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Community Network March 2017 The official newsletter of

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Page 1: Community Network Mar2017 - Auckland District Council of ...€¦ · Community Network welcomes letters and contributions from our readers. Please send in material by the 15th of

Community NetworkMarch 2017

The official newsletter of

Page 2: Community Network Mar2017 - Auckland District Council of ...€¦ · Community Network welcomes letters and contributions from our readers. Please send in material by the 15th of

Community Network welcomes letters and contributions from our readers. Please send in material by the 15th of each month for publication

the following month (subject to space). Your calendar of events also welcome. Email to [email protected] or contact Joan Lardner-Rivlin, ph: 483-9671.

Table of Contents / Nga Tuhituhi

Writers’ Weekend Workshop ............................................................................................................................................................................4

Foreword ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................5

Change of Email Address ..........................................................................................................................................................................................7

ADCOSS News & Notes ...............................................................................................................................................................................................8

Promises, Promises .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................9

Have You Changed Your Contact Details? ..........................................................................................................13

Community Fridge Re-opens ....................................................................................................................................................................16

Pathways to Manhood ..................................................................................................................................................................................................17

Men Being Real ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................18

Anger as ‘Energy’ ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................19

Writers’ Weekend Workshop .......................................................................................................................................................................20

Conference Report: Sustainably Yours ............................................................................................................................21

Social Entrepreneurship & Experiential Learning ..........................................................................25

Quote Corner ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................27

Intergenerational Forum ..........................................................................................................................................................................................28

Your Responsibility in Safeguarding Children ........................................................................................29

ADCOSS Membership Form .......................................................................................................................................................................30

PHAB Continues to Grow ...................................................................................................................................................................................31

receives support from …

Community OrganisationGrants Scheme

Community Network March 2017, © ADCOSS

This month’s cover painting is by Suma George (used with permission).

PO Box 6817, Wellesley StreetAuckland [email protected]

www.adcoss.org.nzfacebook.com/adcosstwitter.com/aucklandcoss

Community Network March 2017

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A new book, Weapons of Math Destruction, written by mathematician Cathy O’Neil, takes issue with the increasing use of Big Data, the idea that mathematical modeling and algorithms can assist in dealing with social problems. O’Neil provides a number of examples demonstrating the faulty use of Big Data. In Washington DC, school children must undergo tests to assess how

they are developing. If the standard test falls then it is assumed that’s the fault of the teacher,

and hundreds of teachers have been sacked. This led to behaviour modification of teachers who altered the student test results to ensure pupils passed and the teachers retained their jobs.

O’Neil gives an example of the complexity of daily life. She has three children and a husband who can’t cook. She cooks dinner every evening. The family’s tastes differ and evolve. One child hates hamburgers, but loves chicken. The other loves burgers and the daughter puts Nutella on everything. She tries to provide healthy food that is seasonally available and does not take too long to cook. She keeps all this information and more in her head, and even resorts to bribery to ensure vegetables are eaten. This is what is called a ‘dynamic model’. But if she had to explain her system to someone else who might takeover the cooking from her, the complex model would become static, based on averages.

Another example from O’Neil involves the police establishing ‘hot-spot’ crime predictors. This shows historic patterns and predicts where and when crime might be more likely to happen. It uses geographical areas for mapping crime. The police can choose to focus on serious crime like homicide and rape, or lesser offences such as vagrancy and consuming small quantities of drugs. The more the police focus on lesser crimes, the more dots are added to the

ForewordBy David Haigh, Chair, Auckland District Council of Social Services

Te Ngakau Waiora MERCY SPIRITUALITY CENTRE

104 The Drive, Epsom, Auckland 1023 Ph 09 638 6238

[email protected] www.mercyspiritualitycentre.org.nz

Writers... T his is an opportunity to escape the interruptions of home and spend a whole weekend writing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced writer, this weekend is for you. Maybe you are starting to write your family history, a novel, or an inspirational work, whatever genre, come and immerse yourself.

PLEASE NOTE: Date change (from previously advertised) Friday 5pm to Sunday 4pm 7 April—9 April 2017 Fee Early-bird $315 (book before 7 March) After $325 (residential, all meals included) Limited spaces available Booking essential

Writing tutor, Joan Rosier-Jones, will be there to offer personal guidance with your writing on a one-to-one basis and to discuss any writing difficulties you might have. You will also have the chance to share with fellow writers.

