You may have heard that Ākina are going to be acting as an intermediary on behalf of the Department of Internal Affairs to grow the social enterprise sector in New Zealand over the next three years. What you may not be aware of is your network’s role in this exciting new project!
In collaboration with the Community Energy Network, Environment Hubs Aotearoa we have partnered with Ākina on the project. This is great news because it is another way for practitioners to contribute to the development of the social enterprise sector in New Zealand.
Our representatives in this partnership have two main roles. Firstly, to be part of a steering group contributing to the design of the project and secondly, to lead sector engagement activity so that the project can be as useful as possible to current and future practitioners.
Representing us on the steering group are; Cliff Colquhoun (CEO of CBEC in Kaitaia), Sue Coutts (Manager of Wastebusters in Wanaka), and Gareth Cartwright (Executive Officer of CEN in Cambridge). Matthew Luxon (Director of Envision in Auckland) has been seconded on behalf of CENT/ZWN to primarily work on the sector engagement aspects of the project and contribute to the steering group.
We see that it is important to ‘be in the room’ at this crucial time in our sector’s development and are wrapt to be working with Ākina on this. As a member of our network you can contribute by directly providing insights on the issues you see in relation to your operation and the development of the sector. These will inform a quarterly insights report that will go to the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Peeni Henare. You can do this by contacting one of the above representatives directly, or through our network’s manager, Dorte Wray
We are receiving a small retainer to enable us to contribute at this level. It is possible that there will also be opportunities for you to help with delivery in which case you’d be remunerated independently.
We will be providing regular updates as things develop but in the meantime if you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to sing out.
The Ākina Foundation operates from offices in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland and are on a mission to grow the social enterprise sector in Aotearoa New Zealand.
They believe social entrepreneurs and social enterprise represents a powerful opportunity to build a new economy that regenerates the environment and creates social foundations for people to thrive. Through a wide variety of activities they are trying to make it easier for social enterprises to flourish through easy access to skills, finance, markets and support.