About us

The goal is for all New Zealanders to enjoy good health, to have social and physical environments that enable healthy food and physical activity choices, being smoke free, drinking alcohol only in moderation and increasing mental health resilience and well-being.

Healthy Families NZ is a move away from disconnected, small scale and time limited projects and interventions, towards a whole of community approach that makes sustainable long term changes to the systems that influence the health and well-being of whānau and communities.

While the initial design for Healthy Families NZ drew on overseas models, Healthy Families NZ has been adapted, and continues to adapt, to reflect the unique context of New Zealand communities, and the special relationship between Māori and the Crown, including obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Healthy Families NZ Principles include an explicit focus on equity, improving Māori health and improving health equity for groups at increased risk of chronic diseases.

Healthy Families NZ takes an innovative, system-building approach to prevention, including:

  • Targeted community-level investment into the Building Blocks of a Prevention System;
  • Bringing community leadership together in a united effort for better health;
  • A dedicated prevention workforce who are embedded within their local community, driving and supporting systems change across the region;
  • National level support and strategies to encourage a whole system approach;
  • Dedicated strategic communications functions across all locations, harnessing the power of story telling to amplify the collective impact of the initiative, and accelerate activation at scale;
  • Multi-year evaluation that identifies key themes, scalable initiatives, and builds a national picture of the progress and impact of Healthy Families NZ over time.

Our approach

Healthy Families Rotorua’s approach is in accordance with the Healthy Families NZ Te Kāhui Māori approach as follows:

Tahi: To influence the health prevention system across the population by focusing on the environments where whānau live, learn, work and play. To do this means working collaboratively with communities and systems stakeholders to think differently about the underlying causes of poor health.

Rua: Utilising the process of co-design to test new ideas, assumptions and prototypes, which aim to strengthen the prevention systems and normalize positive health behavior.

Toru: Convene and support collaborations to safely experiment in prevention, to accelerate progress, identify levers for change, ensure sustainability, and share the learning across sector and regions.

Whā: Support regional leaders to unlock support and provision for improving health equity in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Guiding Principles

Healthy Families New Zealand is guided by seven principles:

  1. Implementation at Scale

    Strategies are delivered at a scale that impacts the health and wellbeing of a large number of the population, in the places where they spend their time – in schools, workplaces and communities.

  2. Collaboration for Collective Impact

    Having a collective impact on health requires long term commitment by multiple partners, from different sectors, at multiple levels. Knowledge and interventions are created together with the community and people working in community – supported by the Healthy Families Manukau, Manurewa-Papakura workforce.

  3. Equity

    Health equity is the attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Healthy Families NZ will have an explicit focus on improving Māori health and reducing inequalities for groups at increased risk of chronic diseases. Māori participation at all levels of the planning and implementation of Healthy Families NZ is critical.

  4. Adaptation

    Strengthening the prevention system requires constant reflection, learning and adaptation to ensure strategies are timely, relevant and sustainable.

  5. Experimentation

    Small scale experiments provide insight into the most effective interventions to address chronic disease. We will embrace innovation and experimentation underpinned by evidence and experience, with a view to growing the activities that prove effective.

  6. Leadership

    Leadership is supported at all levels, including senior managers, elected officials, and health champions in schools, businesses, workplaces, sporting clubs and communities.

  7. Line-of-sight

    The line of sight provides a transparent view on how every step of Healthy Families NZ impacts communities.

Introducing the Healthy Families Rotorua team

Our Rotorua team come from a variety of backgrounds including education, social development, health, media & broadcasting and performing arts. We are united by a passion for kaupapa Māori to lead in health and wellbeing, and a desire to get the best for the people who live, learn, work and play.

Jenny Kaka-Scott

Manager

Megan Lacey

National Strategic Communications Manager

Pirihira Whata

Lead Systems Innovator

Mariana Vercoe

Systems Innovator

Stevee Wikiriwhi

Systems Innovator

Teteira Ormsby

Systems Innovator

Te Taiawatea Knight

Systems Innovator

Our Work with Te Arawa Whanau Ora

About our Organisation – Te Arawa Whānau Ora – Healthy Families Rotorua

Te Arawa Whānau Ora is the lead provider for the Healthy Families Rotorua initiative.

Seven providers and three associates form the Te Arawa Whānau Ora Charitable Trust which is supported by the Te Arawa Whānau Ora office. Te Awara Whānau Ora provides strategic, operations and reporting functions for the collective.

All Te Arawa Whānau Ora staff and work is underpinned by an ‘Iwi-centric’ value-based system actioned through our Te Arawa Whānau Ora Kawa and Tikanga and encompassed through Piripoho.

Organisational Values:
Te Arawa Whānau Ora development is sustained through the Te Arawa Whānau Ora Charitable Trust strategic plan, collective impact approaches and through active collaboration.

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