māori leaders programme final evaluation report - july 2015

Date of report: 25 May, 2015

Pilot Icehouse

Māori Leaders Programme

Evaluation Report

High Impact in programme performance

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Purpose of this Report

The purpose of this report is to assess the effectiveness of The Icehouse Māori Leaders

Programme based on the achievements of the 20 Māori Trust participants and the progress made

by the four Māori Trusts that they govern.

The report intends to meet the final deliverable milestone of preparing a final evaluation report as

specified in the ‘Variation of Funding Agreement for Pilot Programme: The Icehouse Maori Leaders

Programme between Ministry for Primary Industries and The Icehouse’.

Shay Wright Andrew Hamilton

Head of Māori Development Chief Executive

The Icehouse The Icehouse

[email protected] [email protected]

027 523 1560 027 496 0101

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Contents

Executive Summary 4

Introduction 5

1. Organisation in context 5

2. Background to the need for a Pilot Programme 6

3. Scope of evaluation 7

4. Conduct of the evaluation 7

5. Evaluation data sources 8

6. Overview of BIQ™ assessment 8

7. Overview of Pilot Programme structure 11

Summary of Results 12

Findings 13

1.1 How well have participants achieved? 13

1.2. To what extent did participants and other key stakeholders value the programme? 17

1.3. How well did the programme match the identified needs of programme participants

and other key stakeholders? 19

1.4 How effective is programme monitoring and reporting? 22

1.5. How effective is programme support? 23

Recommendations 24

Next Steps: The Icehouse & MPI 25

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Executive Summary

The Ministry for Primary Industries is interested in improving the governance capability of Māori

Trusts to increase the productivity of Māori agribusinesses. The Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders

Programme has been evaluated to achieve this. The programme involves a 2.5 day workshop,

coaching and follow-up sessions covering governance, planning, performance, team building and

management, partnerships, and additional tools and resources to support learning.

The evaluation framework allows the Ministry to measure The Icehouse programme performance

against robust and relevant criteria, informed by multiple data points, including reports, facilitator

notes, evaluation templates, participant feedback and BIQ™ reports.

The performance of the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme is rated High Impact.

Key reasons for this performance rating include:

Two of the four participating Trusts, Waiteti Whenua Trust and Ruahine Kuharau Inc.

demonstrated a significant shift by from a ‘Not BIQ™’ to a ‘BIQ™’ status over a ten month

period. One further Trust, Kapenga M, reached a ‘Potential BIQ™’ status. A BIQ™ status

indicates that a business is recognised as having met The Icehouse’s New Zealand Business of

International Quality (BIQ™) status. This is a significant achievement, and can be directly

attributed to the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme.

The reported improvements in the Trusts systems, processes and expertise also match the

intended outcomes sought from the Business Coaching component of the programme.

The rating for programme performance is Excellent.

All of the participating Māori Trusts have seen incredible gains in performance. Overall, there is an

average differential (improvement) of 27% between April 2014 and April 2015. Within one year of

beginning the programme journey, the following improvements have occurred overall:

Processes have improved on average by 45% – across people, financial and operational

processes

Offering has improved on average by 32% – this demonstrates Trust leaders having a

significantly greater understanding of their core competency as a Trust and how they can

leverage their points of difference to create a competitive advantage

Capital has improved on average by 30% – all Trusts have near perfect scores in this area,

reflecting Balance Sheet strength and financial management capability. For Waiteti Whenua

Trust, the significant increase in Balance Sheet capability has come partly from taking on

Deloitte as their Trust secretary and financial advisor.

Leadership has improved on average by 24% – influenced heavily due to an improvement in

the trustees leadership style, clarity of vision and strategic direction.

Market has improved on average by 26% – from a range of incremental improvements

Governance has improved on average by 18% – mainly due to reported improvements in

reporting and trustee decision-making.

The participants enjoyed the programme and have shared their learnings widely with other Māori

Trusts. Participants reported an improved self-confidence and motivation, and acquired and applied

practical skills relevant to Māori governance and trustee demands. This is achieved through the

programme combination of many essential elements including its structure, content, use of kaupapa

Māori, support resources and tailoring to individual Trusts, as well as the wrap-around support,

back-end operations and the dedication of The Icehouse Māori team to ensuing a quality experience.

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Introduction 1. Organisation in context

The Icehouse:

Charitable Trust & Limited Liability Company

Locations:

Head office in Parnell, Auckland. Physical presence also in Hawkes Bay and Christchurch.

Distinctive characteristics:

Established in 2001, The Icehouse is a business growth hub, which creates learning environments

for entrepreneurial firms to enable them to significantly grow their businesses. In this sense it

lifts both the aspiration and capability of business owners.

