Aktive Strategic Plan to 2024

Aktive Strategic Plan to 2024 

Sport, Active Recreation and Play in a COVID-19 Environment 

Me korikori, Tāmaki Makaurau! 

Our vision for 

Auckland to be 

the world’s most 

active city 

Tō mātou matawhānui mō 

Tāmaki Makaurau – te tāone 

ngangahau rawa o te ao

Auckland 

Tāmaki Makaurau 

The world’s most active city 

Te tāone ngangahau rawa o te ao 

The sport and recreation sector generates an 

estimated $2.6 billion annual economic, health 

and social value in Tāmaki Makaurau, employing 

more than 10,000 full and part-time employees, 

helped by more than 300,000 volunteers 1 . 

There is clear evidence that 

being physically active improves 

the wellbeing of whānau and 

communities and the hauora 

(health and wellbeing) of tamariki 

and rangatahi (young people aged 

18 and under) 2 . Physical activity is 

responsible for an estimated $585 

million in annual healthcare savings 

in Tāmaki Makaurau and 3.4 per 

cent increase in self-related 

happiness 3 . 

As the region’s strategic and 

system lead, Aktive supports the 

wider sport and active recreation 

sector and community through 

its insight-led strategies, policies, 

resources, toolkits and its advocacy 

and shared services. 

Responding to COVID-19 

COVID-19 restrictions, rising 

unemployment and Auckland 

Council’s financial constraints will 

continue to create challenges for the 

sector in Auckland. 

These challenges are not universal: 

not all codes or communities are 

reporting difficulties. Nonetheless, 

many are experiencing membership 

decline and a knock-on effect to their 

financial viability. In some cases, 

COVID-19 has accelerated existing, 

underlying issues. For Aktive, this 

means that it must continue to frontfoot 

the effort to help organisations 

to collaborate more effectively 

to reduce costs and to increase 

community participation. 

1 

Active Citizens Worldwide 2019, Portas Consulting 

2 

Active NZ Survey measures children and young people as 5-17 years 

3 

Active Citizens Worldwide 2019, Portas Consulting

Equity 

The evidence is that organisations 

and individuals in lower socioeconomic 

areas have been most 

adversely affected by COVID-19. 

This underscores the importance 

of Aktive’s equity approach and 

explains why our investment and 

efforts will be strongly focused on 

the people and communities that are 

missing out. 

Aktive’s Role 

As Auckland’s system lead for play, 

physical education, active recreation 

and sport, Aktive’s role is to: 

Lead: Collaboratively set clear 

direction, challenge the status quo 

and drive positive change for the 

people and whānau of Auckland 

Bring strategy to life: Set regional 

priorities, frameworks and plans; 

incubate initiatives with participants 

and partners; empower others to 

make change at the community and 

organisational level 

Advocate: Champion the rights and 

needs of Aucklanders and the sector 

Catalyse Best Practice: Foster and 

create co-operation and strategic 

alignment across the sector; 

empower organisations and leaders 

with advice, insights and resources 

so that they can lead their own 

transformation and change. 

Aktive works closely with Sport 

New Zealand, Auckland Council 

and a wide range of experts to gain 

input and advice on its strategy 

for Auckland. These include the 

Aktive Māori Advisory Group, 

Auckland Unlimited, Regional 

Sports Trusts, CLM Community 

Sport, Heathy Auckland Together, 

Aktive’s Organised Sport Advisory 

Group, Women in Sport Aotearoa, 

Auckland University of Technology, 

the Superdiversity Institute, Halberg 

Foundation and Active Citizens 

Worldwide. 

Advocacy 

In the 2020-24 period the 

Government (through Sport New 

Zealand) will invest an additional 

$265 million into sport, active 

recreation and play. This represents 

a once-in-a-generation opportunity 

for the sector in Auckland. Aktive 

will advocate for the region’s voice 

to be heard in all the decisionmaking 

and for sport and recreation 

to be included in any COVID-19 

regeneration and recovery packages 

that flow into Auckland. 

We will bring the sector together to 

ensure every available opportunity is 

realised and, with partners, we will 

help the sector to adapt and change. 

