A Roadmap for
Whānau Focused Service Delivery
Kō Kollective Trust was founded in 2019 drawing from the Māori Women’s Welfare League’s vision to empower women and whānau as co-creators of a prosperous future.
By 2024, it had become a trusted community connector, but needed a clear roadmap to align its people and purpose. CoLEAD supported Kō Kollective to turn strong values and aspirations into a five-year strategic plan that brings clarity, direction, and impact.
Approach
Kō Kollective Trust entered the process with a powerful founding vision but uncertainty about how to operationalise it. Staff and board were deeply committed to whānau outcomes, yet lacked a shared framework to connect everyday mahi to long-term goals. Funders and partners were also seeking evidence of measurable impact. Without a clear strategy, the risk was that mahi could become fragmented and reactive.
CoLEAD’s approach was deliberately participatory, ensuring ownership at every level:
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Gathering Voices: Hui with kaimahi, board, and whānau to surface risks, strengths, aspirations, and values.
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Anchoring in Values: Reaffirming Tika, Pono, Aroha as touchstones for why and how KKT operate.
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Future Horizons: Defining long-term (20–30 year) aspirations alongside practical five-year outcomes.
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Turning Aspirations into Action – Translating priorities into measurable outcomes, key results, and monitoring tools.
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Designing the Story – Creating a one-page strategic plan visual to clearly communicate direction to partners and funders.
Outcomes
The process resulted in the Strategic Plan 2024–2029, giving Kō Kollective clarity, credibility, and confidence:
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Clarity of Purpose: Vision, mission, and values articulated in a way that resonated with board, kaimahi, and whānau.
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Collective Alignment: Staff could see how their mahi contributes directly to long-term goals.
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Evidence of Impact: Monitoring and evaluation tools positioned KKT to demonstrate outcomes to funders.
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Future Focus: The plan framed KKT not just as a service provider, but as a systems-change leader centred on whānau empowerment, community leadership and the achievement of Pae Ora.
Reflections
The strategic planning journey highlighted key lessons in collective leadership:
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Whānau voice must guide direction – lived experience is the strongest foundation for strategy.
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Values are operational tools – Tika, Pono, Aroha guided not only culture but decision-making.
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Clarity creates confidence – a shared plan strengthened belief internally and trust externally.
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Future horizons matter – embedding 20–30 year aspirations alongside immediate outcomes ensures sustainability.
With CoLEAD’s support, Kō Kollective Trust shaped a strategic plan that honours its values and voice, while charting a bold course for whānau-led change