Glipses of a Better World: The role of the tangata whenua, community & voluntary sector in the Canterbury Earthquake recovery

Paper presented to "Our Future Community and Voluntary Sector Forum" Hosted by Council of Social Services Christchurch & Te Runaka ki Otautahu Kai Tahu, 28 July 2011. 

Post Quake Canterbury: A Snapshot

Prepared for Todd Foundation (April 2011)

This represents a rapid appraisal of post-earthquake Canterbury, New Zealand.  It was prepared for a Christchurch-based working group of the Todd Foundation (a New Zealand family philanthropy - see www.toddfoundation.org.nz) to assist in developing proposals to the Foundation board on how it can best help out after the Christchurch earthquake.     

Draft Relationship Agreement between the Communities of Aotearoa New Zealand & Government of New Zealand: Submission from Garth Nowland-Foreman

(August 2010)

This is my personal submission on the Draft Relationship Agreement proposed for Aotearoa New Zealand.  The Background section provides a brief summary of the various key developments over the last decade in working to strengthen relationships between Government and the Tangata Whenua, Community & Voluntary Sector in this country.  Analysis in the submission concludes that the proposed Draft Agreement takes us no further than the (then) Government's 2001 Statement of Intentions, and in some important respects is a step backwards.  It also fails to address any of the 15 proposals arising from the 2009 Review of the 2001 Statement.

One Million Children and the Measure of a Nation: Key Messages from Social Policy Briefings for Todd Foundation Strategic Planning

Commissioned by Todd Foundation: Wellington (August 2010)

The briefing draws together in summary form, selected verbatim extracts from various Government and community organisation briefing documents listed in the paper.  Collated to inform Todd Foundation’s strategic planning process in 2010, the paper focuses on the key areas of the Foundation’s interest in the well-being of children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand.  Further information about the Foundation, its work and the outcomes of the strategic planning process are available at http://www.toddfoundation.org.nz/publications-and-learning/

"Civil Society and Social Capital in Australia and New Zealand"

Co-authored with Mark Lyons.  Chapter in Helmut Anheier & Stefan Toepler(2009). International Encyclopedia of Civil Society. Springer Reference: New York.

An overview of civil society organisations and the concepts of 'civil society' and 'social capital' in Australian and New Zealand research, politics and wider usage.  Similarities and differences between the two countries are noted, and basic descriptive data are also provided on the size and scope of civil society organisations in the two countries, along with some indicators of citizen engagement.

The Challenge of Accountability, the Opportunity of Responsibility for Third Sector Organisations

Paper presented to 6th International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Asia Pacific Regional Conference, Taipei, November 2009

Accountability is usually assumed to be an unmitigated good for Third Sector organisations - the more the better.  While there are some benefits from externally imposed accountability requirements, they can also be counterproductive - undermining responsibility and leading to what we have coined as 'funder capture'.  A typology of 'funder capture' is presented, suggesting some of its more subtle forms are likely to be the most insidious.  Legalistic, contractual accountability is likely to be the least effective, and can be highly counterproductive to high levels of responsibility.  A pathway away from narrow accountability towards a broader responsibility is proposed, building on Kearns (1996) four dimensions of accountability.

Counting on Capacity: A Review of Community Waikato

with Kataraina Pipi.  Trust Waikato, Hamilton (2009)

An earlier Review (Nowland‐Foreman, 2006) examined the rationale for funders to invest in capacity building in general, and especially through supporting the core operating costs of capacity building organisations located in the community served. It found the particular model of capacity building, initiated and supported by Trust Waikato with Sportsforce, (now) Community Waikato and Arts Waikato, is especially effective, and deserves to be promoted more widely. That same report identified from an analysis of the international literature and from local experience, the key factors associated with ‘good practice’ in capacity building.  This Report builds on those identified ‘good practice’ factors to analyse the current operation of Community Waikato three years on, and also to develop a framework for ongoing monitoring and reporting that fits the kind of work that it needs to describe and account for.

Investing in Capacity: A Review of Arts Waikato and Social Services Waikato for Trust Waikato

Trust Waikato, Hamilton (2006)

A review of two non-profit capacity building organisations in the Waikato region of New Zealand - one working with social service and community organisations, and the other working with arts organisations in the region.  The report includes an overview of the international literature on investing in non-profit capacity building and proposes a typology of different forms of support for capacity building, ranked against seven criteria for good practice drawn from the literature.

Free and Equal: A Review of NZAID Pacific Regional Disability Programme

Co-authored with Daniel Stubbs.  New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID), Wellington (2005)

Using an extensive review of existing reports & reviews, interviews with key informants, regional consultations and a case-study approach in three countries (Fiji, Tonga & Vanuatu), the Pacific Regional Disability Programme of the New Zealand Agency for International Development is reviewed and recommendations are proposed for a more strategic (and human rights-based) contribution from the NZ government to meeting the needs & aspirations of people living with disabilities in the Pacific, within the resource constraints likely to be available.  Attention is especially paid to NGO infrastructure likely to be required for this to be effective.  The current global policy context for disability issues is documented along with a history of the growth of a disability movement in the Pacific.