Similarly, Aktive will support the 

sector to speak with a united voice 

as Auckland Council considers its 

Long-term Plan.

What are our strategic 

priorities? 

Whilst most Aucklanders are 

physically active in any given week, 

their levels of activity are well below 

World Health Organisation (WHO) 

guidelines. If nothing changes, 

there is the clear risk that 1.5 million 

Aucklanders will be underactive or 

inactive by 2040. 480,000 of these 

will be tamariki and rangatahi. And 

these overall numbers hide inequities: 

disabled people, women and girls, 

those of Asian and Pacific ethnicities, 

and those living in low socioeconomic 

areas, are less active. 

Therefore, in the period to 2024, 

Aktive is prioritising tamariki (5 

to 11 years) and rangatahi (12 to 

18 years) and will take an equity 

focus with its investment so as to: 

1. Influence young people’s 

thinking and behaviour 

2. Positively impact adult 

influencers’ thinking and 

behaviour 

3. Strengthen Tāmaki Makaurau’s 

play, sport, active recreation 

and physical education 

systems 

4. Increase our reach into 

underactive ethnicities, low 

socio-economic communities 

and women and girls. 

Our four-year plan sees a shift in 

focus to young people and the 

adults who influence them (including 

parents/caregivers, sports club 

leaders, teachers, and coaches) 

especially in low socio-economic 

areas. 

Our operational strategy for 

reaching young people is called The 

Auckland Approach to Community 

Sport, with a specific “settings 

focus” known as Korikori in schools 

and kura. This priority clearly 

links with both the Government’s 

Wellbeing Framework and 

Sport New Zealand’s strategy. 

We will continue to build on the 

early-stage results we are seeing in 

Communities of Activity (selected on 

the basis of being high deprivation, 

and/or having a high number of 

people from underactive ethnicities), 

HERA – Everyday Goddess ® and He 

Oranga Poutama. 

Collective Impact – Aktive’s 

Distributed Impact Model 

Aktive is working to achieve longterm 

change in Aucklanders’ thinking 

and behaviour, using insights, logic 

models and integrated plans to 

guide its investment and activity. As 

system lead in a complex sector, 

we depend upon collective action, 

with many parties working together 

to create change. Success depends 

on trusting partnerships, strategic 

alignment and collaboration in a 

Distributed Impact Model, working 

with community delivery partners 

and recognising that any single 

intervention will only partially 

contribute to overall impact. 

When Aktive, its community 

delivery partners and the sector are 

aligned, the sum of the whole is 

greater than the parts, which is why: 

We think locally 

and act regionally 

We think regionally 

and act locally. 

This alignment of planning and 

activity across the region with 

partners achieves impact through 

‘social diffusion’, or the growth and 

spread from person to person of 

behaviour change.

This is illustrated in the following Good Sports® example: 

Good Sport Trainer 

Influence & Advocacy 

Good 

Sports 

Developers 

Course 

Mentoring 

& 

Follow 

Ups 

Good Sports Developers 

Influence & Advocacy 

Good 

Sports 

Workshops 

Coaches, Parents & Teachers 

Good Sports 

Embedded into BaU 

Education Programmes 

Sports 

Administrator 

Policy, 

Procedure 

and other 

Structure 

Charges 

Children 

Behaviour

Strategic Plan 

Mahere Rautaki 

What are we 

doing more of? 

Over the period 2020-24, resources 

will be further shifted to reach young 

people in deprived communities and/ 

or from underactive ethnicities. 

We will also prioritise the adult 

influencers, schools and kura, 

sporting codes and physical 

recreation providers and activities 

that reach these young people. 

We will seek regular insights from 

the sector as we confront the effects 

of COVID-19 and, in response, we 

will continue to adapt our sector 

support.

