Monday 5 March 2018

OVTRK Update March 2018

Welcome to March 2018 – where have January and February gone?!
Since the last update we have continued to focus on promoting recognition and respect of the broad range of Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) in the development of strategy and policy for Greater Christchurch.
We have continued to collate resources on Valuing TSOs which highlight activities that rely on generosity as well as those that are not driven by a market approach. These resources are gathered to assist in increasing understanding of the imperative for a broad, Treaty-based ecological approach where the indigenous status of tangata whenua is understood. Many activities in our Sector are necessarily driven by government or commercial contracts, and broader contributions often need greater visibility in order to address difficulties around satisfactory measurement and justification. This is particularly the case when it comes to obtaining funding and other resources. The interface with Social Enterprise has provided much food for thought. In our previous Update we referred to our conversations with Dr Suzanne Vallance, whose research (described earlier) now has Ethics Committee approval to formally begin. We can remind ourselves to make a case for thinking about what would happen if our mahi was NOT done!
On 9 February we made a submission to Regenerate Christchurch on the Avon Otakaro River Corridor. This follows up previous communication with them where we highlighted their statutory responsibility to uphold environmental, social, cultural and economic wellbeing. We submitted that for them to give equal weight to 44 criteria in an assessment may risk generating confusion, energy overload and greater cost. By addressing those criteria that are of greatest importance, those involved with the assessment can then make a judgement. This then becomes an iterative process which, we suggest, can provide a greater sense of satisfaction and enhance the value of collaboration of those involved.
A few days ago we forwarded some papers to the Greater Christchurch Partnership in line with our OVTRK Working Agreement with them. These were sent in response to their proposal about Our SPACE – Settlement Pattern Review (SPR) and Greater Christchurch Outcomes. For your information our contribution was in addition to those we know are being considered – the CPH Wellbeing Monitoring Tool, Statistics NZ General Survey, Regenerate Christchurch Integrated Assessment Criteria and ECan’s Environmental Indicators.
One of the four current One Voice Te Reo Kotahi (OVTRK) priorities is to promote the need for independent and affordable shared spaces for Third Sector organisations around Greater Christchurch – including in the central city. Recently we learned Waimakariri District Council is considering a Community House and an update on the EnviroHub is available in the Sector Report and Actions update – see below. The Christchurch Co-Working Collective, has been established as a peer support for Managers and Coordinators of Co-Working Spaces (which includes organisations in the Third Sector). These Co-Working spaces include Christchurch Community House, Phillipstown Hub, Ministry of Awesome, BNZ Community 101, BiZ Dojo, Xchange Christchurch…. A contact is Camia Young 021 1125 087. The FB link if you want to join is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/162324744413204/.
Our Sector Report & Actions has been updated today!
Let’s encourage TSOs large and small to make us all visible on the Registry and let’s embrace interdependence and maximum autonomy for each of our organisations and those involved in them.
Please do help shine light on the broad Third Sector - making connections for us and our children after us!
Finally, YOUR FEEDBACK IS MOST WELCOME!