Turangawaewae - A Constructive Place to Stand: An Evaluation of the Voluntary Agency Support Scheme and Emergency Management and Disaster Relief Fund

Co-authored with Mary-Jane Rivers.  New Zealand Agency for International Development, Wellington (2005)

This evaluation of the two major NGO funding programmes of the New Zealand Agency for International Development follows up on the implementation of the recommendations from an earlier (1998) evaluation, and looks again at the rationale, purpose, structure and management of the programmes, especially in light of the formation of the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) and the agreement on the Strategic Policy Framework for Relationships between NZAID and NGOs.  It includes recommendations to retain and enhance the programmes, increase funds disbursed, promote a greater learning approach and better integration across the policy approach of the whole Agency.

Book Review: Third Sector: The Contribution of Nonprofit and Cooperative Enterprises in Australia, by Mark Lyons. St. Leonards, Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2001.

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2003; 32; 147

A review of Mark Lyon's seminal text on Third Sector organisations in Australia.  The book provides a very accessible overview of the size and scope of the sector, but also outlines its history and the dynamics of its development, along with excellent summaries of how it operates (its governance and management, its financing, staffing and relations with other sectors).  The book concludes with chapters on the economic, social and political contribution of the sector, along with challenges both of the sector and to the sector.

Dangerous Accountabilities: Remaking Voluntary Organisations in Someone Else's Image

Paper delivered at 29th Annual ARNOVA Conference, New Orleans, Nov 2000. (Association for Research on Nonprofit Organisations & Voluntary Action. www.arnova.org)

Increased accountability is often assumed to only be desirable for non-profit and voluntary organisations. This papers outlines some of the risks and dangers from externally imposed, and especially, 'classic' (legalistic) accountability arrangements found in contracting. In particular, a typology of 'funder capture' risks is developed. Rather than advocating a vacuum in responsibility, however, the Social Audit tool (developed by the New Economics Foundation) is analysed for the opportunities it presents.

Report on the Social Audit Pilot 1998/99

COMMACT Aotearoa, Auckland (2000)

A Pacific Islands Regional Forum on Social Development Sydney, Australia, 11-12 September 1999 (Copenhagen Paper No. 7)

Rapporteur & Editor.  International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), London. (1999)

“Purchase-of-Service Contracting, Voluntary Organisations, and Civil Society: Dissecting the Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs?”

American Behavioural Scientist, Vol 24, No 1. (1998)

Evaluation of the Voluntary Agency Support Scheme: Ma te huruhuru te manu ka rere - It is the feathers that enable the bird to fly

Co-authored with Kevin Clark, Don Clarke, & Marion Quinn.  Development Cooperation Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Wellington. (1998)

Towards a Real Partnership: A NZCCSS Review of the Relationship Between Voluntary Social Services and NZ Community Funding Agency

New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS), Wellington. (1998)

Te Urangi Te Hoe-A: Bringing a Rudder with the Oars – Accounting for Community Initiative and Benefit: A Review of the Lottery Grants Board Accountability Framework

Lottery Grants and Trusts Group, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington. (1997)

“Can voluntary organisations survive the bear hug of government funding under a contracting regime?”

Third Sector Review Vol 3. (1997)

“Wise As Serpents, Gentle As Doves: Being Real About What’s At Stake in NGOs and Governments Working Effectively Together”

Navigating the Pacific: Exploring NGO/Government Co-operation in a Changing World (Report on the Commonwealth Regional Workshop for the Pacific) Commonwealth Foundation, London. (1997)

"Governments, community organisations and civil society: a beginner’s guide to dissection of a golden goose"

Paper to 4th Working for the Common Wealth Conference, Derry, Northern Ireland. (1996).  Exerpts published in The Jobs Letter http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/

Flavour of the month or mixing up the menu: models of funding for community social services

NZ Council of Christian Social Services, Wellington. (1996)

A Future that Works for All of Us - goals and strategies for Australia

Principal Author for Commission on the Future of Work, Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), Sydney. (1996)

Neither Mendicants nor Deal-makers: Contracting, government funding and voluntary organisations

New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services, Wellington. (August 1995)

What is happening to government funding of voluntary organisations in Aotearoa/New Zealand? Where is it heading? What does it mean for government, for voluntary organisations,and for their clients and the communities they serve?

Report of the Study Program on Structural Adjustment: New Zealand

Major contributor.  Australian Council of Social Service/Australian Council of Trade Unions, Melbourne. (1995)

Non-Governmental Organisations: Guidelines for Good Policy and Practice

Contributor.  Commonwealth Foundation, London. (1995) 

“The role of NGOs in social development in Australia and New Zealand”

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific NGO Symposium on a Social Development Agenda for the ESCAP Region into the Twenty-first Century, Bangkok. (1994)

Beyond Charity: the community services sector in Australia (Submission to Industry Commission Inquiry into Charitable Organisations)

Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), Sydney. (1994)

Taking Care: social policy, caring work and the future

ACOSS Paper No 60, Australian Council of Social Service, Sydney. (1993)