Government Economics Network

What Government Economics Network does

Government Economics Network (GEN) is a charitable incorporated society established in 2011 and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, serving as the country's only dedicated professional forum for government economists and policy professionals. The organisation is governed by a voluntary board drawn from across the New Zealand public sector, including Land Information New Zealand (Chair), the Ministry of Transport (Treasurer), the Department of Conservation, the NZ Transport Agency, MBIE, the Financial Markets Authority, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Lincoln University. GEN operates as a community-led, non-profit platform rather than a software business, with no proprietary technology. Its core offering consists of paid training courses (microeconomics, macroeconomics, environmental economics, cost-benefit analysis, labour economics, behavioural economics, tax policy, and data analytics for policy), a 9-month Mentoring Programme pairing early-career professionals with experienced mentors, a Lunchtime Webinar Series, panel discussions, an annual conference, and monthly book club chapters in Auckland and Wellington. Membership is free and confers full voting rights, including the ability to stand for Board elections.

GEN's revenue model is narrow and event-driven. Membership generates no fees; the only meaningful paid revenue stream is training course fees (NZD $375-$895+GST per person) and conference tickets (NZD $480 standard / $100 student ex-GST), with additional sponsorship from government agencies such as the Treasury and Inland Revenue Department. Distribution is primarily in-person in Wellington at venues such as the Tiakiwai Conference Centre and the National Library, with hybrid (Microsoft Teams) options for some events and online webinar delivery. The organisation also produces institutional content assets including the Competency Framework for Public Sector Economists 2025 and Chief Economist interviews, which extend its remit from training into the professionalisation of the government economist workforce. Following re-registration under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022, effective 18 March 2026, GEN continues to operate as a registered charity under the Charities Act 2005.

Name

Government Economics Network

Legal name

NZ GEN ECONOMICS NETWORK

Website

https://gen.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Government Economics Network is a charitable New Zealand incorporated society that provides training, mentoring, conferences, and networking for government economists and policy professionals across NZ public sector agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Economics Training and Public Policy Education

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Economics, Finance & Funding Policy Research (EDADADAE)

Keywords

• Government economics training
• Public policy networking
• Professional development economists
• Public sector mentoring
• Economics education courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Course Fees: GEN generates revenue through paid training courses for government economists and policy analysts. Course fees range from $375-$431.25+GST per person for standard courses to $862.50+GST for multi-day courses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Government Economics Network (GEN) is a charitable organisation that runs paid economics training courses (microeconomics, macroeconomics, environmental economics, labour economics, cost-benefit analysis, data analysis, behavioural economics, and tax policy), free membership, a 9-month Mentoring Programme, an Annual Conference, seminars, webinars, panel discussions, and book clubs for economists and policy professionals across New Zealand's public sector.

