Kia ora,

For those working to make a difference in an increasingly competitive Aotearoa, these kete from Community Research offer community sector expertise, resources, evidence and data to inspire you and inform you, plus details of how to book for our upcoming Winter 2016 Community Research Webinars!

Thanks for the incredible work that you do in your communities.
Community Research

If you'd like to share something in our next newsletter, please do let us know.  If you can give us just one minute of your time, we'd love to know what you think of this edition. Kia ora!

Counting What Matters

The size and significance of the New Zealand not-for-profit sector 

12.30pm, Tuesday 28th June.  Book here.

Statistics without the yawns!  Ian McLeod (Statistics New Zealand) and Garth Nowland-Foreman (LEAD Centre for Not-for-Profit Leadership) will present the 'Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account', to be released June 2016 by Statistics NZ.  During this 30-minute 'lunchbox' they will:

• Help you with forecasting and setting long-term strategies, by presenting the big trends currently affecting the sector  
• Upskill you to describe and advocate for the economic significance of the non-profit sector, and know how it has changed since the 2007 Statistics NZ report
• Inspire you with illustrious tales of non-profit might and awesomeness.  No really, they've promised ...

A Vision for Indigenous Evaluation

A framework for increasing participation and control by Indigenous peoples 

11.00am, Tuesday 12th July.  Book here.

In this 60-minute webinar Nan Wehipeihana (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) and friends will present a simple but powerful framework, showing:

• The difference between evaluating for indigenous communities, and evaluating as indigenous communities
• The 'lightbulb moment' on cultural paradigms
• Real-life stories and examples of why and how you can get this right, and the cost of getting it wrong

Complex Projects, Short Stories

Stringing together your data to create narratives that show change

11.00am, Tuesday 26th July.  Book here.

Having a well-chosen and told story is like having a goose that lays golden eggs. Defining and refining our stories brings clarity to our work, meets our reporting requirements and shares our learnings with others.  Are you swimming in data, but stuck for how to present this as narratives?  In this webinar we hear from groups who are getting their stories straight.  Moya Sayer-Jones will:

• Introduce you to ideas and tools for gathering and presenting narratives
• Present a structure for putting together an outcomes narrative that will speak to funders
• Show how articulating achievements can inform and inspire change in communities

Outcomes Plus 

Knowing and showing the 'added value' of community to your stakeholders

12.30pm, Tuesday 9th August.  Book here.

A 30-minute 'lunchbox' webinar.  Garth Nowland-Foreman (LEAD Centre for Not-for-Profit Leadership) and Trevor McGlinchey (New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services) present research which evidences the 'added value' of community organisations. They will

• Prepare your organisation for a new era of contracting with funders
• Present research which demonstrates that the value delivered by the community and voluntary sector (their ‘added value’) precedes and goes well beyond what they are contracted to do by government. 
• Join a discourse, not just about NGOs but about civil society and the role of community and government

African youth experiences with the Police and the New Zealand justice system 

Funded by a Lottery Community Sector Research Grant, this study, which draws on a series of focus group interviews, documents diverse evidence of racial abuse and racial profiling in New Zealand police and justice systems. The authors emphasise the negative impacts of these encounters on African youth, their families, and communities (Nakhid et al. 2016)​.  Read more

Could a Collective Impact Framework help improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for young people in West Auckland?  

Funded by Lottery Community Sector Research and the Working Together More fund, this arts-rich mapping of key themes and challenges, of potential partners and potential models for delivery prepares the ground for a Collective Impact approach in West Auckland  (Toi Ora 2015).  Read more

COPMIA Project Evaluation: Report for SF Taranaki 

This study presents the findings from a community consultation, the learnings from a pilot programme and a review of other models, to give evidence which will support children of parents with mental illness or addiction in Taranaki (3D Evaluation, 2015).  Read more 

YWCA Auckland Future Leaders Programme Redevelopment Project Report 

How YWCA Future Leaders has empowered young women to reap benefits, and whether these include academic benefits, and the factors of this success.  With the Lottery Community Sector Research Fund, and University of Auckland (YWCA, 2015).  Read more

Evaluation of the 'Stay Real' Programme 

A study investigating what's working with vulnerable young people in an East Christchurch twelve-step programme, and citing factors of success  (McKay, 2016). Read More

Hell yeah I cant pronounce words or spell: My personal journey into leadership

What drives the dyslexic leader and how can we support the development of leaders who have dyslexia? (Sheward 2016).  Read more

Can community development practice survive neoliberalism in Aotearoa New Zealand? 

Thirteen in-depth narratives from a range of community development practitioners, in a report which finds that organisations can survive indifferent government policy and how (Aimers & Walker, 2015).  Read more

Animals and social work: An emerging field of practice for Aotearoa New Zealand 

A review of literature and practice surrounding the use of animals in social work, the justification, the contexts and characteristics of good practice, and the argument for a code of ethics (Walker, Aimers, Perry 2015).  Read more

Principles of a kaupapa Māori framework

Take a closer look at the What Works website.  We're sharing this collection of toolkits and resources for Māori models of impact assessment and evaluation, including eight principles for research and evaluation in a kaupapa Māori context from Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Fiona Cram, as well as useful resources for collecting evidence with, by and for Māori.

Credits: Content developers: Manu Caddie and Rachael Trotman

Could someone you know be using the Community Research website better?

Do you work with someone who could benefit from watching this video?  Flick them this link! 

This simple, two-minute video shows you how to benefit from the Community Research website, what's in the research archive, how to find a researcher, why to use the Code of Practice, how to share your research, and how to participate.  

From our friends at Film for Change Aotearoa.

Credits: Film for Change, Aotearoa

Open Access Journals for Indigenous Knowledge

Explore this collection of journals from around the world, sharing work on, by and for Indigenous peoples.  No pay-walls and no subscriptions involved.  Each of these journals allows free and instant access to papers on issues pertaining to the world’s indigenous peoples.  Ka rawe!

Credits: Content Developer: Dr Fiona Cram

Pre- and Post-Conference workshops

Monday 18 July 

9.00-12.00pm -  Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington 

• Evaluation 101: The Basics – An introduction to evaluation - Syd King and Kate McKegg
• He Awa Whiria – A Braided Rivers approach to evaluation - Professor Angus Macfarlane and Shane Ngatai
• Nuts and bolts of outcome measurement - David Pritchard
• Value for Money – An evaluation-specific approach - Julian King

Thursday 21 July 

9.00-4.30pm -  Location TBC

• Kaupapa Māori Evaluation - Dr Fiona Cram
• Systems Thinking and Evaluation Practice - Dr David Rees and Dr Sarah Appleton-Dyer
• Understanding Social Impact and Social Value Reports - David Pritchard

ANZEA Conference 2016

New Zealand's Premier Evaluation Event

18-21 July 2016 -  Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington 

More here