General principles
There are some general rules for understanding the 28 NZ2100 performance areas. The first is that each of the four major NZ2100 dimensions - social, economic, environmental, and cultural - describes the entire ecosystem under consideration, not simply social, economic, environmental or cultural components. For the purposes of assessment, the ecosystem is viewed as either a social system, an economic system, an environmental or ecological system, or a cultural system. When it is viewed as a social system, for example, performance will be measured using social indicators or risk measures. These top level indicators may depend on social, economic, environmental or cultural measures. So, while the extent that the system is socially nurturing, for example, might be conveyed through a composite index constructed from a set of key social indicators, the underlying component indicators may be a mixture of social, economic, environmental, and cultural indicators. The top level social indicators are behavioural, but the lower level measures may be causally-based, and chosen purely for their value in predicting the top level social indicators.
Secondly, the "contributing" system quality refers to contributions that the ecosystem makes to its wider social, economic, ecological and cultural environment - not internally within the ecosystem. Thus, as a social system, a neighbourhood may contribute health and education services to the city as a whole. There will also be internal social services, such as from the hospital ecosystem to people within the neighbourhood itself. These are correctly viewed as the contribution of the hospital ecosystem, and a measure of the socially-supportive quality for the neighbourhood as a whole.
Thirdly, the "contributing" quality describes the basis for objectively attaching value to the ecosystem as an entity. If an ecosystem does not or cannot contribute positively in any way, performing a "role" or "function", then its value within the context of the hierarchy of ecosystems is limited to intrinsic value. An alternative way of viewing intrinsic value is that it is the value associated with unknown benefits to the wider ecosystem. Regardless, a truly healthy and sustainable ecosystem will be making non-negative contributions, socially, economically, environmentally and culturally. In reality, it may not be truly healthy, and some or all of these contributions may be negative. Also, a contribution, positive or negative, may be deferred, so that it affects long term future health of the ecosystem itself, or the health of other ecosystems. Thus, building up the natural capital within an ecosystem is a contribution to future generations, in terms of increasing the options available for those generations.
Fourthly, the nurturing, supportive, and stable system qualities may helpfully, but not exclusively, be viewed from the perspective of the capacity to contribute, for example. While we are interested in the ability of the ecosystem to be socially regenerative in the sense of assuring its ability to contribute socially, we are also interested in the extent that it is socially regenerative (e.g. is safe and cares for children) from an internal or intrinsic perspective.
The "responsive" and "adaptive" ecosystem qualities describe the ecosystem's response to external change, either temporary or permanent. Although not exclusively, we are interested in the relationship between external change and the ecosystem's ability to contribute to its external environment. We are also interested in the ecosystem's ability to continue to be nurturing, supportive, stable, and directed, in the face of external change.
The "directed" ecosystem quality can be thought of as a measure of the ecosystem's ability to devise its own blueprint, and to function without reliance on neighbouring or other ecosystems for guidance.