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Change of Email AddressPlease note the change of email address to [email protected] for sending articles, notices, adverts, etc. to Community Network.

We have changed our publisher from February 2017 on. We thank ANCAD for all the years they published our magazine. Special thanks to Ruth Greenaway for her patience and guidance.

We welcome feedback from our readers. We also invite members to send in information, articles, photos, poems and opinion pieces etc.

We thank all those who have contributed to the magazine and look forward to having many more contributions.

Editorial Team: Joan & Beate

crime map, which reinforces the need for more police and more prisons. It so happens that more of the people in those ‘hot spot’ neighbourhoods are Black or Hispanic. This type of feedback loop has led to a self-fulfilling prophecy, justifying the original policy.

Keith Ng from AUT also doubts the usefulness of Big Data. He asks: what if the US civil rights movement was assessed against a measure of conflict intervention? He points out that social improvements for African-Americans did not show up for very many years, and racial violence actually spiked as a result of the reforms. On the basis of ‘evidence-based’ models, the civil rights reforms did not make people’s lives better in the short term. But it was still the right thing to do socially, morally and politically.

Ng also takes exception to the over-use of the ‘evidence-based’ approach. While it has been useful in medicine and epidemiology its use in public policy is limited. For example, the tobacco industry has argued that there is no evidence that plain packaging of cigarettes reduces tobacco consumption. Of course there is no evidence in New Zealand because it has not been used yet. If you do not have evidence to try something new in the social policy area then it seems we are stuck with what we have right now.

New Zealand is steadily moving in the direction of collecting Big Data in relation to vulnerable children. Treasury has produced various indicators that can be measured to identify vulnerable families and children in geographic areas of Auckland, using local board areas. It is interesting what is and is not included as indicators …

Included: Not Inlcuded: Having a mother with no formal Having an income too low to

qualifications. purchase necessities in life. Being mostly supported by Having no home and no

benefits since birth. accommodation security. Having a parent with a prison Living in overcrowded conditions.

or community sentence. Having mental health problems. Having a mother with no formal Having a father with no formal

qualifications. education.

It is clear that the issue of poverty alleviation and affordable housing are being swept under the carpet. The focus is on blaming parents. Famous sociologist, C. Wright Mills suggested that when we note personal troubles we should go below the surface and uncover the public issues that are the root cause. This clearly needs to be done by the Ministry of Social Development in any work to help the most vulnerable children.

It can also be argued that the social investment model is a massive social experiment. As such the Ministry of Social Development should obtain ethics approval at a national level, and individual consent would be required from all clients who are participants in this experiment.

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We have been requested to reprint the following article which was unreadable due to printing problems …

“The system isn’t working – it’s broken and the life outcomes for children in care are absolutely abysmal,” says Anne Tolley, the Minister of Social Development referring to the Interim Report and the Expert Panel Final Report on CYFs. ‘Broken’ means in this case that CYFs has been restructured 14 times since 1998 and is still not working (Interim Report, 2015, pg. 5). Interestingly the structural conditions are not dissimilar to the experience of the third sector subjected to at least 11 policy reviews and changes since 1998 to which they have had to respond (Treasury, 2013, pg. 3).

Another sense of the ‘broken’ is the cost of CYFs at $498m (2014-15) of which $397m ($150m approx. in 2002 and a high of $700m in 2010) is operating costs with the 58% consumed by personnel (Interim Report, 2015, pg. 75). Added to this are all of the contracted services.

In 2014-15 CYFs had a deficit of $7.7m which is expected to increase to $11.2m for 2015-16. The forecast deficit for 2016-17 is between $28 and $38m (Interim Report 2015, pg. 77).

According to the Minister, we will have a ’radical overhaul’ of CYFs that will result in a new entity, ‘child centered’ with a ‘new operating system’ and a ‘single point of accountability’ with a rights based ‘Independent Advocacy Organisation for Youth which will all have ‘high aspirations and be focused on the ‘long term wellbeing

Promises, PromisesBy Sandra Grey and Charles Sedgwick

ADCOSS News & Notes

Advance Notice: ADCOSS AGM 2017This year’s ADCOSS AGM will be held at

12:00 noon – 2:00pm on Thursday, 29 June

in the Western Springs Garden Community

Hall. The guest speaker is to be confirmed.