The Icehouse ensures a practical and pragmatic learning style rather than being theory-based. It

provides advice and funding for start-up businesses, and a series of learning, development and

coaching programmes for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Icehouse also provides

access to networks and expertise to support businesses in achieving their aspirations.

The Icehouse has to date worked with more than 5,000 Kiwi entrepreneurs and business owners.

They also now have a physical presence in 3 regions – Auckland, Canterbury and Hawkes Bay –

delivering programmes and workshops across the country. Impact assessments show that on

average, the established businesses that The Icehouse has worked with grow revenue by 12%

every year, meaning they grow 2.5x faster than the average NZ business. They also triple their

profit, on average, every four years, and grow the number of staff by 6.3% year after year.

Māori Development history and journey:

In 2011, The Icehouse identified the need for a programme, which would assist Māori to improve

their understanding, knowledge and skills in a governance context. Based on existing Icehouse

training programmes, a Māori Business Growth Workshop was developed and piloted in 2012 with

financial support from Te Puni Kōkiri.

In late 2012, The Icehouse and Te Puni Kōkiri undertook a review of feedback from 50 Māori

participants on four different Icehouse programmes, including the Māori Business Growth

Workshop. The feedback indicated that the Māori Business Growth Workshop needed to cater

separately to the significantly different needs of Māori SMEs versus Māori Trust leaders.

In 2013, based on this feedback and at the invitation of a group of Māori Trusts based in Rotorua, a

new Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme was developed and delivered, specifically for Māori Trust

governors and managers. The programme was run four times with 17 Māori Trusts in 2013 and

2014, before the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme that informs this report. In all

programmes the Māori Trusts participation was subsidised by Government and philanthropy funding.

At the time of writing of this report, The Icehouse has worked with more than 400 Māori leaders

from 82 Māori Trusts, including land Trusts, marae Trusts, hauora Trusts, kura, whānau and hapū

Trusts. The Icehouse has also extended its suite of offerings for Māori beyond the Māori Leaders

Programme. Further detail about this is included in the ‘Recommendations’ section of the report.

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Relationship with MPI:

In 2013, discussions took place between the Ministry for Primary Industries and The Icehouse

regarding The Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme. Those discussions centred on the Māori

Leaders Programme’s potential fit with key Ministry strategic and Māori agribusiness

outcomes/priorities regarding support for Māori to increase productivity of their primary sector

assets.

After further discussions, in February 2014, the Ministry for Primary Industries and The Icehouse

agreed to co-fund the delivery of a pilot based on the Māori Leaders Programme.1 Delivered over

three months to 20 Māori trustees and managers, the Māori Leaders Programme would involve:

a 2.5 day workshop; and

initially, 3 days of business coach mentoring/support; subsequently extended to 6 days.

2. Background to the need for a Pilot Programme

The Ministry for Primary Industries has a particular interest in improving the productivity of Māori

agribusinesses. A major challenge to achieving greater productivity of Māori agribusinesses is that

Trust leaders are generally elected onto Māori Trusts based on their standing in the community

rather than because of their capability. Improving the capability of Māori Trust leaders to optimise

the productivity of their agribusinesses theoretically offers a high return on investment. It is

cheaper than the cost of developing unproductive land, and can bring results faster. The ‘Our

Strategy 2030’ document identifies one of the medium term goals – that the primary industries have

greater access to the skills and capability needed to grow and innovate.

The issue is that most education and training providers are not doing it effectively. Most focus on

teaching strategic, functional and technical aspects of governance, without first addressing the

attitudinal aspects of Māori Trust leadership, such as their aspirations, belief, confidence and

underlying political tensions that exist.

The Icehouse is able to give effect to this outcome through The Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme

which focuses on the attitudinal aspects of Māori Trust leadership as well as the strategic and

functional aspects of governance. The pilot programme enables the Ministry for Primary Industries

to test The Icehouse performance against a set of evaluative criteria deemed robust and relevant to

the Ministry for Primary Industries. This will provide information for a conversation on how The

Icehouse and the Ministry for Primary Industries may work together in the future in order to lift the

capability of Māori trustees and the productivity of Māori-owned land and Māori agribusinesses.

1 See Funding Agreement for Pilot Programme: The Icehouse Maori Leaders Programme between Ministry for Primary

Industries and The Icehouse.

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3. Scope of evaluation

This evaluation looks in detail at the extent to which the Pilot Māori Leaders Programme has

improved the aspiration and governance capability of participants, and subsequently, the Māori

Trusts whom they represent.

