Kia Tūtahi Relationship Accord

Championing the Accord through Action – what happens next?

As the agency coordinating work to give effect to the Accord, OCVS will work with communities and government agencies to:

• map the work to give effect to the Accord

To facilitate and coordinate action, OCVS will develop, record and make available a map of Accord initiatives and activities. This will provide a framework for feeding back progress, learning, tools and knowledge to communities and government.

• support community and government agencies to champion the Accord, and promote emerging good practice across the community and government

The key to the success for the Relationship Accord will be the commitment of “champions” from both communities and government.

OCVS is encouraged by feedback from community organisations who have told us they are actively considering how they might adopt the Accord in practice. OCVS invites other community organisations and groups to identify and promote opportunities to give effect to the Accord in their spheres of interest.

Several government “champion” agencies have already met and outlined their initial plans to give effect to the Accord by developing a body of good practice knowledge, including case studies and system improvements that address persistent problems in community-government relationships. These “champion agencies” will work with their community partners to identify areas where community-government relationships work well, and options for improvement1.

• establish a small reference group, supported by a wider community of interest, to help guide practical application of the Accord

OCVS will establish a small reference group of individuals from communities, champion agencies and “experts” able to bring informed, diverse perspectives and knowledge to help give practical effect to the Accord. The reference group will, in turn, draw on the perspectives and knowledge of a much wider “community of interest”, including those who have engaged in the development of the Accord, and who have endorsed the final document.

• report progress on the Accord’s first year to government

By December 2012, OCVS will report to the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector on progress made with government and community responsiveness to the Accord.

• extend the lessons learned across the wider community and government

Beyond December 2012, communities and government will use the lessons learned to widely replicate good practice, including across local government.

• review progress every three years.

OCVS will manage a joint community-government review of progress every three years.

Please contact ocvs@dia.govt.nz if you want to comment or find out more.

Regional events and online signing

On 13 June 2011 Cabinet endorsed the Kia Tūtahi Standing Together Relationship Accord and agreed to the release of the Kia Tūtahi Steering Group’s report. The Kia Tūtahi Relationship Accord is an important symbol of commitment between government and communities to build strong relationships. View the signed Accord on the publications page.

At Parliament on 1 August 2011 the Prime Minister and Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector hosted a signing ceremony and signed the Accord on behalf of Government. The Accord was also signed by community representatives and endorsed by the government chief executives present.

Following the ceremony there were a small number of regional events in Auckland, Gisborne, Christchurch and Dunedin. At the events, an edited video of the signing ceremony was shown, and an opportunity was provided to sign the Accord and to share ideas about implementing it.

You can see who has signed the Accord to date and sign up yourself at sign the Accord online

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister, the Hon.Tariana Turia announced the members of the Kia Tūtahi Standing Together Steering Group on 9 April 2010.  The group developed a relationship Accord between the community, voluntary sector and the Government.

The Steering group had 16 members made up of two co-chairs and 14 members.

The co chairs were Hori Awa and Don Gray.

Don Gray is a Deputy Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development responsible for Social Sector Strategy.

Mr Hori Awa is the Chief Executive of Waahi Whaanui Trust.

The Steering Group members from the community and voluntary sector were:

• Alison Broad
• Lani Evans
• Tania Kingi
• Owen Lloyd
• Dr. Kevin Moran
• Pancha Narayanan
• Fa'amatuainu Wayne Poutoa

The government agency representatives were:

• Cherie Engelbrecht, Policy Manager, Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA), Department of Internal Affairs
• Andrew Fieldsend, Manager, Policy and Government Relations, Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC)
• Jeanette Harris, Director, Relationships & Information W_hanga, Te Puni K_kiri (until 3 September 2010)
• Ruth Harrison, Policy Manager, Funding and Operations, Department of Internal Affairs
• Sonya Rimene, Kaihaut_, Ministry of Women's Affairs (until 14 May 2010)
• Teresa Wall, Deputy Director-General, M_ori Health, Ministry of Health
• Dean Westerlund, Manager, Auckland and upper North Island region, Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.

Nominations for seven community and voluntary sector members of the new Steering Group closed on 10 February 2010. The nomination process sought people who were:

• leaders within their part of the sector
• well networked within the community and voluntary sector
• well respected amongst their peers
• able to present and communicate effectively
• able to provide a collaborative and participatory approach.

Members were selected to achieve a mix that as far as possible reflects the diversity of the sector and makes best use of the skills and experience of the people nominated. In total, 121 nominations covering a broad range of sub-sectors and interest groups were received for the seven available community sector spaces on this Group.

Government members of the Kia Tūtahi Standing Together Steering Group were selected through a separate process. The Minister sought approval from Cabinet for all the Kia Tūtahi Standing Together Steering Group appointments through the Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee in late March. Confirmation and announcement of the group membership was made on 9 April 2010.The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector will act as secretariat for the Kia Tūtahi Steering Group.

Further information: If you have any questions about this nomination process or the development of the Relationship Agreement, please email ocvs@msd.govt.nz or phone Judith Le Harivel (Senior Policy Analyst) on 04 918 9579.

» Terms of Reference for the Steering Group to develop the Community-Government Relationship Agreement

The Kia Tūtahi-Standing Together steering group consulted on a draft Agreement during July and August 2010.
The draft set out a vision and principles for how government and communities can work together.

The Kia Tūtahi Steering Group sought feedback about:

• How do we ensure that the agreement is put into practice?
• How should we get the message out?
• How do we keep things on track?
• How will we know its working and how will we do it right?

Following each meeting, the Steering Group will publish a summary on this website. Other updates will be added as often as possible so you are informed of progress.

The Hon. Tariana Turia (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) hosted a national Community-Government Forum in Wellington on 11 November 2009. The forum sought a way forward in developing a Relationship Agreement to replace the 2001 'Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship'. A Steering Group was established to carry forward key themes from the forum:

• The need for a robust process
  Participants wanted to see something happen quickly that would build on what has gone before, but cautioned that there needs to be enough time to “ensure the waka is moving forward and we all participate in the journey”. They stressed the importance of the sector and government working together and wide participation of the sector at all levels, with opportunities for extensive engagement and consultation with the sector on a draft agreement.
• A values-based agreement
  Participants strongly emphasised the need for values to underpin an agreement, in particular respect, trust and inclusiveness, and for it to acknowledge the power imbalance between the parties, and the Treaty of Waitangi.
• Implementation of an agreement
  Participants indicated that further discussion is needed about whom in the community and voluntary sector would be identified to sign-up to the final document. Once signed, a mechanism is needed to measure whether the agreement is working and to ensure government accountability. Participants emphasised the importance of a sustainable agreement through successive Governments.

» See details about the 2009 community-government forum - including the official programme readings, speeches, notes from caucus discussions, participant lists and photos, and forum steering group members

» Read the 2009 Cabinet paper and minute: Government Commitment to Building Strong Community Relationships

» The 2001 Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship

The forum provided an opportunity for the community sector, government officials, the Prime Minister and Ministers to discuss the Government’s response to the following reports:

» Good Intentions - An Assessment of the Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship 
– by the Association of Non-Governmental Organisations in Aotearoa (ANGOA)

» From Talk to Action: Government Engagement with Citizens and Communities – by the Building Better Government Engagement reference group.