Our work ingrains 

five key approaches: 

1. The use of insights 

• 

2. Taking a locally-led approach 

• 

3. Valuing age and stage 

appropriate physical literacy 

• 

4. Taking a systems approach 

(building or changing the system, 

training the trainer) 

• 

5. Impact: achieving quality, with scale.

RAUTAKI MATUA 

STRATEGIC PRIORITY 

1Underactive 

Aucklanders are More 

Active 

Kia kaha ake te kori tinana 

a ngā tāngata kāore i te 

kaha ki te kori tinana 

2Anywhere, anytime 

activity 

Kia kori tinana, ahakoa te 

wā, ahakoa te wāhi 

3Great spaces 

and places 

He tūhoropaki me ngā 

tūwāhi tino pai 

4Keeping pace with a 

changing Auckland 

Kia oma tahi me te panoni 

haeretanga o Tāmaki 

5Partnering with Māori 

Kia mahi tahi me te 

Māori 

6Together we go further 

Kia koke i roto i te 

kōtuitanga 

7Leading 

the conversation 

Kia arahi i ngā wānanga 

kōrero 

WHAINGA 

OUTCOMES 2024 

Underactive or inactive young 

people’s (5-18) 4 participation rates 

in play, sport, active recreation and 

physical education are significantly 

increased 

Underactive or inactive young 

females’ (5-18) 5 participation rates 

in play, sport, active recreation and 

physical education are significantly 

increased 

Sport and recreation organisations 

have young people as their top 

participation priority 

Play, sport and active recreation 

providers adapt to the needs 

of young people (tamariki and 

rangatahi) in designing more 

relevant, flexible and accessible 

offerings 

Aktive is recognised for its 

advocacy and advice on sport and 

recreation facilities in Auckland 


have more inclusive leadership 


are using technology and shared 

resources to increase participation 

and improve organisational 

efficiency 

Partner to increase “as Māori” 

leadership in play, active recreation 

and sport 

Increase participation by Māori in 

play, sport and active recreation 

Collaboration is extended across 

public, private, not-for-profit, 

educational and sport and 

recreation organisations with a 

focus on young people 

National and regional agencies 

invest more in making Aucklanders 

active 

Adult influencers understand the 

importance of their role in tamariki 

and rangatahi leading active lives 

Tamariki and rangatahi participate 

in opportunities supported through 

funding 

KEY STRATEGIC INITIATIVES 

Target all Aktive’s investment to clearly prioritise underactive tamariki, rangatahi and their 

adult influencers 6 

Invest in The Auckland Approach to Community Sport (which includes Korikori – our 

strategic focus on schools and kura) 

Prioritise Coach Development and Good Sports to ensure tamariki and rangatahi have 

quality organised sport experiences 

Invest in HERA – Everyday Goddess as the key framework for encouraging girls aged 

10 to 17 years to be more physically active 

Lead the establishment of an Auckland Accessible and Inclusive Physical Activity 

Guidelines 

Conduct and disseminate research into the role, relevance and benefit of active recreation 

in the lives of rangatahi 

Develop initiatives to support sport, play and active recreation organisations to further 

adapt their offering to tamariki and rangatahi 

Lead the establishment of a regional play system and strategy for Auckland, to include 

casual sport 

Advocate for Auckland to be at the front of queue for COVID-19 regeneration investment 

Increase Aktive, partner and sector knowledge and understanding of spaces and places 

(including open spaces) 

Improve decision-making through the establishment and understanding of regional code 

plans, facilities priorities plans, a facilities road map and collective code plans 

Provide organisations wanting to build facilities with appropriate tools and resources to 

navigate council processes and secure funding 

Advocate for the shared use of public (and privately owned) facilities and spaces for play, 

active recreation and sport 

Advocate for community use of school and kura facilities (before, during and after school) 

Advocate for tamariki and rangatahi play, active recreation, active transport and 

sport needs 

Lead the establishment of an Auckland workforce development plan, including a focus 

on underrepresented population groups 

Support leaders to achieve gender equity and to include underrepresented population 

groups in leadership and governance roles 

Influence and support organisations to include underrepresented groups, focusing on 

ethnicity, disability and gender 

Make it easier for Aktive’s customers to engage with our content and services through 

technology 

Identify and showcase the use of innovative technology that increases participation 

Improve sector organisational efficiency through the collective use of shared services, 

technology and procurement 

Assist national and regional organisations in Auckland that need to make structural change 

Review Aktive’s policies and procedures to ensure there is comprehensive framework 

that enables Aktive to effectively respond to and support Māori 

Use framework to focus on developing and expanding partnerships to advocate and 

influence Māori in play, active recreation, physical education and sport 

Promote understanding and use of Te Whetū Rēhua by more play, active recreation, 

physical education and sport organisations to enable them to better engage with Māori 

