Panel Discussion

Panellists:

Christine Coste
Principal / Planner, RMA Digital

Christine has more than 23 years’ experience as a planner. She is passionate about the need for planners to take an active role in the digital transformation of planning. Christine chairs the NZPI’s Special Interest Group PlanTechNZ which brings planners together to explore the opportunities of digital technologies for our profession and to connect with other plantech groups internationally. Christine founded RMA Digital to provide professional development services to planners and other RM practitioners to grow their digital skills and competencies. Christine encourages all planners to have a digital competencies section in their professional development plan to be prepared for the opportunities and challenges of providing professional services in the 2020’s.

Sean Audain
City Innovation Lead at Wellington City Council

Sean is the City Innovation Lead at Wellington City Council. His career has focussed on Innovation, Smart Cities and the strategic transformation of Local Government. Sean leads the development of Wellington’s smart city, exploring how technology and cities combine through data, digital twins and strategies to give us a better understanding of places, make better decisions and explore futures.

Sean has an Urban Planning Degree from the University of Auckland and has served on a number of international bodies including the Open Government Partnership Expert Advisory Panel, Digital Twin Taskforce, the World Economic Forum’s G20 Smart Cities Advisory Group and the Global Futures Council. Sean has been recognised with a number of international awards including as a Harvard Global Innovator 2020 and Smart Cities Council Leader 2020.

Dan Harvey
Data Scientist, Ministry for the Environment

Dan is a data scientist at the Ministry for the Environment who has been investigating ways to make better use of digital technologies in the transition to a new resource management regime. He has been involved in implementation and performance monitoring for the RMA and, before that, evaluation of finance and building regulations at MBIE. In the deeper past he trained in ecology and statistics and cut his teeth monitoring rattlesnakes, salmon, cormorants, and terns in his native Canada. His first jobs in New Zealand were searching for rare lizards on the South Island and developing a guarantees database for the Regional Master Builders Association.

Rihi Tenana
Co-Director (Tangata Whenua), National Science Challenges – Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities

Ko Ngati Haaua, Ngāpuhi, Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa ōku iwi.
Tribal affiliations to Ngati Haaua, Ngāpuhi, Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa.

Rihi has been working in the kaupapa Māori research space for two decades committing her research ideas and knowledge to developing and empowering whānau and Māori communities to grow and maintain their agency by facilitating and building capability skills through kaupapa Māori research informed initiatives. Currently Rihi is the Co-Director, Tangata Whenua, for the National Science Challenge, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities – He kainga Whakamana Tangata, Whakamana Taiao.

Claire Daniel
Urban planner, spatial data scientist, programmer. UNSW Scientia Scholar

Claire is an urban planner and computer programmer with broad professional experience in city government and consulting. Over the past few years Claire has led the development of Planning Institute of Australia’s (PIA) PlanTech Principles and continues as an active member of PIAs PlanTech advisory group. Claire sees an urgent need for planners to get to grips with the opportunities and challenges posed by digital technology and is currently completing a PhD at UNSW in order to devote their full time towards achieving this end. They are the recipient of a John Monash Scholarship and a UNSW Scientia Scholarship and are known internationally for their work in this area.