ANZEA Conference 2022

In 2020, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (the office established by the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Act 1996 to serve, protect, and advance the collective interests of the iwi) set out to develop a new approach to performance assessment and reporting. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu have for a long time been monitoring activity and performance by using output focused KPIs and targets. However, these approaches to performance monitoring, assessment and reporting were not hitting the mark. They did not support the organisation to meaningfully capture and report on the value of the investment and work being done in ways that reflect what is valued and important to Ngāi Tahu whānui.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu want to do more than just monitor performance. They want to be able to tell an authentic and meaningful performance story steeped in what is valuable and worthwhile at whānau, rūnaka, iwi, programme, project, and service levels. They also want these performance stories to be rich and robust enough to inform future investment decisions.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is developing a framework and practice model that departs from standard corporate practice around the measurement of performance. It is a values-oriented approach; the premise of which is that the cultural values of Ngāi Tahu are central to the conception of what good performance looks like. The framework is explicitly evaluative; combining a mix of evidence with cultural values and a deliberative process of evaluative reasoning to reach judgements about performance.

The implementation of the Ngāi Tahu Evaluation Framework is a significant undertaking.  A developmental, learn-as-you-go approach to building and implementing infrastructure, system and processes has been taken. They are developing a system that is a good fit and grounded in the everyday realities of the work of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.