The Opotiki Development Project

Rose O’Neill

In the Opotiki Territorial Local Authority over 30% of the working-age population are receiving income support on a long-term basis. High levels of welfare dependency are associated with a range of negative social and economic outcomes (eg, poor health and educational performance, inadequate housing and criminal offending), and the Opotiki district rates extremely poorly on such indicators.

In 1996 a joint central and local government project (the Opotiki Development Project) set out to examine the social and economic environment of Opotiki and to engage the local community in a process to design a long-term initiative that would achieve sustainable social and economic growth in the district.

This paper describes the processes used in this development phase. As this article went to print, the foundations of the model had been put in place: a community-based process had been used to set up a steering group and project manager position, strategic planning was underway, six government departments had contributed funding, and an evaluation team was established. Crucial to the success of the next phases are an understanding of local time frames for getting things done, and ongoing commitment and support from central government.