system. It presents the challenges typical of balancing the needs of many divergent users.

The New Zealand Companies Office has been voted the most helpful government agency every year since 2003, a great credit to them and to the Ministry of Economic Development. 

The pressure is on to ensure that their next IT system builds on the successes of the past. 

In particular it is aiming to improve the experience for busy small business owners at one end of the spectrum and large law firms on the other.

PRINCE2 is being used on this project and is helping to deliver a wide range of benefits, such as:

• ensuring user involvement at appropriate parts of the project to deliver a quality outcome


• enabling integration with existing methods and procedures


• focusing the project on quality


• allowing for the capturing of lessons learned and distribution of improved practice.

Most importantly PRINCE2 has enabled delivery of the work so far on time, to budget and to the required quality.

The State Services Commission has just completed their project to implement OGC Gateway. It uses a peer-review process to make recommendations to improve the success levels and the quality of major government programmes and projects at key decision points in the project life cycle.

This Government's overarching objective is to grow the New Zealand economy.

We live in an environment where economic theory is being turned on its head and formerly stable business models are being challenged.  Better systems of management are essential.

Effective and efficient allocation of resources will ensure that benefits are shared with all New Zealanders now and after the economic recovery.

These methodologies have been developed over long periods of time in the public sector to provide transparent controls around spending the taxpayer's dollar.

In conclusion, there will always be challenging issues to be faced throughout the economy to ensure we get value for money from how resources are allocated.

There will be opportunity for the continued growth of these methodologies to work across all sectors, and with the Government, to achieve the best economic outcomes for New Zealand. 

This attitude reflects a clear focus on the future to drive efficiency and generate real growth for the economy.

I am sure your conference will be stimulating and thought-provoking.  I wish you well for the future.