The definitions included in this glossary are to assist users of ITU guidance documents only. They are not intended to have any broader effect and in particular do not provide a guide to contractual interpretation.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Agencies | All government departments as defined by the Public Finance Act 1989(external link) (PFA), Crown agents, Autonomous Crown entities, Independent Crown entities, Crown entity companies, companies listed on Schedule 4A of the PFA. Also referred to as Procuring Agencies. |
| Better Business Case framework (BBC) | A five case (or 5 question) model(external link) that provides objective analysis and consistent information to decision-makers, to enable them to make smart investment decisions for public value. |
| Business case | A management tool that supports decision-making for an investment. A robust business case can provide an explicit and systematic basis for decision-making, transparency and accountability, assurance that the proposed investment optimises value for money, and a plan for realising the expected benefits, and for managing costs and risks. |
| Cabinet Office Circular (19) 6 | Refers to Investment Management(external link) and Asset Performance in the State Services. |
| Expressions of Interest (EOI) | The stage of the procurement process in which the Procuring Entity conducts an open process to short list a predetermined number of respondents to participate in the request for proposals stage. |
| Financing | How capital is accessed to meet the upfront costs of new projects. |
| Funding | The mechanism used to pay back upfront project costs. |
| Gateway™ | An independent project/programme peer review methodology(external link) that provides advice and support to the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of a programme or project. |
| Governance | The provision of leadership, strategic direction, control and accountability. A key objective of governance is to make decisions efficiently, effectively and transparently. It is the system by which an organisation or project is directed and controlled. |
| Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) | The New Zealand Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) is a free online service designed to promote open, fair competition for New Zealand government contract opportunities. www.gets.govt.nz |
| Government Procurement Rules | The Government Procurement Rules, 4th edition, which officially come into force on 1 October 2019. The Rules(external link) are standards of good practice for government procurement as published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, many of which are mandatory. These include a requirement that agencies considering the procurement of infrastructure with a total cost of ownership over $50 million must consult with the ITU and follow relevant ITU guidance. (Rule 64). The rules apply to all contract types, including PPPs (Rule 10). |
| Government Rules of Sourcing | See Government Procurement Rules. From 1 October 2019 references to Government Rules of Sourcing should be interpreted as referring to the Government Procurement Rules. |
| Horizontal infrastructure | Horizontal infrastructure networks including the three waters (drinking water, storm water and waste water), telecommunications, electricity distribution and transportation of goods and people. |
| Infrastructure | Fixed, long-lived structures that facilitate economic performance and wellbeing. Infrastructure includes "horizontal" physical networks (principally: transport, water and energy, telecommunications); and "vertical" infrastructure, buildings such as hospitals, schools and prisons. The latter are also known as social assets. |
| Infrastructure Funds | Infrastructure Funds refer to entities that consolidate funds for the purpose of acquiring infrastructure assets (the infrastructure assets will be defined by the mandate of each fund and can differ substantially for different funds). |
| Infrastructure Transactions Unit (ITU) | The Infrastructure Transactions Unit (ITU) was created within the Treasury to support agencies and local authorities to procure and deliver major infrastructure projects. It moved into the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga upon establishment. |
| Investment | The commitment of capital or balance sheet resources to the delivery of government services via projects, programmes or portfolios |
| Investment Management System | The processes, rules, capabilities, information and behaviours that work together to shape the way investments are managed(external link) throughout their asset lifecycles. |
| Investment Management and Asset Performance (IMAP) Team | Oversees(external link) the Crown's investment. |
| Investor Confidence Rating (ICR) | Is a three-yearly assessment(external link) of the performance of investment intensive agencies in managing investments and assets that are critical to the delivery of New Zealand government services. |
| Infrastructure pipeline | The infrastructure pipeline tool being published on the Infrastructure Commission website, which provides visibility of timing, sequencing and scale of future infrastructure projects |