WantedThe position of the ADCOSS Community Co-ordinator is vacant. If you are interested in this part-time position, please contact [email protected] for a job description.

?Thank YouADCOSS would like to thank Planet FM 104.6 for their

support in providing a meeting place for ADCOSS. We

would also like to congratulate Planet FM on their new website – we

encourage the readers to check it out at www.planetaudio.org.nz

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________________1. This could either be alarming or enlightened. ACC was the model for the adoption of

the ‘investment approach’ in terms of a funding model which used an actuarial approach to manage ‘Government’s forward liability’ (Chapple, 2013, pg. 57). If you reduce forward liability then do you necessarily ‘maximize economic and social outcomes’ – only if there are desirable, full time, reasonably paid jobs? Which poses the question in this case: Are the reforms/interventions really about long term savings on welfare? The enlightened aspect could refer to ACC’s attitude to and treatment of the NGO sector which according to anecdotal evidence has improved markedly.

of children.’ According to Tolley the envisioned model of the new entity or agency will be ‘operating much like ACC’ 1 - accessing needs and direct purchasing services (Nine to Noon, 7 April, 2016, Radio NZ). When asked ‘What do you believe this will mean for the involvement of NGOs and community providers. Do you expect to see the scale of the role of external providers growing and growing perhaps exponentially?’ Tolley replied, “It has to, because this is not something that government can do on its own.” (The Interim Report said we needed ‘loving families’ pg. 5) “A social investment approach using actuarial valuations and evidence of what works will identify – the best way of targeting early interventions [or in another place] – the highest needs and risks … to ensure that these children receive the care and support they need, when they need it” (Tolley, 2016).

As for spending, Tolley suggested what was available would be

re-directed ($821m) and more ($524m) would be needed but its use will be a “bit more focused and certainly better organised and better co-ordinated – it will need more money – the social investment philosophy tells us that we will need to invest more, earlier on in the process.” Tolley had previously made the point that, according to CYFs and NGOs, half their time was spent in negotiating with agencies which all had differing criteria about what meets the needs for services.

One would hope that this spells a fresh start for the relationship between at least a section of the NGO sector and a new ‘entity’ within the state. One could be forgiven however for being skeptical. The nine years following the 1999 election of a ‘Third Way’ type Labour coalition government was full of the rhetoric of ‘networks’, ‘partnership’, and ‘stakeholder involvement’. It seemed that there was a space for civil society which in the words of the then-Prime Minister

Helen Clark was to alter the state of “a somewhat cynical and disillusioned people who hardly dare to believe that things might change” (Clark, 2000). Steve Maharey, the first Minister of the Community and Voluntary Sector according to He Waka Kotuia (2002, pg. 9) ‘acknowledged the importance of community, voluntary and iwi and Maori organisations in contributing to the health of our country. He responded to their distress and anger by initiating a relationship-building process to improve central government’s relationship with the sector’.

The result was the sector “… being asked to perform an enhanced role not only in the delivery of ‘public services’, but also in a restructuring of the state-societal relationship …”, moving it away from its core mission, commercialising the sector’s operations and compromising its autonomy (Evans and Shields, 2006, pg. 2) and in effect precluding a political and advocacy role.

But the reality is far from one of openness and genuine partnership. In 2008-09 we surveyed a sample of organisations in the NGO sector in New Zealand to test the extent they were able to engage in democratic

decision-making. The survey bridged the Labour-led period in government from 1999 to 2008 and the beginning of the National-led time in office.

The reality for the sector, evident in the survey results, was that they were operating in a time when their opinions were ignored by the government, their voice mostly either silenced or merely tolerated in public debates. The predominant feeling was one of having little influence over politicians. The world of the community and voluntary sector had become one of providing technical and administrative capacity, and compliance in a funding environment dominated by contracts. They were neither respected nor trusted and were subjected the government mantra of ‘getting value for money’.

We revisited our community and voluntary sector participants in 2013-14 to see what had changed under the National-led government. Groups still found themselves

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involved in government consultation processes, but this participation turned out to be a poor indicator of democratic participation. Once one unpacked the government attitude to debate (which in ideal form includes a recognition and acknowledgement of NGO expertise, the capacity to listen to their voice and to allow them to influence policy) the situation appears very different.

