Kaupapa Māori action research in a Whānau Ora collective: An exemplar of Māori evaluative practice and the findings

Abstract

Whānau Ora, introduced as a government initiative in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2010, was designed to support collaboration and effective service delivery by Māori non-government organisations. The aim of Whānau Ora is to improve heath and social outcomes for whānau. Action research was conducted to support this initiative, with action researchers walking alongside Whānau Ora collectives to support their collaborative planning, research, evaluation and reflection. This article examines the implementation of the evaluative component of kaupapa Māori (by Māori, for Māori, with Māori) action research with a Whānau Ora collective, Te Hau Āwhiowhio ō Otangarei. An integrated action-research approach based on kaupapa Māori principles supported methodological decisions. These decisions, in turn, informed the choice of evaluation methods used (e.g., wānanga, reflective hui, whānau interviews), and four of the methods chosen and the concomitant evaluative findings are described. It is concluded that the effectiveness of integrating action research with kaupapa Māori principles has provided a multi-method evaluation approach that works well for Māori communities. Ki te whai ao … ki te ao mārama … tihei mauri ora The transitional state between darkness (the unknown) and light (understanding) transforms to the world of light and then to a sense of meaning, and a way of being In 2009 the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, the Hon Tariana Turia, established the Whānau Ora Taskforce on whānau-centred initiatives. The Taskforce developed a framework for a whānau-centred approach that would strengthen whānau well-being and development, and affirmed five foundations of effective whānau-centred service delivery: whānau, hapū and iwi leadership; strengths-based whānau engagement and action; whānau-centred design and delivery of services; active and responsive government; and funding (i.e., a relational approach to contracting with funding consis-tent with Whānau Ora) (Taskforce on Whānau-Centred Initiatives, 2010). In 2010, Whānau Ora was introduced as a government ini-tiative designed to support Māori provider organisations and other services to collaborate to deliver effective whānau-centred services to individuals and whānau. Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori Affairs) selected 25 Whānau Ora collectives from across the country to participate in the first tranche of the Whānau Ora initiative. These collectives were charged with the transformation of their services to Māori, and the consequent implementation of a whānau-centred approach designed to deliver whānau ora (Māori family wellness).