Develop Iwi of Origin as a signature event for Māori in Aotearoa 

Convene organisations within, across and outside the sector to share best practice and 

collaboratively develop sport, play, active recreation and physical education initiatives, 

including in response to COVID-19 

Promote the use of the Auckland volunteer framework as a key resource to facilitate and 

build volunteerism in play, sport and active recreation across the region 

Ensure key agencies have policies that recognise the importance of play, active recreation 

and sport to whānau and communities 

Expand Good Sports to raise awareness of appropriate behaviours in competitive sport 

Raise the awareness of the benefits of play, active recreation and sport for underactive 

tamariki and rangatahi 

Collaborate to develop seasonal campaigns which inspire adult influencers to volunteer 

Lead COVID-19 Response Plan for Tāmaki Makaurau 

Administer contestable funding transparently, focused on equity and impact, including 

Sport New Zealand Community Resilience Fund phases 1 and 2; Tū Manawa Active 

Aotearoa; Junior Players Tāmaki Makaurau Fund and Working Together Tāmaki Makaurau 

Fund; and establish and distribute a fund to support organised sport 

4 

Focused on indigeneity, deprivation, ethnicity, and ability 

5 

Focused on indigeneity, deprivation, ethnicity, and ability 

6 

Teachers, parents, coaches, church leaders, kaumatua, guardians etc

2020/21 BASELINE 2024 KPI 

9.8 hours (average) of activity per week for Auckland young people 

(5 to 17 years) 

6% of Auckland young people meet physical activity guidelines 

Auckland is ranked penultimate lowest region (out of 14) within New Zealand 

in terms of young people’s (5 to 17 years) physical activity 

9.1 hours (average) of activity per week for Auckland young females 

5% of Auckland young females meet physical activity guidelines 

(to acquire) % of sport and recreation organisations where participation by 

young people (5 to 17 years) is a top priority 

(to acquire) guidelines established 



8% of Auckland young people meet physical activity guidelines 

Auckland is ranked in top half (out of 14) within New Zealand in terms 

of young people’s (5 to 17 years) physical activity 

10.0 hours (average) of activity per week for Auckland young females 

7% of Auckland young females meet physical activity guidelines 

(to set) % of sport and recreation organisations where participation 

by young people (5 to 17 years) is a top priority 

(to acquire) % of organisations that implement guidelines 

(to acquire) % of sport and recreation organisations make changes to their 

offerings and programmes for young people 

(to acquire) % of sport and recreation organisations make changes to 

their offerings and programmes for young people 

77% of organisations place high value on Aktive’s advocacy for sport and 

recreation 

80% of organisations place high value on Aktive’s advocacy for sport 

and recreation 

58% of sport and recreation organisations represented by, at least, 

40% of both genders on governance board (or organising committee) 

(to acquire) % of sport and recreation organisations adapting their offerings 

for specific community needs (with examples) 

Zero new knowledge-sharing events and resources provided by Aktive on 

technology 

(to acquire) % of sport and recreation organisations that have introduced 

new technology to meet member or participant needs (with examples) 

75% of sport and recreation organisations represented by, at least, 

40% of both genders on governance board (or organising committee) 

(to set) % of sport and recreation organisations adapting their offerings 

for specific community needs (with examples) 

8 new knowledge-sharing event and resources provided by Aktive on 

technology 

(to set) % of sport and recreation organisations that have introduced 

new technology to meet member or participant needs (with examples) 

(to acquire) # of Māori organisations that adopt Te Whetū Rēhua 

5.4 hours (average) of activity per week for Auckland Māori Adults (18+) 



to set) # of Māori organisations that adopt Te Whetū Rēhua 

6.0 hours (average) of activity per week for Auckland Māori Adults (18+) 



