Rangitikei District Council

As a relatively large District with a relatively small population, Council believes that in order to provide better services, at a better value to ratepayers, we need to work together with other agencies.  We are developing a range of partnership projects with other local statutory, community and public agencies particularly in health, community safety and education.

In 2010, Council initiated the Rangitikei – a Path to Well-being initiative with a conference in Taihape.

2010 Conference Day

On 16th April 2010, over 130 delegates from 68 different organisations gathered at Taihape Area School for the first "Rangitikei - A Path to Well-Being" conference.

Delegates were asked to participate all day in one themed workshop. In total there were six different workshops based on the Rangitikei Community Outcomes.

These are:

• Good Access to Health Services
• A Safe and Caring Community
• Lifelong Education Opportunities
• A Treasured Natural Environment
• A Buoyant District Economy
• Enjoying Life in the Rangitikei

Please click here - Community Outcomes Report for a copy of the 2010 Community Outcomes report to Council, which includes workshop notes for each theme group from the conference.

Since then, the theme groups have continued to meet and there has been good progress in developing a culture of collaboration and partnership between agencies, organisations, communities and individuals across the District. The work of the theme groups is co-ordinated through a Partnership Board which meets twice a year.

2011 Conference Day

On 6 October 2011, delegates gathered at Arahina Conference Centre for the second "Rangitikei - A Path to Well-Being" conference.

Delegates were asked to choose three out of the five workshops. The five workshops were as follows:

• Community resilience: looking at volunteer capacity
• Growing the District: promoting the Rangitikei as a place to live
• Small business development: growing our business base
• Health and social welfare agencies: delivering services across a dispersed population
• Inter-agency collaboration: education case study  

Please click here - Path to Well-being 2011 Report for a copy of the report back from the 2011 conference to the Partnership Board.

In May 2011, Council commissioned a report “Making Rangitikei Home: Strategies on how to keep families, retirees and indigenous people” which highlighted common themes around successful partnership and collaboration. A full copy of the report can be found here - Making Rangitikei Home

Examples of success came from:

• Developing, with partners, the right mix of service provision to complement the attractions of the natural landscape and vibrant communities
• Developing and promoting family-friendly policies through partnership working
• Particularly working to develop transport services that meet the needs of the existing population and possible migrants
• Developing community partnerships to build local support networks to implement the care and transition of school leavers, to ensure that young people will contribute effectively as citizens in the future

The Partnership Board and six theme groups of the Path to Well-being Initiative, are particularly focussing on these activities.

If you think there is a way you or your organisation to contribute to the actions or goals, please do not hesitate to contact the Policy Team on 0800 422 522 at Rangitikei District Council.

Over the past three years, there has been good progress in developing a culture of collaboration and partnership between agencies, organisations, communities and individuals across the District, formalised through the Path to Well-being initiative and the six theme groups:

• Joint promotional initiatives brought the Rugby World Cup 2011 Real New Zealand Festival to Rangitikei. Events were held in our gateway towns: the Gumboot Jam in Taihape and the Running of the Bulls in Bulls. The main streets were lined with commemorative flags which have since been distributed as souvenirs to participating organisations, the District’s schools and local rugby clubs. The Real New Zealand Festival lottery committee contributed about $25,000 to these activities.

• The Swim-for-All initiative has been developed by the Enjoying Life in the Rangitikei Theme Group. The group has partnered with the Water Safety New Zealand Swim-for-Life programme, with additional funds from Sport Wanganui, Whanganui Community Foundation and the Council’s Community Initiatives Fund to fund swimming lessons for every child in years 5-8 across the District. This is the kind of initiative that is aimed to attract families to the District – a place where the safety of our children is given a high priority and the community works together to support families.

• The Access to Health Services Theme Group has provided an avenue for partner agencies to specifically resource individual staff to take part in various networking forums, particularly the Regional Community Response Model Forum. As a result, the Ministry for Social Development has recently approved two $20,000 grants through its Quality Services and Innovation Fund. These grants, one for Marton-based social service agencies and one for Taihape-based social service agencies, is to investigate a model for service delivery in each area that will improve the services available for local residents. The groups have been asked to make recommendations to the Minister for further investment in the town’s service agencies.