Helen Clark Foundation
The Helen Clark Foundation is an independent public policy think tank based at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Its research spans four streams: public policy, governance and the future of democracy; sustainability and climate change; inclusive economic development; and a fourth focusing on social wellbeing. The governance and democracy stream positions the Foundation as New Zealand's most prominent institutional voice on democratic reform — distinct from the transparency-and-integrity focus of TINZ and the youth-voting-rights focus of Make It 16.
The Foundation's June 2026 publication "Facing Up to Our Future" — a 20-chapter book challenging New Zealand ahead of the general election — signals an institution willing to frame democratic questions broadly: not just electoral rules or transparency mechanisms, but the structural long-term challenges that representative democracy struggles to address (fiscal sustainability, climate adaptation, intergenerational equity). The Foundation runs an active events programme and newsletter, connecting policy research to public conversation.
Named after Helen Clark, New Zealand's former Prime Minister and UN Development Programme Administrator, the Foundation inherits a tradition of internationally-minded, institutionally-grounded democratic reform advocacy — the kind embodied by Clark's own leadership of the UN's democratic governance work.
Links
- Website: helenclark.foundation
See also
History
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2019-01-01
Foundation established as an independent public policy think tank hosted by AUT, named after former PM Helen ClarkFounding of the organisation
Sourcing: High
The Helen Clark Foundation (Māori: Mahi a Rongo) is a New Zealand-based independent, non-partisan public policy think tank hosted by Auckland University of Technology. The foundation was formed in 2019 and is named after Helen Clark, the 37th prime minister of New Zealand and former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme who serves as patron.
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2026-06-01
Published "Facing Up to Our Future," a 21-contributor book on New Zealand's long-term structural challenges ahead of the general electionFlagship publication ahead of a general election
Sourcing: High
Facing Up to Our Future: Challenges and Choices for New Zealand brings together 21 of the country's leading thinkers to confront the long-term pressures shaping the nation's next decades.
Month-only date estimate ("June 2026" per web-search corroboration; the Foundation's own page carries no publish date). Edited by Emeritus Professor Peter Davis, with forewords by Helen Clark and Professor Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa; released ahead of New Zealand's November 2026 general election.
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