(to acquire) # of engagements (touch points) between Aktive and sport, play, 

active recreation and education organisations in the preceding year 

(to acquire) # of engagements (touch points) between delivery partners and 

play, sport and active recreation organisations in the preceding year 

(to acquire) # of engagements (touch points) between Aktive and sport, 

play, active recreation and education 

(to set) # of engagements (touch points) between delivery partners and 

play, sport and active recreation organisations in the preceding year 

(to acquire) % of major agencies that increased their investment into helping 

Aucklanders be more active 

(to acquire) # of organisations that implement Good Sports 

548 organisations financially supported through Sport New Zealand 

Community Resilience Fund 

(to acquire) # of tamariki and rangatahi participated in opportunities supported 

by the funds 

(to set) % of major agencies that increased their investment into helping 

Aucklanders be more active 

(to set) # of organisations that implement Good Sports 

(to set) # of organisations financially supported through Community 

Resilience Fund 

(to set) # of tamariki and rangatahi participated in opportunities 

supported by the funds

Core definitions 

and initiatives

What do 

we mean by 

play, active 

recreation, 

sport and 

physical 

education? 

We use these terms in the 

following way: 

Play means physical activity that is 

intrinsically motivated, freely chosen, 

for no outcome. 

Active recreation is noncompetitive 

physical activity 

undertaken for lifestyle, wellbeing, 

health and enjoyment. 

Sport is physical activity in which 

an individual or team compete 

against each other for wellbeing and 

enjoyment. 

Physical education is part 

of the New Zealand Curriculum 

that enables students to develop 

the knowledge, values and 

competencies to live active lives.

The following core initiatives have 

been developed and evolved using 

insights and local information. They 

have all been piloted and endorsed 

by Sport New Zealand and Auckland 

Council, and co-designed with these 

agencies, partners and the sector. 

The Auckland Approach 

to Community Sport 

The Auckland Approach to Community 

Sport is a targeted, scalable community 

sport system focused on increasing 

participation in play, active recreation, 

and sport through a locally-led 

approach: putting target participant’s 

needs first, and then building others’ 

capability to meet those needs. This 

system sees Aktive work across 

Auckland, and partners work intensively 

in Communities of Activity, which have 

been identified due to their strong 

alignment to the target priority groups. 

As system lead, one of Aktive’s 

roles is to ensure that there is the 

transfer of knowledge about what is 

working between partners, across 

the region and across the sector, so 

we can adapt our work and drive 

collective knowledge and impact. 

Korikori 

Korikori is Auckland’s strategy for 

tamariki (5 to 11 years) and rangatahi 

(12 to 18 years) in primary, intermediate 

and secondary school settings. 

Korikori is focused on providing quality 

experiences that will increase and 

sustain participation by young people 

in play, physical education, active 

recreation and sport. It achieves this 

through the provision of a tailored 

‘Professional Advisory/Support Service’ 

to schools. 

Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa 

Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa is a 

new Sport New Zealand fund for 

community-based programmes 

and projects targeting tamariki and 

rangatahi. The fund is managed and 

distributed on Sport New Zealand’s 

behalf by Aktive, with support from 

community delivery partners (CLM 

Community Sport, Harbour Sport, 

Sport Auckland and Sport Waitākere). 

The fund prioritises opportunities and 

experiences for: 

• Tamariki and rangatahi aged 5 to 

18 years living in higher-deprivation 

communities 

• Girls and young women aged 

5 to 24 years 

• Disabled tamariki and rangatahi aged 

5 to 18 years 

• Ethnicities including Māori, Chinese, 

Indian and Pasifika. 

HERA – Everyday Goddess 

HERA – Everyday Goddess 

empowers girls aged 10 to 18 years 

to become active for life by engaging 

inactive girls in the solution, thereby 

supporting them to enjoy, participate 

and become more engaged in the 

forms of physical activity they want 

and enjoy. This initiative also has a 

focus on leadership development. 

Girls aged 10 to 18 are identified 

as a priority group in The Auckland 

Approach to Community Sport. 

He Oranga Poutama 

He Oranga Poutama (HOP) is 

a regional initiative that aims to 

increase participation and leadership 

“as Māori” in sport and traditional 

physical recreation at community 

level. A Sport New Zealand initiative, 

it recognises that a strong and secure 

cultural identity helps facilitate access 

to wider society, as well as being 

vital to wellbeing as indigenous New 

Zealanders. 

