Our Strategic Vision

Working with communities to ensure people participate, are supported, empowered and cared for

Higher priority:

•  Promoting people’s wellbeing through prevention and early intervention with a focus on support for; early years (prenatal to 4yrs), parenting, new migrants and youth

• Supporting vulnerable people with a focus on support for; the early years (prenatal to 4 years), older persons, people with a disability, at-risk families and high-needs populations

• Supporting appropriate access to services for rural communities

• Encouraging and supporting organisations to provide sustainable services through partnering, collaborating and the sharing of services presently delivered by a number of single focus organisations

Working with communities to ensure people participate, are supported, empowered and cared for

Higher priority:

• Providing grassroots support for life-long active participation and engagement with a focus on support for; children (0-13 years), older persons, coaching and volunteering, inactive people and those experiencing barriers to participation

Medium priority:

• Supporting appropriate and sustainable infrastructure (people, services and facilities) with a focus on; partnering and collaboration, consolidation/sharing of services and multi-use facilities

Lower priority:

• Support elite sport with a focus on supporting the development of athletes, coaches and officials to excel and reach their potential, and sporting franchises operating within financially viable models

Working with communities to ensure every person has the opportunity to achieve their potential

Higher priority:

• Addressing issues of inequality that present barriers to learning and participating

• Students identified by their school as being at risk of disengaging

Medium priority:

• Supporting 0-5 year old children to have the best start with a focus on support for; engaging and supporting parents to be involved in their child’s learning and development, ensuring children are well prepared to succeed by the time they start school and providing support for identified vulnerable/at risk children

• Raising the achievement of identified underachieving year 1-8 students

• Second chance education

• Preparation of students for life after schooling with a focus on support for; life skills and financial literacy, careers education, effective transitions/pathways and linkages between education and industry

Recently we completed a refresh of our Arts, Heritage and Culture Pou and it reinforced for us the importance of recognising that arts, heritage, and culture, in all its diverse forms, is integral to our community, helping to define who we are, contributing to our wellbeing, our sense of identity, our economy and our vision for a Thriving South. From korero and engagement with Mana Whenua and a wide range of stakeholders we heard about the sector's strengths and challenges, and their priorities for our funding of arts, heritage and culture. What we learned has shaped our thinking, our strategy and our refreshed Pou priorities which are outlined below.

You can find our more about the refresh, the outcomes and impact we hope to achieve through our investment in arts, heritage and culture, and some of the proactive opportunities we are working on as a result of the refresh. 

Working together to recognise, celebrate and preserve our arts, heritage, and culture

Higher priority:

• Supporting a sustainable and resilient sector:
  • Strengthening organisation and sector capability and capacity
  • Supporting appropriate infrastructure for quality and responsive programming, enhanced engagement, and participation
  • Grow and develop emerging and established practitioners, artists, creatives, and leaders
• Recognise and support whānau, hapū, Iwi and Māori communities’ aspirations and the protection, preservation, and expression of Māori cultural identity, arts and taonga:
  • Strengthen and promote ngā toi Māori (Māori arts) practice and engagement, both heritage and contemporary
  • Protect mātauranga Māori and other taonga (such as te reo, wahi tapu, tikanga)
  • More people understanding, experiencing, and celebrating Māori culture and identity
• Encourage greater visibility, access to and reach of arts, heritage, and culture:
  • More diverse and responsive opportunities, experiences and places where a broader range of people engage and participate, particularly tamariki and rangatahi (children and youth) and underrepresented communities
  • Attract new participants and audiences through innovative initiatives and enhanced digital practices
• Recognise and celebrate our cultural diversity:
  • Strengthen cultural identity through connecting and passing on cultural knowledge and traditions
  • Share and showcase diversity with the wider community
  • Encourage initiatives that support a sense of belonging and inclusion
• Celebrate, share and care for our heritage, our taonga:
  • Recognise and protect Category 1 historic places and other unique heritage spaces, places, objects and stories with demonstrated significance to the South
  • More diverse opportunities for all to understand, access and engage with heritage, our taonga, and in new and innovative ways

Working with communities to ensure they are connected, successful, resilient and dynamic

Higher priority:

• Alignment with local and regional development strategies and community development priorities

• Support communities to adapt and respond to their changing demographics, environment, community services and facility needs

• Support communities to welcome and respond to our region’s increasingly diverse population

• Support communities to encourage community cohesion through opportunities that bring people together and provide a sense of belonging

Medium priority:

• Supporting communities to identify their ideas, assets, capabilities, resources and opportunities – focusing on community-led development approaches, developing volunteers and community leaders

Lower priority:

• Support communities to access relevant data and information to enable well informed community conversations

Working with communities to ensure they are connected, successful, resilient and dynamic

Higher priority:

• Alignment with local or regional development strategies and economic priorities

• Ensuring we maximise the potential of all our region’s population

• Recognising and supporting the growth of Māori economic development and local investment opportunities

• Supporting the start-up of destinational events that bring added net economic benefit to the region

Lower priority:

• Supporting infrastructure projects that provide a platform for economic activity

• Supporting social enterprise that contributes to one or more of our priorities