Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu: Wave 1
Project Background
This evaluation focuses on the sixth wave of commissioning involving 27 whānau led initiatives contracted in July 2017 by Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipoinamu, the South Islands Whānau Ora commissioning agency. The purpose of this evaluation is to understand how the commissioned Wave Six initiatives are contributing to achieving the goals of Whānau Ora, and the impact this has for whānau. In previous evaluations we have analysed each of the commissioning waves as a bounded system. In this evaluation we are focusing on the system itself seeking to illustrate the collective impact of the 27 initiatives on the fabric of the social system in Te Waipounamu and what can be done to support system improvement.
What we did
Four evaluators visited the 27 Wave Six initiatives over a period of six weeks. Where possible whānau who were architects of the initiatives and whānau who had benefited from the initiatives were interviewed. The transcripts were transcribed verbatim and copies were returned when requested. All interviews were coded using NVivo applying an inductive analysis to code the interview data. This is a ground up analysis, creating nodes and categories from the interview data rather than imposing a deductive sorting method. This ensures the findings are built from the voices of the whānau. After a full inductive analysis, the categories were sorted into responses under each of the research questions.
Outcome
Previous evaluations have demonstrated the commissioning approach achieves significant social outcomes and value for money. This evaluation sought to determine whether the activities the initiatives are engaged in are aligned with the intention and theory of change. Across the 27 initiatives the whānau entities are achieving the goals they set, the activities align with the intention and it is likely the commissioning round will have significant impact for whānau. There is evidence the commissioning pipeline has a significant impact for whānau that is intangible or immeasurable. This impact, best described through narratives, demonstrates the activities in the commissioning pipeline are improving whānau wellbeing, particularly in social and emotional areas. While there are individual impacts, collective impact is also apparent in the system. These collective impacts can be seen across the commissioning pipeline and occur as a result of collective activity such as building collective capability, demonstrating success, shared understanding of Whānau Ora, sustainable impact and new knowledge creation.
Find more information about Te Pūtahitanga and their innovative work at here
"Although we are shaped from various factors, we share an almost mutual sense of community and inclusiveness."
-Survey comment
Find out how we can help you
We’ll work with you to find out what’s working, where investment could be put to best use or how to improve anything not going to plan. We can help you define success and set tangible, measurable goals. And we talk in real language so you can understand and engage with the findings. We engage with the community to conduct community research and consultations for private companies, trusts, government agencies, NGOs and more. But we have a special interest in research that has a purpose - to better society and teach lessons. We aim to help those we work with build capacity to enact positive change.