The key evaluative questions were co-created between The Icehouse and the Ministry for Primary

Industries. This ensured that there was sufficient input and guidance from people with the

evaluative capacity and capability to prompt and elicit useful information and evidence from

stakeholders. This process resulted in the report focusing specifically on answering the following

key evaluative questions:

1. How well participants have achieved;

2. The extent to which participants and other key stakeholders valued the programme;

3. How well the programme matched the identified needs of programme participants and

other key stakeholders;

4. The effectiveness of programme monitoring and reporting; and

5. The effectiveness of programme support.

4. Conduct of the evaluation

The methodology used in the evaluation of the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme follows

that detailed in a Ministry for Primary Industries memorandum (3 March, 2015 Up-date: Pilot

Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme Contract).

A range of evidence has been considered in the writing of this report (quantitative, qualitative and

anecdotal). The evidence consisted of various documents including reports, tables, notes,

evaluation templates, participant feedback and BIQ™ reports provided by both Trust participants

and The Icehouse.

Members of The Icehouse Māori Development team undertook the evaluation, and following the

writing of the Interim Evaluation Report, sought the advice of outside expertise to provide

evaluative advice. It was found at this point that there should be a revision of the evaluative

approach because the original evaluation framework focused on measuring the effects of the

programme (the changes in behaviour and knowledge of participants over time) without

examining what actually went on during the programme to contribute to these changes. This is

also known as a ‘black-box evaluation.’ A more robust evaluation approach was crafted to

understand what factors contributed to the change experienced by the participants and Trusts.

Coupled with conversations with The Icehouse management and staff, the information has been

synthesised using the key evaluation questions above, and the results rated using rubrics created

by the Ministry for Primary Industries. The Icehouse has had an opportunity to verify the factual

accuracy of the contents of this report.

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5. Evaluation data sources

Seven key sources of information were analysed to inform the findings and conclusions in this

report. These were:

1. Participant pre-programme questionnaire responses (April 2014)

2. Workshop evaluation forms

3. Participant post-programme questionnaire responses (June 2014)

4. Māori Trust participant quotes and testimonials (videoed and written)

5. The Icehouse team feedback and reflections

6. The Icehouse coaching session summaries

7. Trust BIQ™ assessments (pre-programme (March 2014) and post-programme (March

2015)).

The information gathered since the Interim Evaluation Report (prepared in Jun 2014), has

consisted of trustee feedback and post-programme BIQ™ assessments conducted with Trust

representatives.

6. Overview of BIQ™ assessment

The BIQ™ (Businesses of International Quality) barometer was created by The Icehouse in

conjunction with The University of Auckland Business School and a number of New Zealand

businesses of international quality. BIQ™ is used by business owners to benchmark their

performance and understand the areas of their business that are particularly strong, and the areas

they may wish to strengthen.

The full BIQ™ barometer was filled in by Māori Trust representatives on the pilot programme, in

face-to-face conversations with The Icehouse team members. Certain questions are particularly

relevant to the pilot programme, and will be reported on in this evaluation report.

Each BIQ™ report is approximately 30-40 pages long and provides an overview of each BIQ™

dimension as well as clearly detailing relevant information, tools, resources and recommendations

that business leaders can use to address the areas of their business that triggered ‘red flags’.

This report also shows a summary diagram of each Trust’s change in performance across the six

BIQ™ dimensions, and notes the number of ‘red flags’ triggered in the assessment.

On the following pages is an example of one section of an actual BIQ™ report for one of the Māori

Trusts, with feedback and recommendations for improvement.

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7. Overview of Pilot Programme structure

1. Liaising with potential Trusts

(Feb-March 2014)

The Icehouse meeting with and sharing information with

Trusts who were interested in capability development and

business growth training.

2.

Gathering relevant Trust data

and Trust one-page snapshots

(March 2014)

Determining trustees’ level of experience, knowledge

gaps, learning aspirations and current challenges to tailor

training.

Producing a one page snapshot of each participating Trust

3.

BIQ™ assessment pre-

programme

(March-April 2014)

Facilitating Trust representatives through the BIQ™

assessment to benchmark where their Trust is at – and

identifying key areas to strengthen.

4. 2.5 day workshop

(April 2014, held in Rotorua)

Run with 20 Māori Trust leaders from 4x Māori Trusts.

All pre-programme questionnaires gathered before this

workshop.

5. 5x Coaching sessions

(April-July 2014)

Held face-to-face with trustees in Rotorua.

Reinforcing and applying the learning areas from the

workshop that they want to focus on.

