Community Research

Creating case studies of successful pathways to building ownership was an important part of the Stable Spaces research. They model strategies and tactics that we can learn from and repeat.…continue reading

The Stable Spaces report is the first significant national survey on the state of independently owned physical arts infrastructure in Aotearoa. The report examines what makes successful asset ownership in…continue reading

The purpose of the Stable Spaces survey was to establish an overview of how the arts are housed in Aotearoa, and how their housing supports their activities. Going into the…continue reading

Community Wealth Building puts people back at the center of local economies by ensuring wealth generated in a local economy is held and invested back into that area, and puts…continue reading

The Whiria te Tāngata Social Impact Report 2024 highlights the impact of Creative Waikato’s pilot multi-community artist-in-residence program, aimed at improving social cohesion and community well-being through creative practice. The…continue reading

This report outlines two approaches to assessing the intentions and outcomes of the non-governmental organisation, Life in Vacant Spaces (LiVS), in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Ōtautahi Christchurch presents a useful case study…continue reading

West 5: 4 Trauma is an action research project that looks at a model for trauma sensitive schooling within 5 different primary schools in West Auckland. The project used a…continue reading

In an online survey of New Zealand’s early childhood education services, schools and kura in late 2021/early 2022, over 83% of respondents involve volunteers, with volunteers most important in primary…continue reading

The research looked into the SVA Service Award, a national framework for advancing secondary school student volunteering, to provide an in-depth insight into the benefits of youth volunteering, service and…continue reading

This report is for knowledge holders, communicators, advocates, non-government service providers and designers working on the changes that will make the biggest difference for whānau, communities, and the planet. Central…continue reading

While still fragile, the community and voluntary sector is generally more stable and viable than it was two years ago. The survey of 129 community and voluntary organisations shows that…continue reading

This 2020 State of the Sector Survey is the fourth biennial snapshot of the community and voluntary sector undertaken by ComVoices. Its findings reinforce those of previous surveys and other…continue reading

SSPA has been working with some sector leaders on what a reset of the social services system could look like. We’ve prepared an agenda for change and are now ready…continue reading

In 2019, Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (the Ministry) engaged Tiaho Limited, a respected kaupapa Māori research, evaluation, and policy development group, to develop…continue reading

In 2019, Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (the Ministry) engaged Tiaho Limited, a respected kaupapa Māori research, evaluation, and policy development group, to develop…continue reading

The GoodMeasure Report for KidsCan was created with KidsCan to inform it’s social enterprise decision-making for the benefit of the children it serves. The product was created for KidsCan using…continue reading

Informed and engaged communities are central to a healthy democratic society, and local government has a critical role to play. Engaged communities have high levels of community knowledge, cultural vibrancy,…continue reading

The Western Bay of Plenty covers the region from Waihi Beach in the north to Paengaroa to the east and Pyes Pa to the south, and includes Tauranga and Mount…continue reading

The purpose of the People’s Report is to provide a range of views about Aotearoa New Zealand’s progress on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These come…continue reading

Planning for climate change is complex. There is some uncertainty about how quickly the climate will change and what the anticipated localised effects will be. There are also governance questions,…continue reading

Urban communities around the world are using farming and gardening to promote food security, social inclusion and wellbeing (Turner, Henryks and Pearson, 2011). In the New Zealand city of Christchurch,…continue reading

New Zealand’s road transport produces more than 40% of total CO2 emissions. To meet the Paris Climate Agreement will require a transport system based on zero-carbon energy resources. Many transport…continue reading

This report presents insights from our research and our interviews with people who have significant experience of restorative practice in the New Zealand context. We have utilised this knowledge to…continue reading

Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 involves transformational change in the business of business, and social enterprises can lead the way in such change. We studied Cultivate, one such…continue reading

This report summarises the key findings of an evidence review completed by the Centre for Social Impact to inform the implementation of Foundation North’s 2018 Strategic Plan. These key findings…continue reading

Foundation North’s new strategy has identified strengthening social cohesion within and between our diverse communities, particularly for refugee- and migrant-background communities, as one of its priorities. This research report was…continue reading

This report is an impact evaluation of the EcoMatters’ New Lynn bike hub. The report aims to better understand the extent of progress made in the one year of operation…continue reading

