Community Research

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

Extreme weather events have become more frequent with climate change. The East Coast has been particularly hard hit in recent years. In early 2023 the Gisborne District Council commissioned Te…continue reading

This report tells the story of a project to explore using a regenerative approach to community-building. The pilot aimed to both learn and practice how to undertake regeneration with and…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

A qualitative snapshot of kindness through the lens of community service organisations in Aotearoa. This study began with a question: What is the role of kindness from the perspective of…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

This report sets out the findings of a thematic analysis of selected community strategies and plans and reflections from community stakeholder hui where the key findings were discussed. The report…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

Community mobilisation (CM) is a transformative approach used to create social change on complex issues. CM has been used in practice for many years; however, until recently, had little presence…continue reading

Whānau experiences of The Pride Project have indicated that whānau have improved social connections through participating in programmes and activities, that trust relationships with Hope Navigators help to breakdown barriers…continue reading

This community-led, co-designed research project explores the impact of Northcote’s Urban Regeneration on community wellbeing. The research undertaken involved meaningful engagement with a diverse cross-section of the Northcote population and…continue reading

This paper presents the findings of the Perceptions of Papakāinga project, which explores the connection between place, genealogy, and identity for two Māori (New Zealand’s Indigenous people) communities: one living…continue reading

The purpose of the report is to evaluate the first two years of the Mana Whānau programme, to identify the approach, key components and delivery mechanisms, determine how well it…continue reading

The COVID-19 pandemic is an extraordinary challenge that has required extraordinary solutions. Harvesting and documenting the extraordinary, to distill what we now know possible, lies at the heart of this…continue reading

E Tū Whānau (ETW) is a transformative Kaupapa Māori strategy which has been working to mobilise communities to address violence within whānau since 2008. This article explores the relationship between…continue reading

BGI facilitated a diverse group of about 20 young people (who named themselves Te Ahi o Ngā Rangatahi (The Fire of Youth)) to identify issues facing young people and 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

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

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

This research provides anthropological analysis into the intersection between migrants’ health, healthcare services, and the concept of migrant integration, focusing on the Luo community of Wellington as an ethnic minority…continue reading

Societies are looking towards innovative ways of accommodating the increasing number of people reaching 65 and without the provision of home ownership. This research follows five years of the development…continue reading

Social procurement is a powerful tool for addressing targeted aspects of social disparity while also purchasing required products, services or supplies. Infrastructure development, for instance, can also deliver training within…continue reading

Reflecting on community work and anti oppressive practices.

This report summarises the research and explains how we developed and used a ‘Community Economy Return on Investment’ tool to document and measure the transformative social and environmental outcomes of…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

The Hearts and Minds of Katikati research project was conceived by the Katikati Taiao and supported with funding from the Lotteries commission. The Hearts and Minds research aims to provide…continue reading

This report explores how regional and territorial authorities in Aotearoa New Zealand currently understand their role in climate adaptation, to what extent they are currently fulfilling that role, and how…continue reading

This research is a community-managed discovery of the ingredients underlying the neighbourhood-led approach of Randwick Park’s community leadership. It explains the basis of this shared kaupapa and explores some of…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

Project overview: Urban communities around the world are using farming and gardening to promote food security, social inclusion and wellbeing. For Christchurch-based Cultivate, urban farms are not only physical places…continue reading

Inspiring Communities and the Tamarack Institute have co-written a new paper in which we reflect on changes in community-led change over the past decade from both Canadian and New Zealand…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

This research aims to better understand the parenting practices of new migrants in Auckland’s North Shore communities. Its primary use is to assist Whānau Marama Parenting, a parenting programme provider…continue reading

Mapping the Social Sector in the Western Bay of Plenty project emerged from a need expressed by the sector to better understand itself, provide data for future planning, and to…continue reading

This report has presented the results of three research projects carried out in the wider Southland region: interviews with household members about population change; a survey of employers in the…continue reading

This study explored the everyday lives, aspirations, and coping strategies of seven Eastern European immigrant women in New Zealand who came from Bulgaria, the former Eastern Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania,…continue reading

