- Thursday, 4 April 2024
For over 30 years Community Trust South (CTS) has been working to deliver positive benefit to the communities throughout the South. Over the past 6 months we have been undertaking a robust review of our strategy and we are very pleased to now launch our new Strategic Aspiration, which is effective from 1 April 2024.
The previous strategy was launched in 2016 and we remain committed to achieving positive outcomes while recognising the need to adapt and be flexible as the world around us changes, so we can effectively respond to challenges and seize opportunities.
It was important that the review process was a robust one and we have been well supported by Centre for Social Impact in this mahi (work). The new strategy has been developed following data and insights collection, extensive community engagement and detailed analysis.
Over 390 people have contributed by way of a survey, place-based workshops across our region, interviews with key stakeholders and hui with communities of interest including Mana whenua, Mata waka, people living with a disability, rangatahi (youth) and Rainbow LGBTQIA+. We wish to very sincerely thank all of those people across our community who took the time out of their busy lives to provide valuable feedback, which has informed our new Strategic Aspiration.
Together we have developed a collective aspiration for ‘A Thriving South – Murihiku manawa tōnui'. Our strategy describes how we will work towards contributing to this aspiration we share with our community.
The strategy has a long term 10 year timeframe, it is underpinned by an enduring purpose which is “Empowering communities to fulfil their aspirations”. There is a new focus on outcomes, which are the changes we hope to see as a result of our work as we strive towards our purpose.
The strategy sets out strategic pou (priorities), which are focus areas in the near and medium term, to ensure we remain focused on delivering real impact in our communities. This strategy will guide how we will fund and the focus of our mahi (work) to support our communities to thrive. To ensure the Strategic Aspiration remains responsive to changes in our communities over time these strategic pou (priorities) will be reviewed as required during the 10 year strategy timeframe.
We have also developed a set of guiding principles which we will use to inform our decision making, actions and funding approaches. These include a focus on equity, working in partnership, being flexible and future focussed and taking a place-based approach. These principles also recognise the need to retain a sustainable Investment based in perpetuity. Lastly we commit to listening, learning and improving and so we have developed a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework. This will help us to understand how we are working towards our collective strategic aspiration for a 'Thriving South' and the difference we are making in our communities across the rohe (region) and support our reporting back to our communities.
Click here to see our new Strategic Aspiration on our website.
Click here to view the visual representation of our new Strategic Aspiration in detail.