Whānau-centred recognises that whānau are the primary unit of hapu, Iwi and wider Māori society, and assumes that whānau are best placed to determine their goals, aspirations, priorities and needs. As a 

government agency, this will often require us to enable service delivery models that support whānau to address and progress the things that are important to them – in the short term, and as part of their longer-term development. 

Locally led recognises that solutions that work best for whānau often need to be driven from within their communities. Many whānau have distinct needs that are not met by universal service delivery. Locally led solutions can address this need through devolved service delivery models, for example, to non-government groups like commissioning entities or trusted providers with strong community links who are better positioned to support those whanau who are otherwise hard to reach. This can be seen in our Whānau Ora commissioning approach. 

Government enabled recognises the role of government is to actively create settings that enable locally led solutions, which will vary between regions, communities and hapori. By utilising Te Tautuhi ō Rongo, the Government can recognise who is best placed to achieve optimal outcomes for and with whānau and their communities, and what its role is within service design and delivery. This approach requires consideration of how involved government should be in delivering whānau-centred outcomes, as well as how we can ‘do with’ communities and whānau rather than ‘do to’. 

Together, these approaches provide a way of working that supports better, more impactful government policy and service delivery. They will improve decision making and positively impact long-term outcomes with best practice, evidenced solutions.