New Zealand may be small, but they are not shy to try new things and employ the latest tools and methods to make the best future they can for their people. Here are 5 examples of the use of design thinking in the government of New Zealand.

1. Take this wonderfully clear guideline on using deign thinking in government for policy development from the Department of the Cabinet and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Design thinking is presented as a key tool for ministers and their teams to use in helping to forge a better future for the country. 
2. There is also great information on design thinking tools on the departments Policy Navigator page including links to two lectures: 
   1. Policy by Design
   2. Design thinking in government - learning about the potential benefits, Professor Jeanne Liedtka
3. The article by ThinkPlace, How design thinking helped transform the way an entire nation makes public policy, describes how design thinking was brought into the policy making process of the New Zealand Government.
4. In 2014 the New Zealand government set up G2G, a department who mandate is to share New Zealand's expertise in creating efficient effective public sector results with other governments around the world. Read about the successful projects they have undertaken with Australia, USA, Papua New Guinea, Quatar, Timor and the UAE.
5. The Digital Service Design Standard for use by anyone creating digital services for the government.

Re-designing Government Innovation is an interesting white paper by Accenture that sheds light on the challenges faced by all governments tasked with innovation of their services and describes the role of design thinking in that transformation. They use the city of Auckland as an example.