HOP ki Tāmaki provides Māori 

sport advice, delivery, support and

leadership across Auckland, clearly 

aligning with Māori as a target priority 

group for The Auckland Approach of 

Community Sport. 

Good Sports 

Good Sports aims to create positive 

sporting experiences for Kiwi children 

by supporting and educating the 

key adult influencers in children’s 

sport: parents, coaches, teachers 

and sport leaders. This initiative, 

now nationwide, has been formally 

embedded into programmes of work 

such as Athletics NZ’s Run Jump 

Throw courses and Small Blacks 

coach inductions. 

The Greater Auckland Aquatic 

Action Plan (GAAAP) 

GAAAP is a collaborative initiative that 

coordinates the delivery of Water Skills 

for Life to primary school-aged children 

across Tāmaki Makaurau. 

Targeting low decile schools (1-6) and 

kura, and years 3-6 students, GAAAP is 

managed by Aktive in partnership with 

our community delivery partners, CLM 

Community Sport, Harbour Sport, Sport 

Auckland and Sport Waitākere. 

For eligible schools, GAAAP 

coordinates 8-10 professionally 

delivered Water Skills for Life lessons to 

help children keep themselves safe in, 

on and around water. 

Spaces and Places 

The focus of this work is ensuring all 

Aucklanders have ongoing access 

to a network of fit-for-purpose sport 

and recreation facilities – ‘spaces and 

places.’ 

Aktive helps the sector to understand 

and work through the council and 

funder processes that are required if 

they are to succeed in getting a facility 

built in Auckland. We also work with 

codes to refresh or develop, launch 

and communicate code facility plans 

that are needs- and evidence-based. 

This includes bringing key partners 

together to plan what they need for 

their code in the region and advocating 

for adequate facility investment in 

Auckland. 

Shared Services 

Aktive Shared Services offers end-toend 

cloud-based accounting services 

and centralised procurement. It has 

helped sector clients to realise millions 

of dollars in back-office savings. 

How will we know whether this plan 

is working? 

Aktive has a hierarchy of plans and 

measures which link directly back to our 

long-term Strategic Framework to 2040 

and its seven strategic priorities. 

The 2020-24 strategic plan has 

worked backwards from this 20-year 

strategic framework, considered what 

is achievable and what should be 

prioritised in the three-year period and 

the logical, sequential steps that need to 

be taken to reach our long-term goals. 

Three sets of measures are used 

across our plans: 

1. Strategic measures – the long term, 

population level changes over the 

next 20 years 

2. Impact measures – each set 

of these will cover the four-year 

strategic plan timeframe, and 

3. Annual measures – reviewed and 

updated annually as part of the 

annual planning process. These 

will focus on outputs or early-stage 

outcomes. 

These are monitored and tracked by 

our Senior Leadership Team and Board 

through an organisational dashboard, 

supported by a data dictionary which 

details the source of each measure and 

how frequently it can be updated.

Our 

Values 

Ō Mātou Uara 

In everything we do, we 

are guided by our values: 

Gutsy Kia maia 

We make transparent, 

bold decisions in pursuit 

of our vision for Auckland 

Be on the front foot 

Kōkiri whakamua 

We take the initiative, adapt 

quickly to change, and keep 

an eye on the horizon 

Team up 

Kia tū takitini 

We succeed by trusting 

and playing to each other’s 

distinctive strengths

Te Tiriti o 

Waitangi 

Go hard Kia kaha 

We work relentlessly, 

persevere, and see 

things through 

Treaty of Waitangi 

We are committed to Te Tiriti 

o Waitangi and proactively 

engage with and support the 

aspirations of Māori and iwi. We 

acknowledge mana whenua’s 

responsibility for kaitiakitanga. 

These commitments will be 

given effect through regular 

board review of our Tiriti o 

Waitangi Responsiveness Policy, 

advisory support through our 

Aktive Māori Advisory Group, 

and the specific “Partnering 

with Māori” strategic priority. 

Play it straight 

Kia tākaro tōtika 

We deal with the facts, 

focus on solutions, 

and treat everyone 

fairly and with integrity

www.aktive.org.nz

Aktive Strategic Plan to 2024

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