October 2009

Coinciding beautifully with Neighbours Day in Auckland, Inspiring Communities was delighted to receive some research in November which demonstrated that New Zealanders are generally the kind of folk who make good neighbours and strong, resilient communities.

The Sustainable Priorities Monitor survey undertaken in February found that New Zealanders are not only good at giving; we often do it right where it is needed to build a strong community - that is, over the neighbourhood fence. Whether its five minutes of time for a friendly chat, helping out a neighbour with a practical need, or volunteering in the local community; up to 69% of respondents had given in some way in the six months before the survey.

The Sustainable Priorities Monitor is conducted by Sustainable Advantage, a research and strategy consultancy with a special area of focus on community. It aims to survey 500 - 1000 people from around the country twice each year for the Monitor.

The survey respondents were also asked what frustrations they have - in terms of our society, the environment and people's well being - that cause them concern or stress, and what could be done about these. Nick Jones, Director of Sustainable Advantage suggests the responses said a lot about a desire for strong communities.

"What really stood out was the fact that when asked what else frustrated them and what could be done about it, 400 out of 500 people were willing and ready to share their thoughts and ideas. The things that frustrated them were especially around community issues - feeling safe in their homes, seeing a lack of care and respect in community, and even planning and public service issues - these came up often."

When asked what could be done in the next five years to improve things, creating community spirit through caring about each other and community activities was a recurring theme.

"This says to us that there is a huge opportunity for greater consultation to learn about what a community needs - and to harness their ideas for potential solutions," said Nick.

"Overall my favourite result was that 40% of respondents had received a random act of kindness from a stranger - we know people are out there being kind and generous."

Another notable result from the Sustainability Monitor was that 26% of respondents had helped organise a community event. Food for thought: Is that lower or higher than you would have imagined? What would we like this number to be?

It seems New Zealanders are ready to contribute to communities and keen to see more community activity - and it's timely to see initiatives such as Neighbour's Day creating the opportunities for this to happen. So for each of us, how can we inspire and encourage another member of our community to respond actively to their frustrations and bring their ideas skills, talents and to the table - or our fence?

To find out more about this research see the website or you are welcome to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Nick.

Leigh Strange with thanks to Nick Jones for sharing both his research and insights