Activating our collective learning capacity for shared outcomes 

Dr Penny Hagan and Angie Tangaere (Ngāti Porou) (New Zealand – co-directors of the Auckland Co-Design Lab)

Dr Penny Hagan and Angie Tangaere from the Auckland Co-design Lab delivered a keynote on place-based learning systems and the Niho Taniwha framework, focusing on collaborative approaches to improve child and family outcomes. They emphasised starting with families and communities, integrating lived experience, and linking local practice to policy and system-level change. The Niho Taniwha framework promotes cultural protocols, blending Indigenous and Western knowledges, and creating reciprocal learning spaces to challenge traditional power structures.

Practical examples from New Zealand illustrated how collective learning cycles inform policy, funding, and practice, shifting organisations from siloed programs to collective impact. The speakers addressed challenges such as power dynamics and legislative constraints, recommending strategies like working with willing partners and building horizontal relationships. They also highlighted the importance of trauma-informed, values-led approaches in both service delivery and system relationships, advocating for co-regulation and grounding in traditional knowledge to address intergenerational trauma.

Key Messages

1. Start with families and communities: Place-based learning begins at the local level, integrating lived experience into system change.
2. Connect practice to policy: Local insights should inform broader policy and funding decisions for sustainable impact.
3. Niho Taniwha framework: Emphasises cultural protocols, blending Indigenous and Western knowledges, and creating reciprocal learning spaces to challenge traditional power structures.
4. Shift from siloed programs to collective impact: Collaborative learning cycles drive systemic change and improve outcomes.
5. Address power dynamics and constraints: Build horizontal relationships, work with willing partners, and leverage legislative opportunities.
6. Embed trauma-informed, values-led approaches: Prioritise co-regulation, healing, and grounding in traditional knowledges to address intergenerational trauma.
7. Sector collaboration matters: Sponsorship and partnerships enable innovation and shared responsibility for child and family wellbeing.