Enfocus Group
Policy - Strategy - Research

Gerard Willis - Specialities

• Central and local: bridging the gap
  An earlier career in local government (both in NZ and in the United Kingdom) and continuing strong links with the local government sector, has allowed Gerard to specialise in managing the relationship and interface between local and central government in policy processes and implementation: a critical dimension to effective management given NZ’s highly devolved governance system.
• Blue skies policy: challenging the orthodoxy
  Gerard’s breadth of experience in resource policy and his technical capability has been recognised in numerous requests to produce “think pieces” for local and central government clients.  In recent years these have included work on the RMA and its relationship with other statutes, freshwater fisheries, aquaculture, water allocation, pest management, and Auckland issues.
• Policy leadership: herding cats
  Other consulting specialities include leading central government policy processes.  Gerard has previously led processes involving the development of national policy on biodiversity, electricity generation, electricity transmission as well as having leadership roles in policy processes relating to sea level rise, renewable energy, policy evaluation, environmental reporting and governance.
• Best practice guidance: simplicity beyond complexity
  With a strong background in land use planning and natural resource management gained from extensive experience in district and regional plan development processes and implementation in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, Gerard has authored official RMA guidance publications and presented seminars in association with professional institutes.  Gerard is vastly experienced in the preparation of discussion documents, summaries of submissions and best practice guidelines that turn complex arguments into comprehensible, actionable advice.