Pete McMillen

Experienced research, evaluation, data science and analytics practitioner, having worked for 20+ years in official statistics (Australia and NZ), market research (Australia and NZ), and more recently R&E and modelling/analytics units in government agencies – in chronological order – the Department of Corrections (2 years), MBIE (4.5 years), and currently MSD/Oranga Tamariki (2 years). My recent work leans much more toward evaluation than traditional ‘research’. I am primarily quantitatively oriented, including complex survey sample design, estimation and analysis, data science and analytics, and recently losing myself in Stats NZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) as part of my involvement in quasi-experimental design programme impact evaluation. I have strong R coding skills, sound SQL and SPSS, and rusty SAS. Although approximately half my professional career has been in market research, throughout I was primarily engaged in social research on behalf of central and state government agencies, and not-for-profits. I do however have ‘functional’ knowledge and experience in consumer (eg customer satisfaction, fast-moving consumer goods) and business research (banking, insurance, telecommunications). In addition, over the years I have had reasonable exposure to the principles and practice of qualitative research, and now increasingly involved in (causal) impact/outcome evaluation in relation to the growing social investment philosophy and practice. Also, at MBIE I developed a solid grounding in cost-benefit analysis and various other financial/economic evaluation methods, and was the principal author of the Major Events Development Fund Post-Event Evaluation Guidelines. That’s plenty enough. Oh, save for almost four years between 2006 and end-2009 moonlighting as part-owner and manager of Beaujolais Wine Bar & Bistro, which for most of the 20 years to April 2010 was NZ’s most iconic wine haunt.