‘My home is my marae’ is a falls prevention initiative designed to empower Māori communities through sharing knowledge and skills about home safety. It was trialled over an 18 month period in 2013 - 2014 across South Auckland and Northland regions. This report presents an evaluation of the initiative carried out using a kaupapa Māori theory-based approach.
Methodology
This evaluation applied a Kaupapa Māori theory-based evaluation and Appreciative Inquiry methodologies to establish:
1. Critical success factors of the ‘My Home is my Marae’ approach.
2. Strengths and weaknesses of these trials against trial objectives.
For kaimahi, participation in this evaluation involved a kānohi-ki-te-kānohi or face-to-face discussion with Mataroria Lyndon, our interview facilitator. A commitment to kaupapa Māori evaluation was demonstrated through conducting this kōrero bilingually (a combination of te reo Māori and English), and committing time to whakawhanaungatanga before commencing the kōrereo. Reciprocity and aroha ki te tangata in this evaluation approach were valued.
Interview discussions (kōrero) were not approached with a set interview schedule, but rather were led by kaikōrero. The interviewer functioned as a facilitator, inviting general areas of discussion, while allowing kaikōrero to direct the conversation to areas of importance and significance in their eyes. In doing so, we allowed kaikōrero to assert Tino Rangatiratanga (ownership) over interview topics and procedures.
Mihimihi, whakawhanaunatanga, and kai and were an integral part of the interview process. More time was dedicated, by both the interview facilitator and kaikōrero, to accommodate for this before the evaluation kōrero commenced. The interviewer facilitated the kōrero bilingually- in a combination of English and te reo Māori according to the preferences of kaikōrero. A summary of the evaluation team and different roles is available in Appendix A.
The evaluation also involved a review of existing project documentation including project plans, funding agreements, and evaluation reports to respond to the evaluation questions posed by ACC and ‘My Home is My Marae’ community providers. A summary of the
evaluation process is captured in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: A summary of the evaluation process