Figure 1 below shows the results when participants were asked rank the two major political parties.

Quite clearly the level of toleration of genuine public debate under National has decreased and more groups found debate was being ‘silenced’ and ‘actively silenced’. The understanding of tolerance we noted had shifted from representing a lack of government interference in sector organisations. Now consultation was an opportunity to manage an organisation’s goals or at worse just smile at them and ignore their input since the decision has already been made. Even those who felt positive about involvement were

realists about the extent of influence and knew it was unlikely to change policy.

Responses in 2013-2014 also indicated that there was less tolerance of arguments against government policy. At worst such behavior could result in loss of funding and/or removal from government ‘consultative’ committees. At best organisations are pressured to change their message and goals. Respondents who felt they were unsuccessful in getting their concerns heard increased from 4.3% under Labour to 39.8% under National. And those who felt that their dissent from policy was valued had halved from the first to second survey period.

Even if there is an excellent policy decision, an historic cynicism produced by the above immediately creeps in. Organisations wonder how implementation will take place and who will do it, and whether the information will be shared between government agencies, how policies

will affect their operation, and will they survive? A voice from the sector confirms the basis of this feeling:

This particular government does not seem to listen or take into consideration any conflicting opinion or EVIDENCE contrary to its outlook. This is hugely frustrating and very dangerous to our democratic process. If they continue to “high handedly” proceed with actions and policies without REAL consultation or regard to social or environmental consequences it will be a big turn off and people become disengaged with our democratic system.

(Social service group)

However, there are worse feelings than cynicism or skepticism and that is fear. This fear is generated from the NGOs’ position in society changing from once being an autonomous arm of a democratic

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Figure 1: Community and voluntary sector organisations’ perceptions of the attitudes of Labour and National governments to public debate (1999 - 2013)Figure 1:

Have You Changed Your Contact Details?We are currently updating our membership list. Please let us know any changes in your address, phone numbers, contact person, etc. and send it to [email protected]

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civil society to becoming an arm of some entity or agency within government.

Nowland-Foreman (1977, pg. 8) described their new position as “convenient conduits of public policy”. The Minister of Finance in 2011 called this relationship “shared responsibility”, and the Minister of Social Development said when explaining the ‘investing in services for outcomes’ policy that they had put in place High Trust Contracts and Innovation Funding “to encourage collaboration” but also added “… I will discontinue contracts where providers have continued not to meet Government expectations”.2

The respondents alerted us to a more definitive threats like ‘gag clauses in contracts which had increased from 12.9% of respondents in 2009 to 25.8% by 2014, and threats of funding loss. Funding is both the carrot and the stick, but if it becomes the basis of the sector’s being then, in the opinion of one NGO, “there is a horrible irony that one has become exactly what the government said we were and you lose the sense of why were there in the first place.”

So how should the sector, which is most likely to be involved in the future of ‘New Zealand’s Children and their Families’ respond?

One would be forgiven for assuming that their cynicism and skepticism might persist; that a time of welcome optimism over a new approach and policy on children and their families for the sector might be haunted by the realisation that they still reside in a situation inherited from the past, not chosen by themselves and in a socio-economic context unlikely to change.

How much will ‘partnered responses’ in an area of obvious commitment and passion for the sector be matched by a new government unit’s capacity to allow the voice, autonomy and responsibility of NGOs to prevail in an environment of trust? So much of what will follow depends on implementation and one only hopes the Minister will enlist the help of the sector in a genuine way to ensure it is not a failed experiment or merely generated to provide welfare savings through an investment approach reliant only on actuarial valuations.

References• Clark, H. (PM). 2000. Address to Local Government Conference (11 July, 2000). www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/local-government-conference

• Evans, B. and Shields, J. 2000. Neoliberal restructuring and the third sector, Reshaping governance, civil society and local relations, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Toronto, Ontario: Ryerson University

• Grey, S., Sedgwick, C., and Commerer, J. 2015. The declining state of New Zealand’s democracy: Community and voluntary sector perceptions of public debate under two governments, New Zealand Sociology, 30 (4), pg. 102-125.

