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Community-led development programme: Summary of evaluation findings

In 2021 and 2022 Hāpai Hapori commissioned an independent evaluation of the Community-led Development Programme (CLDP).

The full summary of evaluation findings can be downloaded below:

Community-led Development Programme — Summary of Evaluation Findings — May 2022 (.pdf, 5.2MB)

Executive summary of the evaluation findings

The CLDP is making a positive contribution to the well-being of communities that participate in it.

The CLDP is supporting these communities towards a more confident future.

Specifically, the CLDP is:

  • acting as a catalyst or spring-board for change
  • strengthening community capacity
  • building connections with other areas of funding
  • linking disconnected communities together.

Whakawhanaungatanga

Whakawhanaungatanga, or the fostering of relationships, are at the heart of successful projects, along with support tailored to each community's needs.

The communities that have been most successful in the CLDP are those which established a common foundation from the outset of the programme and partnered with, or were led by, mana whenua.

Key enablers of change

Key enablers of change are:

  • having community plans
  • making sure community-led development is 'socialised' within communities
  • having local CLDP coordinators or facilitators working alongside Hāpai Hapori community advisors
  • having mana whenua partnerships
  • working within a 5-year funding timeframe, recognising building trust and self-determination takes time.

Challenges

Community-led development is an ongoing learning process and not all communities develop at the same pace.

Specific challenges in the CLDP included:

  • mismatches between advisors and communities
  • tensions over governance and who holds the funding
  • the level of community readiness for the CLDP
  • developing partnerships with mana whenua
  • issues with stakeholder relations, notably with local authorities.

Recommendations for improvement

The top 4 recommendations to Hāpai Hapori are:

  1. Expand the pool of resources for community partners to use.
  2. Strengthen Te Tiriti responsiveness in the CLDP.
  3. Review the fund-holding system.
  4. Strengthen support and resources for community advisors.

There is a complete list of the recommendations in the full summary of evaluation findings.

This evaluation report was produced by Dovetail Consulting in partnership with the Kinnect Group.