What is a KIS?
KIS stands for Key Indicator of Success.
Each KIS is an important delivery step towards achievement of one of the Dairy Industry targets
(www.dairynz.co.nz/investmentpriorities).
KIS are the key achievements the Board will use to monitor delivery by DairyNZ and other Providers
to farmers.
Why do we need KIS?
DairyNZ invests in more than 120 projects each year, each of which may have many milestones. It is
impractical for the Board to monitor hundreds of milestones, so this needs to be reduced to a
manageable number (e.g. fewer than 50) that is representative of the entire spectrum of investment
to meet the Dairy Industry targets.
How are the KIS chosen?
Project Leaders write annual schedules that outline the work that will be undertaken in that year to
deliver outcomes towards a particular Dairy Industry target (a single project may contribute to
several targets).
In the schedules, milestones are defined; for each, the Project Leader and SIL agree up to three
critical milestones to be Indicators of Success. These “super milestones” if you like, are key delivery
for that year: they must be achieved if the project is to be assessed as successful.
The SILs then look at all Indicators of Success in their portfolio and select a particular few to become
the KIS. These will be discussed with the Project Leader. The KIS may sometimes be reworded
slightly to define what will be provided as evidence of delivery (any variations will be completed by
end of October).
What reporting is required for KIS?
If a Project Leader has a KIS in their schedule they will be required to provide regular updates on its
progress and delivery.
Process:
a) For each KIS, brief reporting is requested independently from the Project Leader, their
Manager and the SIL to determine overall status of delivery on a monthly basis.
b) DairyNZ requests this three-way reporting approximately two weeks prior to each Senior
Leadership Team (SLT) meeting. A template is emailed out for reporting on status and a
comment on progress.
c) The reports are collated and provided to the SILs for discussion at each SLT meeting.
d) The SILs undertake any follow-up action and include relevant information in the next
DairyNZ Board report.
What is the delivery for a KIS?
Completion of the Indicator of Success milestone and provision of any associated deliverable by the
due date, as outlined in the schedule.
Farmer auditors are appointed annually to assess delivery against the KIS and report to the Board on
performance. Additional supporting information may be required for the farmer auditors as
evidence of delivery.
Other Reporting required by DairyNZ:
a) DairyNZ Limited – monthly internal reporting as required by the unit manager
b) DairyNZ Inc – quarterly on-line reporting for all investments; at the end of August,
November, February and May each year
c) Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) – quarterly reporting to Ministry for Primary Industries
(only projects receiving PGP funding); at the end of September, December, March and June
each year
Reference documents:

Glossary of terms:
http://www.dairynz.co.nz/page/pageid/2145879812/Provider_Information
2013 SLT meeting dates:
 23rd September
 21st October
 18th November
 18th December
Up to 3
milestones
selected as
Indicators of
Success for
each
schedule
KIS are
selected
from
Indicators of
Success
Three way
reporting on
KIS delivery
to SLT
SILs report to
Board
monthly on
KIS progress
Farmer
auditors
annually
assess
delivery
against KIS
Dairy
Industry
Targets
achieved