OIA23-0529
4 October 2023
[FYI request #24031 email]
To whom it may concern,
Thank you for your email of 4 September 2023 requesting information relating to modernising
agency technology and digital strategies. Your request has been considered under the
Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) supports the success and sustainability of our $57.4
billion-dollar primary sector, which contributes to New Zealand’s economy and prosperity as
our largest export sector.
MPI strives to be responsive to the primary sector and its internal customers. Digital
technology improves our ability to deliver to, and support, an efficient and connected primary
sector. The key to this is operating holistically across MPI as a single enterprise, by
rationalising and consolidating systems, information, and processes across business units.
MPI integrates and re-uses technology as much as possible. This enables the Ministry to
operate and maintain its legacy systems from MPI’s predecessor organisations while
migrating to new digital capabilities, and deliver effective technology solutions, including for
use by MPI staff.
Please find responses to each of your questions below.
I understand that the broader govt is placing quite a bit of focus on modernising
agency technology and digital strategies and I'd like to know that MPI is doing the
same. Could I please see (from team manager and above level) any email
correspondence, briefs, memos, meeting minutes and any other documents held
regarding the current state of MPI agency technology suites (i.e. Microsoft
Sharepoint, Outlook, mobile app permissions, restrictions and licensing, GIS
platforms, health and safety monitoring software, payroll processing etc), concerns
raised about the suitability of current systems, complaints about program restrictions
impacting usability, requests for improvement, rejected proposals for IT & system
upgrades and any timelines for future implementation of new or improved systems?
Date range of interest is 2019 - present.
Your request in its current form is very broad in nature, therefore your request is declined
pursuant to section 18(f) of the OIA, as
the information requested cannot be made available
without substantial collation or research.
However, we have provided information below regarding MPI’s technology use and
approach.
Corporate Services
Business Technology & Info Services
Charles Fergusson Building, 34-38 Bowen Street
PO Box 2526
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
mpi.govt.nz
Eight outcomes drive our technology use and approach. These are:
1. Digital solutions are our preferred way to solve our business challenges.
2. Our technology landscape is streamlined, has greater resilience and is financially
sustainable.
3. We understand and interact with our customers holistically.
4. Our customers have a consistent digital channel to engage and transact with us.
5. Office and other transactional processes are efficient, visible and consistent across
MPI.
6. Our people have the tools they need to perform their work from any location.
7. Data is appropriately accessible across MPI to multiply our insights potential.
8. Our data is an asset that can be appropriately shared with our sector partners.
For staff, MPI uses the Microsoft 365 suite of products including Sharepoint and Outlook.
MPI’s technology set up was vital during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable staff to work
remotely to continue supporting the operation of the vital primary sector.
MPI’s technology approach and work is guided by seven principles:
1. Focus on business value.
2. Our platforms should be cloud-native to provide the associated benefits of scalability
and resilience, and support MPI to ensure our technology remains current.
3. Where possible the technology platforms used to deliver our core capabilities will be
maximised by reusing them across different capabilities.
4. MPI wil look to compose its future platforms using “off-the-shelf” components and
common capabilities reducing the time spent on platform creation, ensuring business
value can be delivered faster.
5. MPI’s future platforms are extensible and interoperable between each other and with
other internal and external systems to ensure they can evolve with MPI’s future needs
6. Simplify our technology landscape by taking a careful design and product decision
process.
7. Take a security and ‘resilience by design’ approach in our platform design process.
MPI has chosen to deliver its common capabilities using six platforms. These platforms
under implementation enable us to deliver world-class digital services using a small set of
highly capable products that work together to support MPI’s digital vision.
The platforms are:
• Customer management and engagement platform - This provides MPI the capabilities
required to deliver a consistent and highly functional customer experience, utilising
MPI’s existing use of Salesforce.
• Service fulfilment platform - This provides functionality to manage and automate our
work in support of service delivery.
• Data management and storage platform - A dedicated and highly functional data
platform to support MPI’s need and desire to be an insights-led organisation.
• Integration platform - This orchestrates the flow of information and processes
between the platforms, other MPI systems and MPI stakeholders.
• Workplace productivity platform - Microsoft 365 has been chosen as the workplace
productivity platform to enable increased communication, collaboration and flexible
working options.
• Infrastructure and delivery platform - This provides an environment to create and
deliver specialised applications.
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I'm also interested to know whether there are interagency conversations ongoing to
standardise the IT systems to improve interoperability across agencies? Who are they
with, what programs and systems are they, and are there timelines for this?
MPI is an active participant in
All of Government Agreements, and more recently, the
All of
Government Marketplace. In doing so, we are leveraging common capabilities which assist with
interoperability between agencies. For example, MPI has worked alongside New Zealand Customs
and the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to design and build the
New
Zealand Traveller Declaration system, to meet the border requirements of each agency.
Finally, I understand that MPI has a reputation for being needlessly restrictive with
technology upgrades and at times does not permit staff to use software, applications
or features already approved for use by other govt agencies, all under the guise of
Information Security. Has this been raised directly to the Chief Security Officer or
above, and if so, has this resulted in any quantifiable improvement for MPI staff?
MPI personnel have the digital tools needed to perform their duties to the high standards that are
required. This matter has not been raised with the Chief Security Officer or above. MPI takes
information security seriously and takes a risk-based approach when assessing new software,
applications, and features. Technology upgrades are encouraged from an information security
perspective as they maintain system supportability and often introduce enhanced security features
and protections.
Should you have any concerns with this response, I would encourage you to raise these with the
Ministry for Primary Industries at
[email address]. Alternatively, you are
advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman. Contact details
are Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143 or at
[email address]. Yours sincerely
Paul Lovett
Chief Digital Officer
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