The primary objective of this research was to identify how people felt about living in the wider Waimate District, and the barriers to particpation for residents. This research will in…continue reading

The second Snapshot Survey conducted by ComVoices shows that the stresses on our community organisations are increasing. A survey of over 280 community organisations shows that they are experiencing greater…continue reading

The survey, of over 280 community organisations, shows that stresses on our community organisations are increasing. They are experiencing greater demand for services and are dealing with greater complexity, but…continue reading

About the non-profit institution satellite account Many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders participate in non-profit institutions (NPIs) or receive services provided by them – often at no cost to…continue reading

This study examines the financial sustainability challenges and opportunities faced by local NGOs, particularly of those registered as Ethiopian Resident Charities by the law. These NGOs constitute nearly 70% of…continue reading

Population growth has already ended in a number of countries around the world. Significant demographic trends are transforming the global population, with record low fertility across the globe, increasing longevity…continue reading

Toi Ora is an NGO that aims to inspire positive mental health and wellbeing through the use of the arts and creative process. It is through this lens that the…continue reading

This article discusses the development and contested nature of community development practice and the effects of neoliberalism on community development in Aotearoa New Zealand. We describe how community development has…continue reading

This research is to evaluate the impact of rural skills development trainings for poverty alleviation in Bulilima district in Plumtre, Zimbabwe. The reason for this research was to find out…continue reading

A cohort of senior students attending five New Zealand secondary schools operating a peer mentoring programme were followed for 24 months. The aims of this project were to evaluate their…continue reading

Drawing on Canterbury and Victoria experience, his report discusses and gives examples of the role of the non-profit sector in disaster risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery. While many see…continue reading

‘Collective Impact’ has been sweeping the non-profit world by storm, beginning in North America and gaining popularity in Australia and New Zealand. Collective Impact sees that no single organisation can…continue reading

Post-quake Christchurch has seen a flourishing of alternative economic activities that work to directly support the wellbeing of residents, often through the volunteer and community sector. This project seeks to…continue reading

This paper draws on recent research which was grounded in theory-building with civil society practitioners in two Aotearoa NZ leadership learning contexts (Malcolm, 2014) to draw out their tacit wisdom…continue reading

The “leader” word often brings to mind strong, decisive, visionary individuals. Yet this assumption stops many from ever thinking of themselves as leaders. This PhD thesis explores an understanding of…continue reading

A top priority for Youthline is for young people to be supported in their resilience and ability to thrive, their knowledge of where to go to get help, and their…continue reading

This research explores the principles and practices relating to community economic development (CED), and social enterprise in New Zealand at this time. Success factors and challenges are identified, including an…continue reading

Increasing complexities brought about by global crises are calling for us to actively disrupt and challenge the conceptual frameworks currently dominating cultural policy and theory. Creative ecology offers a new…continue reading

This report outlines the process and findings of research undertaken by young people living in Waimarino, with support from the Raetihi Community Trust and the SHORE and Whariki Research Centre…continue reading

This document is the final accountability report for a Lottery Community Sector Research Fund grant for Inspiring Communities to contribute to “understanding and accelerating community-led development in Aotearoa/New Zealand”. This…continue reading

AMPLIFY is a 13-month action enquiry into the needs and best practice approaches for 9-13 year olds in the West Auckland suburbs of McLaren Park and Henderson South. The action…continue reading

The following report presents a summarisation of the development research and evaluation project “Evaluation for More Effective Community Development”. This project was initiated by Community Waitakere in 2012 and completed…continue reading

This is stage 2 of a 4 stage COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION RESEARCH PROJECT. We know it’s important to reflect on our past so we are able to chart a course…continue reading

Mental Health Care in many countries is multiply-fragmented. Amongst the players are a variety of professional groups, many different community organizations for service-users and caregivers, as well as commercial enterprises…continue reading

Based on his keynote speech given to the New Zealand Creativity Challenge held in New Plymouth 27-28 April 2013, this paper explores role of creativity, community and citizenship. The paper…continue reading

While the value added by voluntary organisations is widely accepted by government and other funders, there has been increased pressure for the voluntary sector to measure the difference they make…continue reading

This report studied six communities affected by the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Our project found that connected communities with good community infrastructure (e.g. local networks, marae, organisations, and leaders)…continue reading

In 2007, the Community Sector Taskforce applied its base position set out in ‘A New Way of Working’ to the issue of Sector funding and accountability. This paper, with the…continue reading

This compilation of case studies, examples and commentaries forms the third part of a set of materials relating to ethics in community-based participatory research (CBPR). Part I comprises a set…continue reading

The case studies were chosen by the leadership team at Community Waitakere. While Community Waitakere operates in the community development space, the case studies are not entirely from organisations that…continue reading

Evaluations results of the Lyttelton Harbour Festival of Lights from the perspective of the advisory group, key stakeholders and the general public.

