However, finding visionary solutions to complex issues that reach beyond the immediate horizon is often difficult when set against frameworks of short-term political cycles.
The Committee for Auckland was established to provide the connections where business, government and non-government organisations, as well as community groups, can come together to promote cross-sector engagement around key issues.
Members are among New Zealand's leading business and academic experts as well as service providers and local and central government representatives.
We work on developing ambitious, long-term solutions that bring about change for a range of complex issues that affect the progress of the region - transport and congestion, infrastructure and housing, the maritime environment and how to balance commercialisation with environmental and recreational concerns, and maximising investment, trade, tourism and education opportunities.
We've helped make significant advances towards realising the city's vision to make Auckland a more globally competitive region that will retain and attract the talent and skills required of a truly great economic powerhouse.
But a missing chapter in the Auckland Plan is the funding issue. How do we provide a new investment framework less reliant on rates? Enabling "Future Auckland" has been a real focus for the Committee.
Exploring the mechanisms and policy changes needed for sustainable, diverse investment and funding capacity to finance the infrastructure needed to achieve Auckland's 30-year vision of becoming the world's most liveable city continues to be central to our purpose.
In February this year, the Committee brought together a panel of experts in a symposium to discuss the financing of Auckland's ambitious goals. From that came an understanding the key to progress is collaborative ownership between business and local and central government, to create a more positive climate for investment.
We need to identify, promote and secure momentum on large scale capital-investment projects that could be joint ventures between local and central government.
But before we do so, we need to make the case for and build an appetite for growth - a much higher density city is crucial to enhancing infrastructure in a viable way. And we must advance Auckland's identity as an easy place to do business, where funders want to invest.
The Committee for Auckland has long advocated that a share of this responsibility should be undertaken by an Urban Development Authority.
The Committee is still working on initiatives designed to advance Auckland's economic growth for the future.
We see many opportunities we'd like local and central government to investigate more thoroughly, for example, selling valuable assets the Council no longer needs to own. We might also consider our CBD waterfront real estate and whether we have the best ownership structure in place.
And what about creating partnerships to build attractive residential and commercial development around transport systems to combat the city's congestion issues and expand the city's rates base? Many of the world's great cities encourage transit-oriented development, contributing to important public policy objectives, such as rejuvenating inner-city neighbourhoods and addressing funding gaps.
Then there are value capture strategies - recovering some or all of the increments in land value resulting from the investment through fiscal mechanisms such as land value finance - tax incentives and development agreements. These can be applied to developers or landowners before or after a public improvement is built.
The Committee is keen to open up the funding debate to fully explore some of the most creative ideas designed to progress Auckland's economic growth.
In the meantime, the Committee will launch a report on Thursday which makes recommendations to maximise value from Auckland's cultural and creative industries, called the Auckland as a Creative City report.
Never before has anyone drawn the cultural and creative industries together to consider an overarching strategy to ensure their development and funding occurs in an integrated manner.
Internationally, investing in the creative and cultural industries is proven to have significant benefits helping to attract talent and diversity to spur innovation and generate wealth.
The report outlines lessons from international creative cities with specific initiatives Auckland could emulate for better economic and social outcomes.
Then, early next year, the Committee will release the China Project. As New Zealand's economic engine and the primary destination and gateway for Chinese tourism, education, trade and investment, Auckland needs to play a leading role in developing and strengthening ties with China.
While we have achieved significant milestones on the road to becoming a successful global city, there is still much to be done.
The Committee for Auckland continues to confront the challenging questions to find innovative long term solutions that will ultimately make Auckland a great place in which to live, work and play.
Heather Shotter is Executive Director of the Committee for Auckland.
