Launched by Wesley Community Action, Te Hiko community innovation library gathers together examples of innovation projects in action as well as tools and resources that support community change.

Wesley’s Community Innovation lead Kena Duignan says the library will help develop new ways of thinking, build networks and uncover the resources needed to support a shift to new economic approaches.

“The library is more than just a constellation of great ideas – we want people to be able to see the bigger picture as well,” says Kena. “Our passion is not about the success or number of individual projects, but more about how communities learn and grow their capability to keep meeting their challenges.

Wesley established Te Hiko – Centre for Community Innovation in 2020, focussing on communities excluded from the mainstream, and working together to innovate local economic systems that grow wellbeing. The newly launched website shares the learnings of Wesley from its work in community-led development over the last 30 years

Featured projects in action include the Wellington Region Fruit & Vege Co-op, which gets cheap healthy kai directly to whānau, cutting out the expensive supermarkets, and the Porirua Wealth Pool, a community-based savings pool where members save money together and give – and receive – no-interest loans to avoid high-interest debt. Te Hiko also provides backbone support to communities who have got on and taken action themselves, like New Zealand P-Pull which supports whānau affected by meth across Aotearoa

Kena says Te Hiko sees community innovation as a spark that makes a break from the way things have normally been done – both small or large – and creates a positive impact in surprising and interconnected ways. “We believe that community innovation emerges from a specific community and it is shaped by that community’s knowledge and values.”

And featured on Te Hiko…

Te Roopu Tiaki Rangatahi case study released

Te Roopu Tiaki Rangatahi (TRTR) is a cross-sector collaboration involving two government agencies, a local authority, and four NGOs (The Alliance, including Wesley Community Action), with a youth-led governance decision-making framework.

Approaching youth development holistically, TRTR offers a new and agile way of working that empowers young leaders to identify local needs and service response in Porirua City. This mahi is rooted in a kaupapa of journeying alongside young people and acknowledging that they, along with their whānau, are experts in their own lives.

The approach and way of working has evolved as the partners have ‘learnt by doing’. Power has shifted from designing services at the centre, towards walking alongside and supporting young people to identify what they need. This is a transformational change for youth development towards doing what works rather than repeating cycles that don’t work.

A case study was undertaken to summarise key phases and activities through the life of TRTR to capture translatable learnings and themes. The learnings add to the growing body of knowledge for leaders, decisionmakers and stakeholders seeking better and different ways of serving whānau and communities.