An evaluation of the Lyttelton Farmers Market from the perspective of regular customers, new customers and stall holders.

An evaluation report exploring the the short and longer term outcomes of the festival from the perspective of the guides and participants.

An evaluation report looking at the key success stories and challenges faced by Project Lyttelton running the garden. Assessing the lessons learned and what can be applied to other projects…continue reading

An investigation into the population in Golden Bay and what they need to be able to ‘Age in Place’

After the Sept 2010 earthquake, a series of meetings were held with community organisations in Christchurch to enable them to learn from each other about supporting their communities and to…continue reading

A community developer’s personal account of efforts by a rural community to confront local issues by developing a long-term social development strategy. The author describes attempts by a group of…continue reading

This paper discusses mindsets, competencies and attitudes of community leadership. Metaphors such as playing jazz are used to normalise the complexity of community sector work and starfish to emphasise the…continue reading

This paper looks at the role of NGOs in contributing to government goals and objectives in the health and disability sector, and the future challenges facing that sector.

This PhD research explored the issues confronting non-profit community organisations delivering services to the community in the areas of health and social services in Northland. Its aim was to identify…continue reading

A document presenting some simple ways to analyse current health networks and how to look to strengthen them.

Raetihi & Ohakune are two small & remote towns on the North Island’s Central Plateau. They have similar sized populations yet present as totally different communities. This research details the…continue reading

How do we measure or report on the impact of capacity building? This review reports on the effectiveness and ‘value for money’ of a community capacity building hub (Community Waikato),…continue reading

This article examines the contemporary practice of community development in New Zealand by considering its application to third sector organisational case studies. Broadly speaking community development is held up as…continue reading

In 2001 the government signed a Statement of Intent for an improved relationship with the community and voluntary sector (SOGI). In 2008/09 the Association of Non Governmental Organisations of Aotearoa…continue reading

This paper compares the ‘Achieving Better Community Development’ (ABCD) model for organisational practice (Barr & Hashagen 2000) with the organisational practices in New Zealand ‘social development’ approach to social service…continue reading

A review of the Clearing House project as part of the requirements of the Department of Internal Affairs Community Partnership Fund

The Code Of Practice describes optimum practices in community research for the Tangata Whenua, Community and Voluntary Sector Research Centre. It is written for the researcher, whether with a tertiary,…continue reading

This report reviews practices of community engagement, capacity building and partnering in 6 community-based integrated catchment management (ICM) projects, with a focus on what is working well, challenges and lessons…continue reading

The vision of the Tangata Whenua, Community and Voluntary Sector Research Centre will be implemented primarily through five key strategies: (1) visibility and access, (2) quality and good practice, (3)…continue reading

Information, knowledge and wisdom for the learning NGO, capacity building & roles.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of existing literature in the area of community sector capacity building. The review will attempt to summarise the key themes…continue reading

This presentation formed part of an international panel discussion on the state of not for profit management education across the world, at a conference in Arizona, United States in March…continue reading

A review of Social Services Waikato and Arts Waikato.

Social marketing, community-based social marketing, social capital, recycling behaviour, community development, Waiheke Island, environmental not-for-profit organisations

This paper explores community-based cultural organisations that combine orientated objectives of community arts practice with commercially oriented creative industries. In New Zealand, these organisations are hampered by gaps in cultural…continue reading

The Local Government Act 2002 requires New Zealand local authorities to become actively involved in the development of social well being. Recent research indicates that the community and social services…continue reading

This case study reviews a series of events using a deliberation approach that have taken place in Porirua City. The nature of these activities is considered in relation to how…continue reading

Policy-making requires more than market mechanisms for implementation. That recognition should also be made with great caution, because the Government’s attempt over the last 20 years to incorporate as many…continue reading