Whilst working for Surf Life Saving New Zealand, I was on the project team that set up Find A Beach, a website to provide recreational and public safety information about New Zealand’s beaches.

Another major driver was to fulfil a commitment to a sponsor. The mix of public service and commercial engagement is a particularly thorny issue, and one I have some discomfort with. The project had little post-launch resource for managing the site, and it was this lack of capacity that ultimately, in my opinion, limited the impact and reach of the site. I was concerned that LAWNZ had not considered this operational cost. 

Screenshot of Find A Beach, December 2013.