Work has continued to developed Te Ara Poutama. We are extremely pleased to announce that Trust Waikato has agreed to co-fund Te Ara Poutama for the next three years. The funding, which will provide $450,000 from 2023 to 2026, will allow the Wellbeing Knowledge initiative to develop and share a deeper understanding of wellbeing at both the regional and community level, empowering people with greater knowledge about their wellbeing and its key drivers.

The intended impact from the initiative is that “Waikato people, at all levels, are empowered to make important choices wisely for their present and future wellbeing”. Te Ara Poutama is not about collecting more data, it is about democratising knowledge through empowerment, insights & information. Te Ara Poutama is a 21st century librarian- with questions coming from the community at multiple scales.

Trust Waikato’s funding will be particularly focused on building up a greater level of knowledge of sub-regional/community subjective wellbeing, whether that be at the scale of districts, towns, communities, hapu or other specific geographies.

A key success factor will be a full appreciation of Māori data/knowledge sovereignty and governance. Māori data sovereignty describes the inherent rights and interests that Māori have in relation to the collection, ownership, and application of Māori data. It is concerned with:

•          Protecting iwi/Māori rights of access to data

•          Participation in data integration activities

•          Partnership in the governance and/or ownership of data

•          Supporting the realisation of Māori and iwi aspirations, self-determination and innovation

•          Recognising that Māori data should be subject to Māori governance 

The initiative will also review and update the WWP’s current wellbeing goals and targets, in alignment with other regional wellbeing measurement frameworks such as the Waikato Progress Indicators (WPI), the Waikato Housing Initiative Housing Dashboard, regional community outcomes (local government) and Vital Signs (Momentum), with reference to best national and international practice.

As part of our partnership with Trust Waikato, we will shortly be sharing on our website, quarterly Community Compass updates for all districts in the Waikato region. These are prepared by Dot Loves Data and provide a snapshot update on: 

·       Community safety

·       Deprivation

·       Economy

·       Education; and

·       Housing

These can be accessed at our website here: Insights | Waikato Wellbeing Project

If you and your community are interested in developing a deeper understanding of wellbeing and co-investing with the Waikato Wellbeing Project, please get in touch with Harvey at Harvey.brookes@waikatoregion.govt.nz