Andrew Ecclestone

As a recipient of a grant from the NZ Law Foundation, Andrew will be analysing the systemic issues around open government in New Zealand, and producing a report and outcomes model. This project will involve systems and power analyses to investigate the factors at work that lead to discontent with the operation of access to official information legislation both within government and outside of it. He’s particularly interested in how the conversation about access to government information has focussed on the accountability dimension and downplayed the participation purpose of the Official Information Act.

Contact details

Email: andrew.ecclestone@vuw.ac.nz

Twitter: @openpolicynz

Previous roles

Andrew has worked in the field of access to official information and open government since 1993, as a researcher and civil servant both in the UK and in New Zealand. He was formerly a Senior Investigator Official Information Practice Investigations in the Office of the Ombudsman, where he worked for 12 years. He also worked for the State Services Commission on the implementation of its first Open Government Partnership action plan. Before coming to New Zealand to study for his Master’s in Public Policy at Victoria University of Wellington, he was a Policy Manager for the UK Department for Constitutional Affairs working on implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. He worked for the UK Campaign for Freedom of Information from 1993-2001, and has consulted for the World Bank, UNDP, USAID, the Council of Europe and the Open Society Justice Initiative in various countries.