We know the status quo will not achieve social and economic equity.
We know systems need to work differently.
To get different outcomes we need different starting points.
OUR INNOVATION METHODOLOGIES
‘Social innovation’ is a dynamic (and evolving) discipline that draws from many fields in combination with theories of change, data and research, evaluated evidence and lived experiences. But to be effective and robust, innovation practice must also be relevant to context and conditions.
Our remit is social and economic equity. Inequity happens in place and to people, so our innovation practice needs to work with the ebbs and flows in people’s lives, where they live.
In his foreword, Ganesh Nana, Chair of the New Zealand Productivity Commission, stated in their interim report on persistent disadvantage that:
“It is clear that our systems and social safety net do not meet the needs of people and communities with multiple complex needs facing persistent disadvantage. And despite the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, they fail to provide equitable outcomes for Māori.”
This has an ethical implication and an economic one too; if we don’t make drastic changes, demand on the social safety net will far outweigh resources, affecting all of NZ Inc.
Our programmes draw on participatory and indigenous epistemologies to find solutions to some of south and west Auckland’s profound challenges. This involves shifting the balance of power and trying things out on the ground with whānau and partners to co-create new practice-based evidence and build capability. The Productivity Commission goes on to say that TSI’s “deeply participatory and practice-led ways of informing systems change are key to tackling power imbalances” (p7).
Critical to our success are our Māori and Pasifika-led teams and practitioners who work in culturally grounded and values-laden ways with their own communities, testing and demonstrating compelling alternatives to the status quo.
OUR INDIGENOUS FRAMEWORKS:
Hautū Waka
Our practice is deeply navigational; wayfinding through the complexity of systems to build intergenerational equity and wellbeing. Much of our work is discovering the tools to navigate in indigenous practice, science, design and whatever works for what we need. Hautū Waka is a navigational framework rooted in mātauranga Māori and can be used as a tool to help navigate complexity.
Niho Taniwha
Our work is about reconnecting to tangata whenua and Pasifika innovation to support social and economic transformation. The Niho Taniwha model is a values-led set of practices that weave learning and evaluation through the innovation process. It is developed from working with whānau, communities and systems. It is grounded in Aotearoa and draws respectfully from mātauranga Māori.
Te Tokotoru
Te Tokotoru, or the ‘unbreakable three’, has been developed with whānau, rangatahi and partners at the Co-design Lab and The Southern Initiative.
Te Tokotoru represents the three interconnected dimensions of strengthening, healing and responding. Te Tokotoru emerged from work to identify the conditions that enable communities to be well. It is informed by the work of Māori and Pasifika practitioners, researchers and providers around what matters and makes a difference to whānau and ‘aiga.
