Prue H Williams

Prudence Helen Williams is a New Zealand soil scientist, and public servant. She is a senior manager in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and serves on the board of the Global Research Council. She was awarded a Public Service Medal, and was elected a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2023.

Academic career

Williams completed a PhD titled The fate of potassium in grazed dairy pastures at Massey University. Williams then joined the staff of the New Zealand Institute for Crop and Food Research. Williams moved into science management in 2003, joining the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology in 2008.

Williams is the General Manager Science System Investment and Performance at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Williams is the senior public servant in charge of Te Ara Paerangi Future Pathways, which will reform the New Zealand science system.

Williams represented New Zealand on the Global Research Council, and then was elected to the Board in 2019.

Honours and awards In 2021 Williams was awarded a Public Service Medal, an award conferred by the Public Service Commission to recognise "public servants who exemplify the spirit of service and are making a real difference through their everyday work for New Zealand or New Zealanders". The citation noted her advocacy for research, and care and empathy for colleagues.

Selected works