• MSD. 2002. He Waka Kotuia, Joining Together on a Shared Journey, Report of the Community-Government Relationship Steering Committee, Wellington.

https://www.familyservices.govt.nz/documents/working-with-us/programmes-services/connected-services

• MSD. 2015. Modernising Child Youth and Family, Interim Report 31 July 2015 pg. 149. www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/work-programmes/cyf-

modernisation/inter

• MSD. 2015. Expert Panel Final Report, Investing in New Zealand’s Children and their Families, Wellington, MSD, pg. 208.

www.nzdoctor.co.nz/media/6429988/final-report.pdf

• Nine to Noon. 2016. The Future of Child Youth and the Family. Radio NZ, 7 April, 2016. www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201796130/the-future-

of-child-youth-and-family

• Nowland-Foreman, G. 1977. Can Voluntary Organisation Survive the Bear Hug of Government Funding Under a Contracting Regime – A View from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Antipode 37(1), pg. 5-38.

• Tolley, A. 2015. Report to Cabinet Social Policy Committee, Investing in New Zealand’s Children and their Families, Paper One – Final Report of the Modernising CYF Expert Panel: The New Operating Model.

www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/work-programmes/investing-in-children/paper-one-operating-model.pdf

• Tolley, A. 2015. Report to Cabinet Social Policy Committee, Investing in New Zealand’s Children and their Families, Paper Two, Final Report of the Modernising CYF Expert Panel: Policy and Legislation.

www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/work-programmes/investing-in-children/paper-two-policy-and-legislation.pdf

• Tolley, A. 2016. Radical changes to child protection and care. 7 April, 2016. www.beehive.govt.nz/release/radical-changes-child-protection-and-care

• Tolley, A. 2016. The Future of child protection and care. 7 April, 2016. www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/future-child-protection-and-care

________________2. www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/work-programmes/investing-in-

services-for-outcomes/from-the-minister-for-social-development.html

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Community Fridge Re-opens

The Community Fridge in Griffiths Garden has opened its door again!

This wonderful community resource restarted on 13 February after the Christmas break. The fridge offers free food to those in need and operates 24 hours a day.

The fridge is located in Griffiths Garden on the corner of Mayoral Drive and Wellesley Street West in Auckland’s central city. It began as a pilot and has proved to be a success.

The Community Fridge is the initiative of zero waste blogger Amanda Chapman and the Love Food Hate Waste project. It aims to not only feed hungry people, but also reduce food waste by sharing excess food with people who need it. People can leave garden produce, tinned or dried goods in the fridge, and commercial bakeries, cafes and local supermarkets are encouraged to donate

items which might usually be thrown away. Everyone can help themselves – there are no conditions around taking the food.

Volunteers check and clean the fridge twice a day to make sure that all food is safe to eat. The fridge came from Auckland Council’s inorganic collection and was repaired by Resource Rescue. It has been paid for through Council’s Love Food Hate Waste Fund.

Calling fathers and sons

for boys 13 – 15 yearsHelping boys grow into good menInitiation rituals enable young men to discover their masculine power in constructive ways and young men in today s society need rites of passage as much as those in traditional societies.

Calling All Fathers (and father figures)We invite you and your young man to attend our annual five day rite-of-passage and leadership programme. Its packed with activity, challenge and fun. The programme is having a profound impact on how young men see themselves in the world and in their relationships with other men – particularlytheir fathers.

What to ExpectFathers – you will learn a huge amount about your young man and your own fathering!

Boys – This positive male experience will resource you for your pathway into manhood over the next years. Mothers – Be part of the welcoming home process for the Young Men from their enriching experience.

Course dates: 25th – 30th April, 2017

Enquiries: 09 376 2386,[email protected]

Venue: Coromandel (2 hours from Auckland)

From left to right: Kathy Ross, Simon, Rebekah Clements, and Mark Laurent

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I found myself this recently face-to-face with a very angry man. Understandably so, but very scary nonetheless for all of us within his vicinity.

The scary part for me was that we had no agreement between us as to what he might do with this anger, that is, no agreements such as I’d expect to be standard for any workshop, counselling session, etc.:

1 No self-harm,

2 No harm to others, and

3 No damage to property.

I wanted to place a pillow into his clenching fists so that he could thrash the stuffing out of it, but without such agreements as those above there was no telling what he might do.

I remembered the scene from the movie Cabaret, in which I watched Liza Minnelli’s contorted

face as her relentless screaming was completely drowned out by the noise of a train passing on the overhead bridge under which she stood.

I wanted this man to feel the same sense of release as Liza’s character had in the movie, but alas again there was no telling what else he might do from there on.

