New independent research has provided further evidence that investing directly in whānau dreams has created wide-scale impact across Te Waipounamu.

For almost a decade, Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu has directly invested in whānau in Te Waipounamu, Rakiura and Rēkohu/Wharekauri through a series of targeted funds, with our flagship Wave fund supporting the setup and expansion of hundreds of pakihi and initiatives.

Each Wave direct investment round has been independently evaluated and we are now pleased to release the latest report by Ihi Research.

Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu would like to acknowledge all the Wave 17 entities and whānau who generously gifted their time and mātauranga to enable this research to happen.

We also send our aroha to all Wave entities who have dared to dream over the past decade, and who continue to rise and thrive alongside their whānau and communities.

 

Ten years of commissioning for whānau wellbeing

In 2023, an independent evaluation of Wave 16 direct commissioning activities found that whānau who participated in Wave 16 initiatives reported higher life satisfaction than the general Māori population.

The study found that across 83 funded initiatives, almost 5000 Māori were positively impacted, with the value of increased life satisfaction combined put at $7.2m (Saunders & Dalziel, 2023).

Last year, we asked Ihi Research to look further into this link between direct commissioning and life satisfaction in their Evaluation of Wave 17: Ten years of commissioning for whānau wellbeing.

“ … the report confirms that Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu is an outstanding exemplar of an organisation delivering public services that actually work. I, therefore, commend this evaluation to anyone involved in a kaupapa of social investment to help whānau realise their own aspirations.” - Professor Paul Dalziel, Director, Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU), Lincoln University

The research

Seventy-four whānau initiatives were directly commissioned in Wave 17 (2023), and 65 whānau who were architects of these kaupapa initiatives were interviewed for the evaluation.

Rēkohu/Wharekauri – 1
Ōtākou – 2
Murihiku – 8
Te Tai Poutini – 8
Te Tauihu – 20
Waitaha – 35

Key findings

  • After 17 Wave evaluations, including economic impact analyses, outcome analysis and process-driven evaluations, the results are clear: Investing in whānau directly to achieve whānau wellbeing is not only economically efficient, but also results in strengthening intergenerational whānau connection, improved cultural connections and opportunities to connect and increase whānau life satisfaction (p1)
  • The commissioning model is designed to be economically efficient and capable of generating long-term transformative change with a lower investment than traditional service delivery. (p7)
  • Overall, this evaluation demonstrates the efficacy of the Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu model in promoting economic empowerment, social impact, and cultural revitalisation and how this contributes to improved life satisfaction. (p7)
  • The increased life satisfaction reported in the Wave 16 study can be attributed to the way in which commissioning operates, enabling whānau to work together intergenerationally in kaupapa that is culturally aligned while financially supported (p14)

View and download the Wave 17 Evaluation here