Observations from the February 2010 Developing the Social Economy Conference in Waikatere, Auckland

Members of the Inspiring Communities Exchange team were excited to be part of New Zealand's first Community Economic Development Conference, held in Waitakere City. Here's a report back on what they experienced.

What is Community Economic Development?

The central concept of community economic development (CED) involves a community taking action to be more economically, socially and/or environmentally sustainable, through some kind of economic activity.

Community Economic Development (CED) activity can be undertaken by geographic communities, community sector organisations or communities of interest. It is wide ranging, and includes for example community businesses, food cooperatives, credit unions, community owned assets, community gardens, community revitalisation projects, community and business joint ventures, social housing, and social finance institutions such as community banks and organisations that provide loan guarantees to community businesses. Key elements of CED are as follows:

• It responds to identified community needs, assets and aspirations.
• It is community owned and "bottom up", requiring community leadership and commitment.
• There is resourcefulness in the way that the financial, physical and human resources needed to achieve the vision are gathered.
• Financial returns are not distributed to individuals (other than wages etc).
• Assets and wealth are held in trust for community benefit.
• Goods and/or services are traded and business and community drivers are combined.
• CED initiatives tend to be run democratically and be accountable to a defined constituency and the wider community.

To understand more about Community Economic Development, there is a useful report you can download from the ASB Community Trust website.

New Zealand's first CED Conference a Huge Success

Around 350 people from throughout Aotearoa gathered in Waitakere to learn and share their experiences of community enterprise and entrepreneurship. Collaboratively organised by Community Waitakere, Unitec, and Waitakere City Council, the "Developing the Social Economy" conference was the first of its kind in New Zealand. After two intensive days, delegates from a wide range of community organisations, local and central government, funding organisations, academics, and corporates, left inspired about the possibilities and potential for transformative change in their communities.

Long time champion of community enterprise, Amokura Panoho opened the conference. She reminded attendees of New Zealand's and her own community economic development journey and the challenges along the way. She emphasised the important roles of brokers and enablers who encourage and assist people and communities to be enterprising. She also acknowledged the importance of accepting risk as part of any new venture.

Amokura reinforced that passionate individuals and communities can make a difference, citing the rise of bottom up movements around the world (like Transition Towns) as examples of this. She encouraged the conference to explore new models of funding rather than relying on government money to assist with community enterprise. She also challenged communities to think about the new leadership role they could play in transforming their own local economies, and applauded Iwi leaders for coming together ahead of Treaty settlements to make economic development happen for Maori communities.

Over the next two days, workshop attendees were treated to an amazing range of international and local speakers.

International Speakers and Links

The International speakers performing their Waiata

Aidan Pia from Senscot in Scotland shared the exciting journey of social entrepreneurship building in Scotland. With significant new investment from government and the creation of dedicated social enterprise support organisations who provide mentoring, facilitate networking and broker business development assistance, Scotland has witnessed a huge increase in the number and scale of social enterprises over the last decade. Whilst celebrating many Scottish successes, Aiden also reminded people that social enterprise was REALLY hard work and not for everyone. For some success stories see: http://www.thebreadmaker.org.uk/, http://www.withpeople.co.uk/web/about-us.html, http://www.crisiscounselling.co.uk/.

Jess Steele and Annemarie Naylor from the Development Trust Association in the UK also offered lots of food for thought. Their stories and examples of how community enterprise and asset transfers in the UK had provided platforms for community-led growth and development really got people thinking. Immediately people started talking about how local government reform in Auckland could be an exciting way to explore how local assets like community halls and houses could be vested in communities rather than Councils, and in doing so, provide a local asset base against which community organisations could grow and leverage other investment.

They also talked about the increasing importance of community anchor organisations as catalysts and drivers of local transformation and change. Typically these are independent community-run and led organisations, rooted in a sense of place (whether an inner city neighbourhood or a rural district), and with a mission to improve things for the whole community, not simply a part of it. They utilise community enterprise and asset development to ensure that the community anchor is around for the long term. See http://www.comm-alliance.org/ for more.

You can hear a post conference conversation with Aidan Pia and Annemarie Naylor on Access Radio about social enterprise and community asset development as a means to develop sustainable communities.

Some Speakers from Aotearoa/New Zealand

Overseas presenters were quick to point out that there is already a lot of community enterprise activity happening in New Zealand that we should be proud of.