Even tears might have brought him some welcome relief (to us, included) as he stood across the room from his pregnant daughter, reflecting on the life of his ‘baby girl’. But no, crying is what we men are trained not to do.

And so, as we all strived to help this man ‘control’ his

anger (‘act as adults’ as I verbally tried

encouraging him), he started ‘behaving’ as we all

had wanted him to.

But as we left, hopeful that our support had

averted more dire

Anger as ‘Energy’By Mark Bradman, Essentially Men

PH: 09 376 2386info@essentiallymen.netwww.essentiallymen.netwww.facebook.com/menbeingreal

GET MORE FROM YOUR LIFEEssentially Men is for any man who knows he could get more out of life. Whether your life is working well or you have some things to sort out, you will find this weekend workshop a powerful journey of self-discovery.

The codes of masculinity are changing and increasingly men are getting together to examine who they are and what’s important to them, and in the process they are undergoing powerful transformation.

“It was a safe place to open up to men/people, a great feeling of not being judged. The team was awesome. An awesome course for men who feel trapped in their heads with their feelings and stress.”

“A significant thing for me was learning more about myself and not blaming others for my faults, rather accepting them and constantly trying to improve them to be more true to myself so I can gain more from life.”

“This experience has changed my life and has made it more full & rich. Be brave, surrender to this experience and you will become the man you were destined to be.”

NEXT COURSES:EM103: 24-26 March 2017EM104: 9–11 June 2017

19

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consequences, I couldn’t help but wonder what had become of the ‘bush fire’ that I’d seen scorch his life before me? Where had it gone? What would it take to reignite? Who will be there to help him douse those flames out next time?

This is one of the key moments on an Essentially Men / Men Being Real workshop when we create a safe

space for men to release pent up ‘energy’, some of which is so old they no longer remember what it relates to, or find words to describe.

It’s worth attending the workshop for that reason alone as a means as getting ‘old sump oil’ out of our systems and preventing our ‘engines overheating’.

(09)376-2386info@essentiallymen.netwww.essentiallymen.netwww.facebook.com/menbeingreal

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The Aotearoa Community Development Association (ACDA) and the International Association for Community Development (IACD) organised a joint Community Development Conference in Auckland 15-17 February 2017. The conference theme was Sustainable Communities, with sub themes on community-led enterprise and disaster preparedness and response. The conference included peer reviewed papers and workshops as well as poster sessions, practice exchanges, and pre-conference tours.

The conference was well attended with several international speakers and attendees. Many speakers had arrived from USA and presented to an audience of participants from all over New Zealand, Australia, and USA.

It was sometimes hard to choose which session to attend. This article reviews three of these sessions.

One of the first sessions was a workshop with an Auckland Council team on ECA – the Empowered Community Approach. Kim Conway, Matt Appleyard, and Erin Wilson introduced this approach, and were open for feedback and ideas how to involve the communities in decisions that have a direct impact on them.

Sustainably YoursCommunity Developement & a Sustainable Just Future

15-17 February, 2017 • Auckland

By Beate Matthies, ADCOSS

Conference Report

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Key words such as ‘co-design and delivery’ or ‘localism and subsidiarity’ led to ways of including people who are working for grass-root causes. Even though the principles of the empowered community approach would have had the same meaning for all participants, it might have been challenging for some people from overseas to hear about the “international application of the Treaty of Waitangi”. Hopefully, they had some knowledge of New Zealand history before they arrived for the conference.

It was good to see how the attendees shared their experiences and knowledge, and everyone agreed with the Auckland Council staff that wherever you have the people involved in decisions, you are building up happier and safer communities!

One of the most fascinating speakers at the conference was certainly Dr James Prescott, who spoke on Measuring Outcomes Using the Balanced Scorecard. A Tongan specialist accountant, Dr Prescott is member of the advisory panel of MSD and the Ministry for Vulnerable Children. He challenged the concept of measuring outcomes on counselling – are we counting the right things? The ‘balanced scorecard’ is a strategy performance tool that became very popular among managers in the 1980s. However, about a decade later,

Kaplan and Norton expressed their concerns of measuring solely on financial returns and defined a strategic management system which included also non-financial data.

