Choosing to co-locate

What is a co-location?

A co-location is when two or more agencies share the same tenancy.

Sharing space allows your agency to:

be located with other agencies, functions or sector partners you need to collaborate with
provide common customers with a more integrated way to access government services
recruit employees in areas where your agency may not have a physical presence
provide more attractive, higher quality work environments to your employees – this can be a big benefit for smaller agencies, who can’t normally justify providing a wide range of workspaces or amenities
have another agency use surplus space in an existing tenancy.

Case study: Shared government accommodation at 8 Willis Street

Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ) and the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) both moved into 8 Willis Street. This co-location continues to reflect each agency’s unique work, while also supporting their shared arrangements.

Spread over 12 levels, 8 Willis has been designed so each agency has assigned home floors but can also work in shared spaces throughout the building. A central spiral staircase encourages movement and mingling between the floors.

Visitors to the building are greeted by MfE’s pou (a carved wooden pole), relocated from their previous building. At the base of a spiral staircase, the pou stands upon the mauri stone, considered the life force of the building, which is sourced from the local river Te Awakairangi. The stone was placed by both agencies, symbolising their commitment to the partnership.

Throughout the building, design motifs visually unite the two agencies. Motifs that reflect natural structures, weaving, and navigation are used on each floor. The Fibonacci sequence – common in nature and mathematics – has been used to represent the work of Stats NZ and MfE.

“8 Willis is a people-centred workspace that encourages a total activity-based style of working, and a new way of co-locating with another government agency.” – Bridgette Hickey, outgoing Chief Financial Officer, Statistics NZ

“The building is special. It really is all about the people and we were purposeful in our change management plans – to help staff take the best advantage of the flexible workspaces and enhanced technology. For example, if you have meetings all day the building’s design and spaces support that. It also supports a range of working style for individuals and groups whether it’s kanohi ki te kanohi face-to-face, remote meetings or informal catch ups. There will be a space and the technology to allow it to happen. This building encourages staff to consider what their day is made up of and chose the appropriate working point.” – Mike Porter, Chief Information Officer, Statistics NZ

Benefits of co-location

Co-locations can meet both agency or sector needs and the government’s property portfolio goals.

Sharing space with other agencies:

can be an effective way to create functional hubs that help people work together to achieve collective goals
allows for locating better or lower-cost spaces when your agency only requires a small footprint
is an opportunity to explore changes to the way you interact with, and provide services to, your customers.

Flexibility and adaptability

Co-location enables agencies to:

use common ICT and security infrastructure
consolidate accommodation facilities
use common furniture solutions.

Value for money and effectiveness

Co-location enables agencies to:

leverage the scale of government to negotiate a better workplace outcome, not necessarily just lower rents or better commercial terms
centralise property-related procurement costs by using All-of-Government contracts and a centralised process
minimise the number of buildings government agencies occupy
minimise duplication of major facilities, like reception areas, public-facing meeting rooms and ICT infrastructure
leverage off other agencies with more capability – like ICT, property and security resources.

Raising workplace quality and safety

Co-location enables:

smaller agencies to provide higher quality environments to their employees
a more consistent approach to security
common health, safety and security practices for buildings
agencies with less mature security and health and safety practices to be exposed to agencies with higher capability.

Is co-location right for your agency?

To work out whether a co-location could work for your agency, you need to figure out what workplace outcome you want to achieve.

Your starting point should be your agency’s property plan, which outlines how your property portfolio and workplace set-up supports your organisation's objectives. It should also identify possible co-locating opportunities.

Property planning

When defining the intended workplace outcome, consider:

what improvements could be made to how your organisation works and delivers services
who you need to be close to
location factors
security considerations.

What's involved

A co-location is a partnership. Your agency will need to be open to creating a solution that meets all the participating agencies' needs.

Senior leadership will need to be involved throughout the life of the co-location to provide strategic direction.

If your agency is taking on the role of lead agency, you will be responsible for:

the financial and operational risk associated with managing property
providing a safe and secure physical environment for all occupants.

Deciding who to co-locate with

Before confirming the decision to co-locate, agencies should assess their compatibility to make sure co-location will be a good fit for all parties.

Assessing co-location partner compatibility

Joining an existing co-location

How we can help

We can help you find other agencies looking for accommodation in the same areas.

We consider co-locating compatible agencies as part of any project we lead.

Contact us

What's next?

If you've decided a co-location could be the right fit for your agency and identified who you might partner with, your next step is an assessment workshop.