This is one of two papers developed for an Ministry of Education funded project, Competencies in New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZC). This paper draws on archived policy discussion papers to document the provenance of the key competencies included in the "New Zealand Curriculum" ("NZC"). The second paper analyses a series of research projects to describe how understandings about key competencies have developed over the decade since NZC was published. In this paper, the evolution of the key competencies over the time span of the NZC development is illustrated via the visual models that supported thinking at different stages of the curriculum project. The types of evidence and processes used to support their development are also summarised. [For the second paper, "How the Key Competencies Evolved over Time: Insights from the Research," see ED598101.]