Relationships are central to effective outcomes in the international development sector yet, there are very few frameworks or indicators to help measure the quality of trust – as the foundation…continue reading

The Nga Tangata Oho Mairangi (NTOM) research programme is funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The programme of research is broad and involves both Massey and…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

Holding hope together celebrating the contribution of the non profit sector in rebuilding Christchurch communities post quakes. Pacific Trust Canterbury Christchurch Migrant Centre New Brighton Community Gardens Friends of Linwood…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

New Zealand, like many other countries, is searching for effective ways to turn the tide on the problem of family violence.a The enormous costs to individuals, communities and society are…continue reading

BayTrust’s mission is to “effectively build, strengthen and enhance present and future Bay of Plenty Communities.” To support this, BayTrust approached the Centre for Social Impact to provide research and…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

Despite the vitality of kapa haka as an art form and its significance to our culture, its value is not well understood or documented. There have been surprisingly few studies…continue reading

The process of resettlement as a refugee often involves adapting to, and reconciling with, a new social reality. The complexities associated with acculturation across age, gender and family dynamics are…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 is the final report of a research study undertaken by the National Council of Women (Christchurch Branch) between 2011 and 2014 with women living in Christchurch through the earthquakes.…continue reading

This research explores the extent to which successful asylum seekers are able to participate in Aotearoa New Zealand life by documenting the experiences of 18 people who have been recognised…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

During 2010 and 2011, a series of major earthquakes caused widespread damage in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The magnitude 6.3 quake in February 2011 caused 185 fatalities. In…continue reading

Growing inequalities are leading to imbalances in the way people are able to live well and care for each other and the environment. I this issue we report on the…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

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) is the agency leading and coordinating the recovery of greater Christchurch following the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes. The area over which CERA…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

Quota Refugees Ten Years On: Perspectives on Integration, Community, and Identity is a multi-year research programme that was developed to better understand the long-term journeys of refugees in New Zealand.…continue reading

This study examined the link between animal cruelty and family violence. The issue was investigated with a combination of in-depth interviews and a survey of 203 Women’s Refuge clients and…continue reading

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

This thesis aims to represent the experiences of individuals from this group within the broader contexts of refugee resettlement. A fundamental aspect of these experiences is the ambiguous and often…continue reading

Issue 37 of the Social Policy Journal of New Zealand comprises research papers on a wide range of topics with implications for policy across the social sector. Research relating to…continue reading

Poverty is experienced in many different ways and certainly involves much more than a lack of money or even economic power. This report brings together stories of the ways in…continue reading

This report presents a descriptive analysis of stakeholders’ perspectives on significant changes in the refugee resettlement sector since 1987. Stakeholder views have been supplemented with information from documentary sources, which…continue reading

New Zealand organisations that are engaged in community development practice to empower women are disadvantaged under neo-liberal and third way style policies of the New Zealand Government. Recent research has…continue reading

This transdisciplinary study explores holistic models of education and community development. The research seeks practical solutions to barriers to educational progress. It looks at how to build local capacity and…continue reading

PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope) is a research tool that can assist in individual and whānau planning. It uses visual images alongside facilitation that seeks to clarify, research and…continue reading

The focus of this study is on Tuatapere, a rural south island community and how it managed the dramatic social changes over the past fifty years. Government policies,changes in international…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 report is a piece of action research. It provides a snapshot of how the residents of Merivale, Tauranga feel about their suburb and reveals what they would like to…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

Why this report has been produced The Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) Diverse Communities – Exploring the Migrant and Refugee Experience in New Zealand report brings together existing data and…continue reading

This report examines some factors that literature suggests are likely to impact on the way funding is distributed among community organisations.

A review of Social Services Waikato and Arts Waikato.

In 2005 the New Zealand Police commissioned this research project to explore the perceptions of police held by members of various ethnic communities and to provide information on the current…continue reading

The suburb of Kaiti in Gisborne is characterized by established families with a strong affinity to their community and a desire to challenge the negative reputation of Kaiti by making…continue reading

This paper reports on a meta-analysis of ten community action projects. The activation, consolidation and transition or completion stages of the projects were examined to identify commonalities in structures and…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