| Lifecycle costs | The cost of replacing or refurbishing asset components during the contract period. |
| Major infrastructure projects | Infrastructure projects with whole of life costs over $50 million |
| Market Engagement | The range of activities through which a Procuring Entity engages with suppliers before the procurement of a major infrastructure project. It is about facilitating a two-way conversation between a Procuring Entity and its Potential Suppliers for a major infrastructure project. |
| Market Engagement Report | A document that provides a summary of the market engagement process undertaken and the outcomes. |
| Market Engagement Strategy | A document owned by the Procuring Entity to outline the objectives and approach to undertaking a market engagement process. |
| Participant | A Potential Supplier that participates in a structured market engagement process through activities such as attending market engagement sessions, responding to written questionnaires or otherwise communicating with the Procuring Entity about aspects of the project. |
| PFA | Public Finance Act 1989 |
| Potential Supplier | A private sector entity that may have the capability, capacity and willingness to provide services required for a major infrastructure project. |
| Procuring Entity | An entity responsible for the procurement of a major infrastructure project; specifically, those staff involved in the development and internal approval of the project business case and procurement process. The Procuring Entity may refer to multiple entities if the delivery of the project is a joint mandate or partnership. |
| Project Information Memorandum (Project IM) | A document that describes key aspects of the project for the purpose of informing Participants in a market engagement process. |
| Public Private Partnership (PPP) | In the New Zealand context, a PPP is a long term contract for the delivery of a service, where provision of the service requires the construction of a new asset, or enhancement of an existing asset, that is financed from external (private) sources on a non-recourse basis, and full legal ownership of the asset is retained by the Crown. |
| Public Funds | Public Funds include Sovereign Wealth Funds (Government-owned investment funds established from a country’s reserves for the exclusive purpose of investment to benefit the country's economy and its citizens) and Pension Funds (entities that invest pension plan contributions on behalf of their beneficiaries). |
| Request for Information (RFI) | A market research tool. A formal request from an agency to the market, for information that helps identify the number and type of suppliers and the range of solutions, technologies and products or services they can provide. It is not a type of Notice of Procurement. It must not be used to select or shortlist suppliers. |
| Significant Project | A project with a high degree of importance in terms of its likely impact on, and likely consequences for: the Crown or the agency or sector, customers or clients, the capacity of State services agencies to perform their functions; the government's fiscal strategy; and the government's investment or infrastructure strategy. Significant projects are generally those that require Cabinet or Ministerial approval. |
| State sector | The term “State sector” is not defined in legislation. It refers by convention to all departments, departmental agencies and the other agencies included in the annual financial statements of the Government under the Public Finance Act 1989. Under this convention the State sector includes:
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| State services | The term “State services” is defined broadly in section 2 of the State Sector Act 1988. Essentially, it includes “all instruments of the Crown in respect of the Government of New Zealand”. By definition this includes:
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| Total cost of ownership (TCO) | An estimate of the total cost of the goods, services or works over the whole of their life. It is the combination of the purchase price and all other expenses and benefits that the agency will incur (e.g. installation and training, operating and maintenance costs, repairs, decommissioning, cost associated with disposal and residual value on disposal). Typically TCO includes operating costs, while "whole of life costs" would be limited to capital expenditure, lifecycle and maintenance costs only, however this is not always the case. Please note carefully the context in which the measure is used. |
| Vertical infrastructure | Vertical infrastructure essentially covers all buildings including 'social infrastructure' such as hospitals, schools, corrections facilities and housing. |
| Whole of life costs | The costs of the project over the duration of its useful life, including construction, operation, maintenance and lifecycle costs. Whole of life costs(external link) (WOLC) means the present value of total cash costs of an investment over its life cycle, calculated using the WOLC guidance and the relevant Public Sector Discount Rate. WOLC is used as a metric for assigning decision rights over particular investments. It requires the agency to consider the initial economic costs as well as the downstream economic costs of the investment proposal. |