Dr Prescott takes this initiative one step further and suggests a modified balanced scorecard for NGOs which takes into

ADCOSS Board Members (front row, left to right) Beate Matthies, Joan Lardner-Rivlin,

and Rika Werner, together with one of the conference speakers, Charlie McConnell

consideration that some decisions are politically based rather than evidence based. In this context he challenges MSD. The Ministry of Social Development is asking for outcomes, but the contract presented are only considering outputs. This difference is necessary as NGOs are driven by a mission. Their ultimate return is not to financial stakeholders.

Whereas the balanced scorecard for businesses is based on cardinal measuring, the NGOs should be able to follow ordinal measuring, and ask questions like: “How much is the target population engaged?” and “How effective and relevant is a certain programme really?”

The dimensions of the traditional balanced scorecard include finances, innovation and growth, internal process, and the customers. The scorecard for NGOs should include a social/political/environmental dimension!

A review of current models or concepts was also a topic for a workshop facilitated by specialists from different countries. Charlie McConnell (UK), Greg Wise (USA), Paul Lachapelle (USA), and Gavin Rennie (NZ), invited the participants to think about definitions of Community Development. What is Community Development and is it possible to set up a code of standards for those involved?

There are National Occupational Standards on which a Code of Ethics for Community Development workers could be built upon, but there are also cultural circumstances to be considered.

In his hand-out, Charlie McConnell, the immediate Past-President of IACD, describes the use of Codes of Ethics for professional practice:

Express the distinctiveness or identity of CD Articulate the shared value base that we have Challenge, examine and reflect on our practice Promote professional dialogue and understanding Provide accountability

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Prof. James Calvin, PhD from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in Baltimore, USA, was one of the speakers at the recent International Community Development Conference 2017 (see page 21). Members of the ADCOSS Executive Committee had a chance to talk with him during the coffee breaks and found his understanding of Social Entrepreneurship and his approach regarding sustaining

“social value” very interesting. His presentation slides from the conference are reproduced here with his permission.

Social Entrepreneurship & Experiential Learning

At the IACD’s last international conference in the USA in 2016, the Board adopted its Global Definition of Community Development.

Community development is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes participative democracy, sustainable development, rights, economic opportunity, equality, and social justice, through the organisation, education, and empowerment of people within their communities, whether these be of locality, identity or interest, in urban and rural settings.

From conference hand-outs by Charlie McConnell

The workshop certainly created very good and passionate discussions – maybe some of the results of these discussions will be considered at the next IACD’s conference?

All in all, a conference worth while attending!

“ ”

Social Entrepreneuship and Experiential

Learning to Facilitate Innovation for Humanity

February 27, 2017

Prof. James Calvin

14H Faculty CourseDirector

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Why Facilitate Innovation for Humanity (I4H)?Social Entrepreneurship / BoP Fundamentals for Moving Toward Business with Humanity in Mind in Mind

• Globally the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) comprises more than 4 Billion people who live on between $1-2 dollars a day. The BoP provides new growth opportunitity that are places for innovation. C.K. Prahalad and others (Amartya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz, Bill Drayton, Jacqueline Novogratz, and …) assert that over time BoP markets can and should become more integral to goals of the private sector and not relegated to the realm of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR such as the United Nations Global Compact of more than 12,000 corporations).

• Social Entrepreneurship can be achieved through applied business techniques and private sector approaches in the pursuit of ideas and solutions intended to address economic, social, cultural, or environmental problems. Social Entrepreneurs are change agents who drive social innovation in education, health, environmental, poverty alleviation and … Social Entrepreneurs adapt and adopt, adhere and seek to capture, build and sustain social value.

I4H is Real Project WorkI4H Guiding Concept: Why We Go to Challenging Places

The Innovation for Humanity (I4H) Project: is a 3-credit graduate course that

links with Solving Organisation Problems (SOP). I4H promotes experiential

learning opportunity to engage in business practice focused on the challenges

of building sustainable impactful businesses in global settings. The

integrative course aims to create an understanding of entrepreneurial

opportunities in critical sectors of human need in culturally diverse,

complex, and resource-constrained sectors and markets that are plagued

by fragmented infrstructure and governenance.