Product overview

Government Economics Network (GEN) is a charitable organization that provides a professional forum for learning, development, and networking in economic analysis and public policy. GEN operates as a platform of interconnected services rather than a single software product, comprising: a 9-month Mentoring Programme pairing new professionals with experienced mentors; Professionalisation Services including the Competency Framework for Public Sector Economists 2025; Training Courses (including Introductory Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Environmental Economics, Labour Economics, Cost Benefit Analysis, Data Analysis, Behavioural Economics, and Tax courses); Events (Annual Conference, Seminars, Lunchtime Webinar Series, Panel Discussions, and GEN Book Club with Auckland and Wellington chapters); and a free Membership Programme. The portfolio works together to strengthen economic capability across the New Zealand public sector, supporting both economists and non-economists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mentoring Programme A 9-month structured programme pairing new professionals in economics-focused roles with experienced government mentors, featuring one-on-one coaching, cohort workshops, and networking opportunities; delivered in partnership with New Zealand government agencies.
• Economics Training Courses (Portfolio) Portfolio of paid introductory and advanced economics courses for public sector economists and non-economists, covering microeconomics, macroeconomics, environmental economics, labour economics, cost-benefit analysis, data analysis, behavioural economics, and tax policy.
• Introductory Microeconomics for Policy Analysis Course covering fundamental principles of microeconomics for public policy analysis, including market behaviour, market failure, and government intervention; targeted at policy analysts and economists.
• Introduction to Macroeconomic Principles for Policy Course introducing key macroeconomic principles and models, including tariffs, monetary and fiscal policy, and implications of global trade for public policy analysis.
• Environmental Economics Course applying economic thinking to environmental issues, covering sustainability, environmental valuation, climate policy, and New Zealand-specific instruments like the Emissions Trading Scheme.
• Introduction to Cost Benefit Analysis Course providing a framework for comparing costs to benefits in policy analysis, covering economic theory and quantitative steps for conducting cost-benefit analyses.
• Behavioural by Design Masterclass One-day masterclass on behavioural science and human-centred design for driving innovation and behaviour change in policy, grounded in the work of Richard Thaler and Daniel Kahneman.
• Introductory to Labour Economics Course on labour market economics covering supply and demand, minimum wages, discrimination, inequality, human capital, automation, and the gig economy.
• Taxing Issues Course examining economic principles behind tax system design, covering equity, efficiency, income taxes, consumption taxes, capital gains taxes, and environmental taxes.
• Macroeconomics: Next Steps Advanced course building on introductory macroeconomics, covering economic growth, open economy, fiscal and monetary policy, with COVID-19 case study.
• Introduction to using data to support decision making in public policy Course introducing use of data and evidence in public policy, covering policy process integration, data types, and practical application for formulating policy advice.
• Annual Conference Annual conference bringing together economists and policy professionals to discuss economic and public policy research, featuring international and national speakers.
• Lunchtime Webinar Series Monthly webinar series featuring leading experts presenting accessible insights on topics relevant to economic analysis and policy work across New Zealand government.
• Panel Discussions Hybrid panel discussions in-person and online (Microsoft Teams) with international and national experts on economic and public policy topics.
• GEN Book Club Monthly book club meetings in Auckland and Wellington chapters discussing books and articles relevant to economics in government.
• Competency Framework for Public Sector Economists 2025 Practical guide to skills and experience needed by public sector economists, supporting career planning, recruitment, and professional development across government.
• GEN Membership Programme Free membership of GEN providing voting rights, ability to elect Board members, stand for Board elections, and participate in the annual meeting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2023-2024 Annual Report available documenting activities
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Government Agencies (Public Sector)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Mentoring programme partners with government agencies to pair early career professionals with experienced mentors. Mentors expected to have 5+ years using economics in professional roles.
• Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa (WEAll)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2024WEAll Aotearoa collaborated with GEN and Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment to co-host a panel discussion with Dr Katherine Trebeck on wellbeing economics and environmental challenges.
• Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2024PCE collaborated with GEN and WEAll to co-host a panel discussion with Dr Katherine Trebeck on wellbeing economics. PCE offices used as venue.
• TreasuryminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 3 August 2023Conference sponsor for GEN 2023 Annual Conference 'The Economics of Innovation'.
• TreasuryminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 August 2022Conference sponsor for GEN 2022 Annual Conference.
• Inland Revenue (IRD)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 August 2022Conference sponsor for GEN 2022 Annual Conference.
• New Zealand Association of Economists (NZAE)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 August 2022Conference sponsor for GEN 2022 Annual Conference.
• Te Pūnaha MatatiniminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 August 2022Conference sponsor for GEN 2022 Annual Conference. Professor Shaun Hendy from TPM was a featured speaker.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• OECD Economics Department: An international economic policy body producing research and policy advice; comparable as a convening authority for government economics practice, with GEN board member Lisa Meehan having prior OECD experience. Not a membership organisation but an adjacent thought-leadership institution.
• New Zealand Productivity Commission: An NZ government economics and policy research agency with deep board-level overlap to GEN (Philip Stevens, Lisa Meehan, Simon Wakeman all have Productivity Commission backgrounds). Comparable in subject-matter focus on economic analysis for policy, though it is a government body rather than a membership organisation.

Direct peers

• Society of Government Economists (SGE): A US-based professional association specifically for government economists — the closest international analogue to GEN in mission (training, networking, professional development for public sector economists). Comparable on target audience and member services, though operating in a much larger US government context.
• New Zealand Association of Economists (NZAE): NZ's main academic-leaning economics professional association; comparable to GEN because it serves a similar NZ economist membership base and runs conferences and events, though it spans academia and the private sector more than GEN's government focus. Already partnered with GEN as a 2022 conference sponsor.

Regional players

• Economic Society of Australia: Australia's principal economics professional body running conferences, publications, and policy engagement. Comparable as a regional professional society serving economists across sectors, but with a broader (including academic/private) mandate than GEN's government-specific focus.
• Royal Economic Society: UK's national economics society running conferences, journals, and training programmes for economists. Comparable in role and structure as a national professional society, though much larger in scale and academic-leaning rather than government-focused.

Emerging players

• Law and Economics Association of New Zealand (LEANZ): A smaller NZ-based professional association at the intersection of law and economics — comparable in being a niche NZ professional body with board overlap (Simon Wakeman previously served on LEANZ) and a similar member-driven event and seminar model.

Broad incumbents

• Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA): A large US/Canadian professional association for public sector finance officials offering training, certification, and networking. Comparable as a professional body serving government financial practitioners with training and credentialing, though GFOA is much larger and US-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NZGovEcon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/government-economics-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Government Economics Network