6. Getting trustee feedback

(Dec 2014-April 2015)

Recorded as a mix of videoed and written feedback from

trustees about the progress they feel they have made,

benefits of the programme and areas to strengthen it.

7.

BIQ™ assessment post-

programme

(March-April 2015)

Facilitating Trust representatives through the BIQ™

assessment to benchmark their Trust and identify the

areas where there has been progress made.

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Summary of Results

Programme performance

The performance of the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme is rated High Impact.

Key reasons for this include the following:

There has been a significant shift by two Trusts from a Not BIQ™ to a BIQ™ status, with

one other Trust reaching a Potential BIQ™ status. A BIQ™ status indicates a business is

recognised as having met The Icehouse’s New Zealand Business of International Quality™

(BIQ™) status. The reported improvements in the Māori Trusts systems, processes and

expertise also match the intended outcomes sought from Business Coaching component of

the programme.

The business management knowledge and skills that participants gained have enabled

them to increase their level of confidence, capability and courage in order to improve the

productivity and potential of their assets and make key investment decisions regarding the

development of Māori-owned natural resource assets. For example, trustees are more

active in their participation at a governance level, there is less dependency on external

advisors in influencing Trust decisions, and where advice is sought, the trustees are

demanding more transparency and accountability.

The Icehouse has strong and active relationships with its clients, key partners and

stakeholders. The Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme is based on identified needs of

the Māori agribusiness sector and Māori trustees, resulting in a programme that is highly

relevant, current and authentic in ensuring the most important needs of programme

participants are met.

The Icehouse programme management, staff and coaches are highly knowledgeable in

three important areas to deliver this programme effectively, these areas being business

management practice, familiarity with the challenges of working in the Māori Trust

environment, and experience in working with Māori at the governance level. The Icehouse

Māori Development unit is also able to draw on the support, knowledge and experience of

well-regarded Māori business practitioners from their Alumni programme, as well as the

wider resources accessible from the wider Icehouse organisation and networks.

Monitoring and reporting could be strengthened by centralising storage to facilitate

improved data and information capture, storage and retrieval. Currently, much of the

‘narrative’ regarding the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme sits across various media

and in the ‘minds’ of The Icehouse management staff and facilitators. The Icehouse are

taking steps to ensure better capture and storage of this information.

The Icehouse Māori Development unit’s goal of ‘enabling 150 Māori businesses to be

internationally capable, competitive, and successful by 2020 ’ is noted in this evaluation, and will

be touched on further in the Next Steps: The Icehouse & MPI section of the report.

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Findings

1.1 How well have participants achieved?

The rating for programme performance in relation to this key evaluation question is Excellent.

The evidence that was collected to inform how well programme participants are achieving

includes:

Learner achievement data

Pre- vs post-programme questionnaire responses

Participant (learner) quotes and testimonials

The Icehouse team feedback and reflections

Trust BIQ™ pre- vs post-assessments assessments.

A key measure of achievement for participants on the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme is

the ability of their respective Trusts to achieve ‘New Zealand Business of International Quality™’

(BIQ™) status. The definition of a ‘business of international quality’ is one that can successfully

compete internationally, and defend its domestic position against international competition. A

unique attribute of BIQ™ is that it is not a Māori-based assessment. It is being used by all nature

of New Zealand businesses, providing business owners with a fair and accurate comparison

against competing businesses, both within and outside their industry.

As of February 2015, two of the participating Māori Trusts, Waiteti Whenua Trust and Ruahine

Kuharau Inc. had achieved BIQ™ status, with Kapenga M Trust achieving Potential BIQ™ status.

This is a significant achievement attained over a ten month period, and can be directly attributed

to the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme.

How to read the Business of International Quality™ (BIQ™) report:

The colours of the hexagons above indicate your overall performance in each area.

Red needs attention

Take note of amber

Green means you’re doing well

We’ve also flagged within each area the specific components where we think you have the

potential to improve (red flags) and provided recommendations to help you do so.

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Specific BIQ™ improvements

All of the participating Māori Trusts have seen incredible gains in performance. Within one year of

beginning the programme journey, the following improvements have occurred overall:

Processes have improved on average by 45% – across people, financial and operational

processes

Offering has improved on average by 32% – demonstrating particularly a significantly

greater understanding of their core competency as a Trust and how they can leverage

their points of difference to create a competitive advantage

Capital has improved on average by 30% – all Trusts have near perfect scores in this area,

reflecting Balance Sheet strength and financial management capability. For Waiteti

Whenua Trust, the significant increase in Balance Sheet capability has come partly from

taking on Deloitte as their Trust secretary and financial advisor.

