Monitoring and Learning

In 2022, our Centre for Social Impact (CSI) supported the Foundation to strengthen its practice around understanding the impact it supports. CSI associates interviewed funders and evaluators, reviewed relevant literature and explored Te Tiriti o Waitangi considerations around understanding impact. In September 2023, three reports were published to share these learnings with the philanthropic sector: Understanding impact in philanthropy: Te Tiriti o Waitangi considerations, Understanding impact in philanthropy: Foundations and Understanding impact in philanthropy: Leading practice.

Through the year, Insights papers were published on CSI’s Te Pūaha o te Ako into funding community innovation, food sovereignty and equitable food systems, and funding advocacy for impact.

The Philanthropic Landscape Volume II – Shifting Culture and Power through Mana-Enhancing Partnerships was published in partnership with the J R McKenzie Trust in September 2023. One of the paper's ten case studies focused on Foundation North's experience of centring Indigenous concepts and building cultural capability through our Gulf Innovation Fund Together (G.I.F.T) initiative.

Our Centre for Social Impact works with a wide range of community partners, including funders like ourselves, to identify opportunities to better respond to community aspirations, and develop and review long-term strategic objectives. This year, CSI carried out a comprehensive periodic review of Foundation North’s 15-year strategy, which included an updated regional demographic profile, data and insights analysis, an evidence review of global, national and regional trends and issues, and community insights gathered via eight community wānanga and ten interviews. The review found that our strategy is still fit for purpose, is well supported by evidence and our priority communities hold. Opportunities for us to further strengthen our practice were identified and we are progressing with putting this learning into effect.

View the reports here.

Started in 2017, Ngā Tau Tuangahuru is a family-centred study, based on face-to-face, in-depth interviews over ten years. This decade-long longitudinal research project was commissioned by Foundation North following its Māori and Pacific Education Initiative (MPEI), and is being coordinated by CSI.

As part of the study, a small team of Pacific researchers carried out face to face interviews with 77 Pacific students aged 5 – 19 from four Auckland educators: Sylvia Park School in Mt Wellington, Oceania Careers Academy in Māngere, the Manaiakalani Education Trust in Tāmaki and Rise Up Academy in Māngere. Students shared their perspectives on what ‘doing well’ looks like for them, what helps and what stands in the way of them doing well both in and out of school, and how they overcome those barriers.

In August 2023, a 3-minute video was screened at the Māngere Arts Centre, featuring Rise Up Academy students sharing themes from the interviews on what ‘doing well’ looks like for them. Auckland-based Niuean artist Maka Makatoa and Rise Up Academy worked together to create this animated film as a creative way to share the authentic experiences and needs of Pacific children.