22 October 2020
The Wise Group has sent a paper called Please Press Pause to Government. It contains this important message about taking the time to reflect on some of the sector transformation that has been nimbly achieved during the COVID-19 crisis:
We saw it with the Christchurch earthquake and now we are seeing it again. When constraints are removed we all work in a completely different way.
After the Christchurch earthquake we all said “let’s never go back to how we used to operate”. And, guess what? Slowly, over time, we all did.
But COVID-19 is not a one-off event and it hasn’t just affected one region. What we are all going through is unprecedented, affecting every single person in Aotearoa, New Zealand. It has changed how we operate and it has changed all of us. A lot of that change has been for the better at both an individual and organisational level. Please Press Pause demonstrates this.
But, how frightening to think that we would waste everything we’ve learned through this crisis and revert back to how we used to operate six weeks ago!
We have an opportunity right here, right now to hard-wire the changes we have made, and change for good. Come to think of it, that’s a great name so why don’t we start the Change for Good project and really commit to advancing the way we plan, fund, collaborate and deliver services for the good of the people of this wonderful country.
It’s not hard. We’ve shown what collective effort can do, and so our plea is let’s do this – let’s be brave and have the courage and ambition to change for good.
Read more here.