This resource is a companion document to THRIVING. It is an account of the ‘doing it differently together,’ that is social innovation. It charts the relational journey made by a group of social innovators comprising staff from the Families Commission, and two exemplary organisations Te Waipuna Puawai and Kia Aroha College. It explores what we have come to call a family whānau centred approach from the perspectives, and largely in the words of those working at the interface or frontline. It provides practice-based evidence for a more connected, relational approach to working with families whānau and communities in New Zealand
Purpose
Keen to learn more from exemplars who care about effective and respectful ways of working with and alongside families whänau and their communities, we set out on a relational journey of ‘doing it differently together’.
This resource Thriving in Practice explores that journey from the perspectives, and largely in the words of, those working at the interface (Parker & Heapy 2006), or frontline. Based on collaborative work in two Auckland settings, a community development organisation and a secondary school (introduced in more detail later), it provides practice-based evidence for a more connected, relational approach to working with families whänau and communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. Thriving in Practice is a companion resource to the publication Thriving: Connected, Reflective, Effective (Copas and Action Inquiry Contributors 2011), which also charts a collaborative journey with key staff from four exemplary social service organisations who came together to learn more about the various dimensions and principles of practice informing, what we have come to call, a family whänau centred approach.