Where business is taught with humanity in mind

Social Entrepreneurship and Experiential Learning to Facilitate Innovation for Humanity (Prof. James Calvin)I4H Brief Summary: Course Description & Phases

Phase 1: During the first phase in Baltimore, 3-5 person teams engage interactive classroom exercises to gain perspective on country / market context and project sector priorities. (August – December)

Phase 2: In the second phase on-site, teams work with their project sponsor and faculty site director to implement the approved work plan in the field and create the project deliverables for both the entrepreneur / sponsor and the course instructors (January)

Phase 3: In the third pahse of I4H, teams present project outcomes to Carey Business School Faculty and partners while also developing a final project report. This report is presented to the Carey Business School site faculty for review and faculty feedback to facilitate the delivery of the final project report to sponsors. (January – March)

Where business is taught with humanity in mind

Quote Corner“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to resolve conflict by peaceful means.”Ronald Reagan

“Democracy demands trust. It

demands that sense of mutual

understanding. And – it’s a two

way street. You’ve got to give

– as much as you take.”Charles Kennedy

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Child Matters and Community Networks Aotearoa are jointly delivering a nationwide roadshow providing presentations to volunteers and volunteering organisations. The 90 minute presentation provides education and information to those in the volunteering and community sectors to assist in understanding roles and responsibilities when engaging with children, and provide access to resources to assist in developing safe child protection systems and environments. The presentation is aimed at volunteers, community organisations, and their Board members.

Why should you attend? Do children ever come into your workspace? Do you or your volunteers go out into homes or other locations where children may be present?

Does your organisation have a child protection policy? Do you understand the role we all play in keeping vulnerable children in their communities safe?

Do you know how to recognise child abuse and what to do? Because this is best practice for your organisation.

For further information about this FREE seminar and to find a location near you please visit www.communitynetworksaotearoa.org.nz or bit.ly/2mN0UDC or contact Ros Rice at Community Networks Aotearoa, ph: (04)472-3364 or email: [email protected]

Your Responsibility in Safeguarding Children

Wednesday, 22 March – North Shore, 10:30am / Manukau East, 2:00pm

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Membership Form

Name:

Organisation:

Address:

Phone: Mobile:

Email:

Website:Organisations

Annual Fee: $10 for unwaged $20 for individuals $25 for organisations

Please return to: (cheques payable to ADCOSS) ADCOSS, PO Box 6817, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141

Paid via internet banking. Use your name / organisation as reference. ADCOSS Bank Account: ASB, 12-3008-0235-262-00

I / we require a receipt. Enclosed is a stamped self-addressed envelope.

As each year passes PHAB grows both our presence in the community and in the youth disability sector as a whole. As PHAB leads from the front, we are pioneers in the field of full youth participation, co-creation, creating equal opportunities and inclusion within the wider community.

We showcase this with our 18 clubs that run throughout Auckland, and now reach as far as Christchurch. Each of our clubs play an active part in their communities not only being involved, but also partnering with other community organisations to run events.

PHAB manage a fully accessible youth space located in Takapuna, home to five weekly social clubs and a low cost venue to several important community groups. Peers is a project run from the youth space three days a week with the aim of developing life and social skills. Funding has been secured from the Auckland

Council Regional Environment and Natural Heritage fund for an exciting opportunity to build a model accessible garden system. This will be a co-creation project that will be a direct benefit to PHAB and the community as it will build life skills and team work. PHAB are recruiting volunteers with a passion for sustainability to assist with this incredible project.

Our PHAB Pasifkia Phusion 2.0 dance crew aims to break down barriers around disability using dance as a tool to change perceptions. The group has participated in many community events including the Fun Day Out (held at North Shore Events Centre and supported by over 400 volunteers), performing at the Auckland Polyfest, Otara community days, and evolving the community in weekly Jump Jam sessions.

Moving forward into our new year PHAB is

excited to announce the reinvention of the Member Council. This is an amazing Leadership and

PHAB Continues to Grow

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Youth Development opportunity for PHAB to offer our members that will give a voice and create an inclusive and co-creative environment. This will build both leadership skills and social skills for our members and will guide the management and governance of PHAB as an organisation.

The PHAB Ball is coming up in September and is anticipated for

months in advance by the majority of our members. With incredible support from Astra Bridal, some of our lucky members will have the opportunity to be dressed up in donated dresses with handpicked makeup, shows and accessories. We really are making more of life together.

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The PHAB team enjoying a surprise visit from Joan Lardner-Rivlin, who brought PHAB to New Zealand from the UK over 40 years ago