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Community Development in the Waimakariri District

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This page provides useful links to the Council's community development priorities that contribute to the continuing growth and diversity of the Waimakariri District.

Community Development Team

The Community Development Team has a role in supporting the community and voluntary sector. The Team is responsible for developing community initiatives, managing networking meetings and presentations, as well as capacity building to help people come together to define their common needs and aspirations.

The Community Development Team is led by the Community Development Adviser who supports the plans and collective actions of the community. This includes providing funding advice, advocacy, liaison and linking community-driven initiatives with other resources, knowledge, skills and partners.

For more information on the Community Development Team please see the Community Development Team - 2008/2009 Report Card (pdf, 3.09 MB).

A welcome morning tea for new volunteers and workers in the community sector is held at the Council Chambers, Rangiora Service Centre, usually in April each year.

Council Networks

The Council has close key networks with various community organisations, including:

  • North Canterbury Youth Workers
  • Youth Development Opportunities Trust
  • Strengthening Families Local Management Group
  • Neighbourhood Support.

Some locally grown community initiatives the Community Development Team has supported include the Rangiora and Kaiapoi Community Gardens, and the Community Café in East Belt, Rangiora.

Community Development Strategy 2007 - 2016

The Community Development Team's work is informed by the Community Development Strategy 2007-2016 (pdf, 356.26 kB) for which broad consultation was undertaken in 2007 across the District.

The strategy was developed around four key themes:

  • Strengthening communities with the goal to foster and support inclusion, coordination, cooperation and participation at all levels
  • Community belonging/acceptance with the goal to support local initiatives that respond to identified local needs
  • Working with our community to provide a safe, health and happy District
  • Gather, collate and distribute quality information, in plain English, that meets the community’s needs.

Within these key areas the role encompasses:

Seeking Funding Support for Your Community Project

The Community Team has a role in supporting the community and voluntary sector. The team fields numerous requests for help with funding and have provided resources in the libraries and at the Community Team office.  

As well as offering one-on-one help, the team can organise specialist workshops, assist with strategic planning and occasionally survey community agencies to check what would be useful, for example, with training needs.

There are also key networks like the North Canterbury Youth Workers that meet monthly, where Council provides some administrative support.

The Council has partnered with the Youth Development Opportunities Trust (YDOT) to assist with youth education, training and employment projects. The Council also assists the Strengthening Families Local Management Group and Neighbourhood Support (both North Canterbury organisations).

The Community Development Advisory can occasionally assist a group short term with key tasks such as strategic planning. The Funding and Grants page will provide you with further financial support information.

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