Executive Summary
Introduction
Digital technologies are rapidly changing the world and every aspect of our lives. They are changing the way we do business, build communities, experience our national culture, and think about our long term future. This was very clear from the Digital Future Summit in November 2007. We heard there how a ‘mindset change’ is now needed to adopt technology and ‘be digital’ in our thinking.
There has been real progress since the government launched the first digital strategy in 2005. For example, the dynamics of the telecommunications sector has changed radically. We also have developed strengths in niche markets for digital exports.
But the pace of change has continued to accelerate since 2005. The internet generation is entering the workforce, bringing new ideas and different values. They will be our future innovators and leaders in the digital space. Boundaries between telecommunications and broadcasting are blurring, and business models are changing. Unless we adapt to greater user control, interaction, and real-time participation, we will be left behind as a nation. If we equip ourselves for the new digital age, smart thinking and smart use of technology will determine our continued prosperity as a nation.
The release of this draft is an opportunity for all New Zealanders to be part of the conversation about a shared digital future – grasping the opportunities and shaping a uniquely Kiwi response that reflects our values, and retaining our cultural stamp in a digital world. Chapter 2 sets out how the digital environment has evolved. Chapters 3-5 set out connection, confidence and content as critical ‘enablers’ of the digital strategy – or areas we have to make great strides in, to equip us and compete in an increasingly digital world.
Chapter 6 sets out collaboration as the new fourth enabler of the digital strategy. The quality and innovation that came from local ideas was a highlight of the past two years.
Chapter 7 outlines the outcomes possible by being digital, and seeks your views on how you can contribute to achieving our digital potential.
Your feedback will inform the development of a final Digital Strategy 2.0 due to be released mid year.
Enablers of our digital future
On connection, the government has stimulated revolutionary change in the telecommunications marketplace, and the industry has responded. We now have stronger competitive settings, we are gaining ground on broadband uptake, and are starting to unleash some of the gains broadband and smart technology can bring to our economy.
Our vision is fibre-to-the-home (premises) within a decade and we have identified some infrastructure gaps (such as fibre for high speed broadband in cities, better rural broadband and New Zealand’s international connections) on the road to that vision.
On confidence, the draft suggests ‘skills’, and ensuring everyone can participate confidently online, is paramount. This means ensuring our managers look afresh at new opportunities and innovations possible in the digital environment, that we tackle skills shortages in the ICT sector, and our workforce and communities have the skills to take part in a changing world.
With digital content, there are both opportunities and challenges. There is a challenge to ensure our stories, our cultural heritage and tāonga, and our communities not just survive, but thrive and leave a unique digital imprint in the future. There is also a business opportunity to capture a larger share of global markets where we have particular strengths, such as in animation, 3D graphics, or niches such as elearning and ehealth applications.
This refreshed draft startegy further recognises that Māori, communities, businesses, central and local government, and the research community must be better connected and their interests better aligned on digital matters. The 2005 Digital Strategy provided opportunities, through the Broadband Challenge and the Community Partnership Fund, for local government, the private sector, communities and central government to all play a role. Collaboration in the digital space is more vital than ever.
Achieving our digital potential
Digital Strategy 2.0 is about taking the next step into our digital future. This refresh challenges us to identify opportunities and advantages unique to New Zealand from the use of digital technology.
For us to achieve our digital potential as a nation, we need to think differently about the kinds of outcomes possible from our use of digital technology. We need to identify the highest priority outcomes and ensure the right conditions exist for business, communities and individuals to realise these benefits.
Looking at a time in the near future where ubiquitous fast broadband and the fully interactive web are taken as a given, the Summit challenged all of us to define, and capture, the benefits that living and working in this new digital society will bring.
Chapter 7 provides you with an opportunity to rise to this challenge. Being digital brings enormous benefits in the areas of:
• productivity (working smarter to get more from our resources using technology)
• community (including our unique identity)
• sustainability (using technology to reduce energy, carbon and pollution impacts).
Government does not have all the answers. We want your energy, drive and commitment to get there.
This document is a call to action for all of us. It is, in its current version, a work in progress document. We want you to tell us how you can use digital technology to help transform New Zealand.
Download a copy of the Draft Digital Strategy 2.0:
Draft Digital Strategy 2.0 PDF 1 MB
Draft Digital Strategy 2.0 RTF 568KB
Acknowledgement
Many interest groups, individuals and government agencies have contributed to the development of the Draft Digital Strategy 2.0. Special thanks go to the Digital Strategy Advisory Group, the Digital Strategy Steering Group, speakers and participants at the Digital Future Summit 2.0 and participants in the stakeholder workshops.
ISBN 978-0-478-31643-8 (HTML)