11 Insights to Co-design Place-based Approaches to Purposeful Change and Resilience

In 2020, a group of 25 individuals from agribusiness, community, government, and industry came together to draw from te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā to investigate the question “What enables people to unite to explore opportunities to revitalise communities and environments in Aotearoa-New Zealand?” This was posed in response to urgent calls from industry, government, and research for land use, management, value chain, and market opportunities to meet legislation and sustain market access by tackling global and local environmental degradation from biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and water pollution. There is an opportunity for a uniquely Aotearoa-New Zealand response to these challenges by meaningful inclusion of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tangata whenua through protection, participation, and partnership in decision-making.

The group drew on their own experiences and 60 local and international examples of communities and agribusinesses working in place-based initiatives to revitalise their places. Eleven insights emerged. Together these insights provide the ingredients necessary to bring communities and people together to strengthen their connection to each other and the place they live, work, and play, and discover land use, value chain, and market opportunities that revitalise that place. This document is a brief explanation of each of the 11 insights.