GDS Index
GDS Index
Government department strategies under the microscope
The GDS Index aims to illustrate how New Zealand might strengthen government department strategies (GDSs) to be more effective, responsive, measurable, comparable and durable through public consultation, engagement and ownership.
The Government Department Strategies Index Handbook – He Puna Rautaki ranks each GDS in terms of essential information. It does not rate the strategy as such; it rates the strategy document’s provision of essential information and clarity of communication so that readers can assess the strategic approach for themselves. Every GDS is reviewed against the Institute’s Transparency Scorecard to determine how well it articulates each of six elements.
The Institute regularly updates the Handbook so that information can be measured, analysed and tracked over time. The latest GDS Index lists strategies in operation as at 31 December 2024.
Thank you to everyone who helped, including the many officials who answered our Official Information Act requests. Soft copies of the 2024 GDS Index Handbook, along with Working Paper 2025/01 –Methodology for the 2024 Government Department Strategies Index and Working Paper 2025/02 – Analysis of Climate Change in Government Department Strategies as at 31 December 2024 are available to download. In addition, we have uploaded a spreadsheet of all 195 GDSs that comprise the 2024 GDS Index (including links to a PDF of each strategy document).
If you have any queries or suggestions, please email us at [email protected].
Definition of a government department strategy
A ‘government department strategy’ must:
1. be a publicly available document that is published by a government department
2. be a public-facing document that is written for the public to read
3. be an externally facing document (i.e. not written for internal management purposes)
4. be a strategic document that contains long-term thinking (i.e. it sets out the approach [the means] and the purpose [the ends] of the strategy)
5. be a national document (i.e. it excludes local and regional strategies)
6. be a document that looks out at least two years or more, and
7. not be a corporate document.
Timeline of the GDS Index
The Institute has published six versions of the GDS Index since the project began in 2014.
2024 GDS Index
The Transparency Scorecard
The Scorecard is used to rank each strategy. It explores whether the content of the strategy is sufficient for a reader to assess the quality of the strategy. The Index does not assess the quality of the strategy. Download the Transparency Scorecard.
Lists of operational and archived GDSs
Government Department Strategies Index Handbook – He Puna Rautaki as at 31 December 2024
April 2025
Download (PDF, 8 MB)
Working Paper 2025/01 – Methodology
The Methodology explains why the Institute produces and publishes a GDS Index and how, in detail, the 2024 GDS Index was created.
See Working Papers to view and download.
Working Paper 2025/02 – Analysis of Climate Change
The Analysis of Climate Change paper provides an in-depth discussion of mentions of climate change in operational GDSs.
See Working Papers to view and download.
Spreadsheet of Operational GDSs
This spreadsheet is the master used to create the 2024 GDS Index.
Download (XLSX, 101 KB)
2023 GDS Index
Government Department Strategies Index Handbook – He Puna Rautaki as at 31 December 2023
December 2024
Download (PDF, 8 MB)
Letter to MPs
28 June 2022
Download (PDF, 284 KB)
Letter to CEs of government departments
28 June 2022
Download (PDF, 217 KB)
2023 GDS Index: By the numbers
Page 6 of the 2023 GDS Index Handbook
Working Paper 2024/08 – Methodology
The Methodology explains why the Institute produces and publishes a GDS Index and how, in detail, the 2023 GDS Index was created.
See Working Papers to view and download.
Working Paper 2024/09 – Analysis of Climate Change
Analysis of Climate Change provides indepth discussion of mentions of climate change in GDSs.
See Working Papers to view and download.
2021 GDS Index
Government Department Strategies Index Handbook – He Puna Rautaki
June 2022
Download (PDF, 20 MB)
By the numbers
Page 8 of the 2021 GDS Index Handbook
See Working Papers to view and download the below publications
Working Paper 2022/01 – Methodology
The Methodology explains why the Institute produces and publishes a GDS Index and how, in detail, the 2021 GDS Index was created.
Working Paper 2022/02 – Complete Lists of Government Department Strategies Between 1 July 1994 and 31 December 2021
The Lists paper provides different lists of GDSs in the 2021 GDS Index.
Working Paper 2022/03 – Scoring Tables: Collating and ranking government department strategies in operation as at 31 December 2021
The Scoring paper provides the detailed scoring and ranking for each GDS within the 2021 GDS Index.
Working Paper 2022/04 – Analysis of Government Department Strategies Between 1 July 1994 and 31 December 2021
The Analysis paper outlines the main observations from the Institute’s most recent analysis of GDSs.
Working Paper 2022/05 – Best Practice: Guidance for policy analysts preparing government department strategy documents
The Best Practice paper is intended as a guidance document for policy analysts when preparing strategy documents.
Working Paper 2022/06 – Strategy Maps: Copies of all strategy maps found in government department strategies in operation as at 31 December 2021
The purpose of the Strategy Maps paper is to catalogue and collate all strategy maps that the Institute has identified within GDS documents during research for the 2021 GDS Index.
Working Paper 2022/07 – Analysis of Climate Change in Government Department Strategies as at 31 December 2021
The Climate Change Analysis paper outlines the explicit and implicit mentions of climate change within GDS documents from the 2021 GDS Index.
Working Paper 2022/08 – Analysis of Poverty in Government Department Strategies as at 31 December 2021
The Poverty Analysis paper outlines the explicit and implicit mentions of poverty within GDS documents from the 2021 GDS Index.
2018 GDS Index
Government Department Strategies Index Handbook – He Puna Rautaki
December 2018
Download (PDF, 11MB)
Working Paper 2019/01 – Methodology for the Government Department Strategies Index New Zealand
May 2019
See Working Papers to view and download.
Working Paper 2019/02 – Lists of Government Department Strategies from 1 July 1994
May 2019
See Working Papers to view and download.
Working Paper 2019/03 – Scoring Tables Collating Government Department Strategies in Operation as at 31 December 2018
May 2019
See Working Papers to view and download.
Working Paper 2019/04 – Analysis of Government Department Strategies between 1 July 1994 and 31 December 2018
May 2019
See Working Papers to view and download.
Working Paper 2021/02 – List of Government Department Strategies as at 31 December 2020
April 2021
See Working Papers to view and download.
2015 GDS Index
See Working Papers to view and download the below publications
Working Paper 2015/04 – Methodology for the Government Department Strategies Index New Zealand
February 2015
Working Paper 2015/05 – Tables Collating and Ranking Government Department Strategies in Operation as at 30 June 2014
February 2015
Working Paper 2015/06 – Profiles Scoring Government Department Strategies in Operation as at 30 June 2014
February 2015
Working Paper 2015/07 – List of Government Department Strategies Between 1 July 1994 and 30 June 2015
October 2015
Working Paper 2015/08 – Tables Collating and Ranking Government Department Strategies in Operation as at 30 June 2015
November 2015
Working Paper 2015/09 – Profiles Scoring Government Department Strategies in Operation as at 30 June 2015
November 2015
Working Paper 2015/10 – Analysis of Government Department Strategies Between 1 July 1994 and 30 June 2015: An overview
November 2015
Working Paper 2015/11 – Observations from the GDS Index 2015
October 2015
2014 GDS Index
See Working Papers to view and download the below publications
Working Paper 2014/02 – Analysis of Government Department Strategies Between 1 July 1994 and 30 June 2014: An overview
December 2014
Working Paper 2014/01 – List of Government Department Strategies Between 1 July 1994 and 30 June 2014
September 2014