Lisa Woolley from Friendship Centre Trust in Glen Eden, Waitakere presented how their mission of hope and transformation had been hugely assisted through building social enterprise thinking into their organisational culture. Led by an entrepreneurial pastor from the Glen Eden Baptist Church who was keen to see how unmet needs in the local community could be met, the Friendship Centre Trust started off as a drop in centre and food bank. The Trust's activities have since moved into diverse social service areas such as home care, emergency and community housing, employment and training and early childhood education. Starting off in 1989 with a turnover of $960 and $524 in assets, the Friendship Centre Trust last year had a turnover of $7million and assets of $3+million, with funding for the latter attracted through a combination of philanthropic and Housing New Zealand Corporation loans and grants. Having a diverse staff team, and developing a permission giving culture that grows ideas and enables community development to sit side by side have been keys to their success, Lisa said.

Opotiki's community-led economic development plans have been driven by local Iwi determination for sustainable jobs for their people. Mayor John Forbes' address to the Plenary at the opening session of the Conference emphasised the enabling roles that central and local government can play in unleashing and supporting local and community enterprise and economic development, rather than "adding more bricks to the wall". (See the link below to download Mayor Forbes' presentation).

And Whakatohea Trust Board member Arihia Tuoro spoke about the journey of her Iwi, from pre European prosperousness, to alienation and despair, and to becoming united together, and with the whole community, in hope and determination. The potential to build a significant aquaculture industry and to help New Zealand meet the global food shortage matches well with Opotiki's desire for jobs and a prosperous future. (See the link below to download Arihia's presentation and Workshop notes).

See also the November 2010 Opotiki Harbour Development Update. And for other examples of community enterprise in Opotiki, see the article Opotiki community-led innovation and enterprise. (Opotiki is one of seven communities involved in Inspiring Communities' Core Learning Cluster).

Some other Kiwi community enterprises and enterprising communities featured included the Depot Artspace in Devonport, the Community Business and Environment Centre in Kaitaia, and for Pacific communities the Village Trust. 

There was also lots of talk about new ways to strengthen and grow social lending and investment mechanisms to support the sector. Glen Saunders presented key findings from his recent report that explored international and national experiences of social investment and ways to extend this in New Zealand  in the future.

Some Reflections from Conference Participants

At the end of the two days, conference attendees left feeling excited, re-energised and motivated to grow New Zealand's social and community enterprise cultures. There really was an amazing buzz in the room!

Responses from conference attendees have been hugely positive. Many commented on the timely nature of the conference, enabling those with knowledge and stories to connect with those wanting to build more enterprising activities into their organisation or community development plans. For example: participants at one Open Space session decided to begin working together to host a marae/hapu economic development hui.

For some, the conference was a reminder of the power and importance of bottom up solutions and the need for communities to be proactive and involved in shaping their local economies. For others the conference was ‘eye opening' as to the huge array of other potential enterprise models in existence. Said Jan Maddock, Senior Community Development Advisory from Housing New Zealand Corporation, "So much is invested in the system doing things that don't work, we don't often get the chance to explore new systems that could work."

Conference participants joining in a Pacific dance

What comes next?

In reflecting on the conference, Organiser Di Jennings said a key theme from the final sessions was the notion that it's up to communities and the community sector to make things happen. "It's up to us to move things forward- no one's going to do it for us."
Plans are afoot to develop a New Zealand Social Enterprise Network. There is also a growing sense that to develop the sector in Aotearoa, more needs to be done to document and show case the many great local examples of community enterprise in action. There are also calls for more dedicated infrastructure and structured support for organisations and communities wanting to enter the social enterprise space.

For further information or to be linked in with what comes next contact Di Jennings from Community Waitakere on (09) 8389102 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Further reading

Presentations mentioned above:
Mayor Forbes Presentation CED Conference Feb 2010 (580.52 kB)
Arihia Tuoro Presentation CED Conference Feb 2010 (562.59 kB
Arihia Tuoro Workshop Notes - CED Conference Feb 2010 (159.81 kB)

More conference presentations and notes from all the workshop sessions will be posted on the Conference Website by mid March.

Vivian Hutchinson has written a paper based on his workshop at Conference, which you can download: As If People and the Earth Mattered - some thoughts on community economic development.