Te Tokotoru
Te Tokotoru is a systems approach to wellbeing, developed alongside whānau and rangatahi. It provides a different starting point for designing and investing in equity and intergenerational wellbeing.
On this page, you will find a series of reports, resources and tools to help you understand and apply Te Tokotoru.
About Te Tokotoru
It has been well established that Government-led social services are not delivering well enough for whānau experiencing the most complexity. Te Tokotoru provides an alternative investment approach based on growing whānau and community capacity rather than just focusing on individual service delivery.
Te Tokotoru is an evidence based approach that supports the public sector to reorient their practices and approaches to investment in whānau wellbeing. It reflects what The Southern Initiative and The Auckland Co-Design Lab have learnt about what matters and makes a difference to whānau and their wellbeing.
Te Tokotoru increases the impact of public sector funding through a more balanced allocation of resources that is more effective over the longer term.
Te Tokotoru supports the government's intent to focus investment beyond crisis to include building strengths, protective factors and prevention capability. It helps government to be more responsive to what matters to communities in place, and break repeating cycles of harm.
Te Tokotoru refers to the interdependent dimensions of healing, strengthening and responding.
Strengthening – growing existing strengths and protective factors.
Healing – what supports restoration, healing and rebalancing.
Responding – accessing an ecology of support through many sources, before crisis.
Innovation Brief
Innovation Briefs share point-in-time learning from our work alongside whānau and other partners. This brief introduces Te Tokotoru, shares the practice based evidence that underpins the model, and provides examples of how Te Tokotoru can be applied in practice.
Reference Kit
Te Puna Aonui is a collective of government agencies who are responsible for delivering Te Aorerekura - the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence.
This reference kit was developed for Te Puna Aonui and:
Provides an overview of Te Tokotoru, why it’s important, and how it was developed
Explains the three dimensions of healing, strengthening and responding
Explains how Te Tokotoru helps to implement the shifts of Te Aorerekura
Includes examples of how Te Tokotoru is being used by different teams in the public sector to prioritise what matters and makes the difference to whānau
Provides useful tools to help people apply Te Tokotoru in different contexts.
Webinar
Presenter: Kimi Tangaere
We have held two Practice Foundations sessions focused on Te Tokotoru. In our most recent session, Kimi Tangaere shared insights from her use of Te Tokotoru, particularly around healing and strengthening.
Our initial Practice Foundations session on Te Tokotoru can be found here.
Case Studies
These case studies share how Te Tokotoru is being used to rebalance action and investment towards what makes the difference for whānau and their wellbeing.
