The Waitakere Way - Looking Back, Going Forward - Auckland Council

PAGE 39But then you get a Council that comes along and says, “Ohhh, it’s really dirty. We better closeit down.” What would be better in West Auckland is [**] on the Council; pack up a couple ofbriefcases; get out in the car and visit every single group in the City and say, “How can wehelp you apply for all these pockets of money to do your work?”Understanding and building community development‘My understanding of community development is really to do with the whole person’s youknow well being or whatever so it really does cover your whole need of the person you knowlike with health education – it all impacts on ones life.and you tend to get the same people involved in the different things as well?‘That was the hard thing because it got to the stage where it was just the same people all thetime and I think that’s where sometimes it’s become incestuous. And I think you know [we]have been criticised for just being on anything and everything well maybe they are right but Ithought well if I’m not there somebody else has got to do it’.A different kind of partnership: funding tipoffs‘I think the question, if you’re talking about partnership between Council and CommunityServices, needs to be for Council to ask “How can we help you?” instead of “We’re setting upthis workshop on applying for funding”. It doesn’t quite work that way! Or, you were setting upthis workshop here on whatever. Haven’t we got a wonderful Green Print? Fine, but that’s aCouncil Green Print’. Maybe the Maori Rep on Council comes round. The Agency says, “Hey,not trying to push anything on you at all, but a lot of your accountability duties for your fundingrequire Treaty of Waitangi accountability.” And then, “Can I help you at all? Do you wantsome ideas on this?” Or even tip-offs. “Oy, have you heard that the Lion Foundation has gotto get rid of some money quickly by the end of the month, they’ve got too much.” Now, youmight say, our community networks work okay in that respect, but I’m sure that a Council hasa bigger source of information. It may be, that on Council there, they will be tapping into anew project there that’s coming out of one of the Departments in Wellington where there’s anopportunity to apply for something… I even picked up a piece of paper on SocialEntrepreneurship the other day. I’m still not sure if the Government’s actually sponsoringpeople or not? Now my Council should have been banging on the door and saying “Oy, youfellas. This is a project out of that Department, and here’s a Project out of that Department”.Partnerships and resources‘The other thing I think about too is, from about 1986 onwards, there seemed to be less andless time available in the Community to give to Community Development. I know for myselfand my role, it was the combination of the growth and the development of [the organisation], Ihad less time to give to the Community, although I always made it a priority. Also our fundingdidn’t allow that. It was far more Service delivery focused. It was the number of clients youhad going through the door, the output, rather than being given money which the Servicecould decide some of the direction of that money. We didn’t have those choices. I think theCommunity really struggled to be resourced enough to do Community Development work. It’sonly been the generosity of the governing board and my particular passion for it that’s allowedthat to happen. Because I know other Service Providers, they don’t allow their staff thatnetworking time.Partnerships: Means and ends‘The whole concept of ‘partnership’ is important, and ‘joining up’. But in terms of the role of thelocal authority, that’s one of the areas that we’re looking at, it is only one part of the widerissue of Community Development. And that’s one of their key functions and key roles. It’s akey aspect. And I wouldn’t want to put it out of proportion. It’s often a methodology towardsachieving something. So you’re not wanting to achieve partnership. You’re wanting to achievesomething else through partnership. We’re got to bear that in mind and our differentcommunity development methods for achieving the goals that we set out’.