Leadership has improved on average by 24% – influenced heavily due to an

improvement in the trustees leadership style and their vision and strategic direction.

Market has improved on average by 26% – from a range of incremental improvements

Governance has improved on average by 18% – mainly due to reported improvements in

reporting and trustee decision-making.

Overall, there is an average differential (improvement) of 27% between April 2014 and April 2015.

Participants on the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme experienced an improved self-

confidence and motivation, and acquired practical, applied management skills, relevant to current

Māori governance and Māori trustee demands. This is achieved through a programme structured

around the concept of a waka hourua (Māori sea voyaging canoe). Workshop content covers the

areas of:

governance and defining roles of governance;

strategic planning, measuring performance and incorporating kaupapa Māori values;

building and managing teams and partnerships;

and additional tools and resources (such as building financial literacy, and identifying and

managing risk).

Programme resources

The programme content is supplemented by relevant case studies, interactive sessions, videos,

guest speakers, illustrative stories, use of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori processes, and dual

facilitation model (using two Icehouse Māori facilitators). This enables the programme to achieve

the unique goal of building Māori leaders and trustees’ confidence and courage to lead, while also

being cognisant of the challenges presented to governing a Māori Trust. In the programme

workshop, all participants receive a detailed workbook with content snapshots, tips, key questions

to ask as a governor, a copy of the facilitation slides, case studies, and a list of further readings

and useful resources.

Online learning portal

To further reinforce and build upon the learnings gained from the 2.5 day workshop, there are

two further elements to the programme. The first is that all participants receive a website link to

access The Icehouse ‘Te Pātaka Ipurangi’ (online learning portal) which holds 70+ resources,

readings, templates, videos etc. across the various content areas of the programme.

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Business coaching sessions

The next key element of the programme is each Trust is matched to a Māori business coach.

Over the next ten weeks, business coaches and Trusts meet to refine and implement the

knowledge, skills and tools in a practical, ‘live’ Trust setting.

The Business Coaching Sessions content is flexible based on the identified needs of the trustees

and the business coach. Examples of content areas covered in the coaching sessions were:

Identifying and assessing Trusts strategic opportunities and challenges

Trustees agreeing to a shared sense of their Trust’s vision and values

Strategic plan updated to accommodate these opportunities and challenges

Developing ‘SMART’ goals to provide focus in the strategic plan

Filling in 90 day action plans to record immediate actions and the trustees accountable

Reviewing and improving Trust meeting agendas and minutes

Reassessment of Trust structure, roles and delegated authority

Identifying resource gaps and opportunities to employ or partner with others

Over the eight month period of the business coaching sessions, significant progress was made by

the Trusts in getting shared clarity in these areas as well as implementing required changes to

improve their Trust and take advantage of opportunities for growth. An example of this is Waiteti

Whenua Trust. The following outlines the progress made by Waiteti during the period of the

coaching sessions.

Waiteti Whenua Trust

In the 12 months since Waiteti began engagement with The Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme,

the Trust has grown from being passive landlords with a dream, to being active business owners

and now farming three farms. To do this they changed their whole strategy toward joint

venturing with other Māori trusts to increase their scale, acquiring adjacent farms, and building

their own milking shed. Specific things worked on with the Icehouse business coach included:

All of the content areas identified above

Setting up a limited liability company underneath the Trust and keeping a clear separation

of focus between the commercial and social activities

Mitigating conflicts of interest with the Chairperson of the Trust stepping down to take up

the role of CEO of the limited liability company

Recruiting additional associate trustees to take on key leadership roles in the future

Extended benefits

An additional benefit was trustees’ recognition that their accountability is not solely to Trust

owners and stakeholders, but also to one’s own whānau, tamariki (children) and mokopuna

(grandchildren). “I think what was most important is when we started talking about who we are

accountable to. We are accountable to our parents, hapū and iwi. But ultimately I am accountable

to my family, to my kids. And bang that’s when it hit me.” – Trustee participant quote.

It is apparent that the insights acquired by the programme participants have extended to their

personal lives, at home, with whānau, hapū and iwi and in the workplace. As one participant

mentioned, “All the key concepts we have discussed over the last few days are transferable to my

everyday life. I am going to be transferring all these skills I have learned here into my everyday

life. So as of today my 90 day plan starts.”

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1.2 To what extent did participants and other key stakeholders value the

programme?


The evidence that was collected to inform the extent to which the programme is valued by

learners and key stakeholders includes:

Positive feedback from learners and key stakeholders

Workshop evaluation forms




Transferable skills acquired by learners used in other contexts

The participants and Trusts valued the programme highly. During the 2.5 day workshop

component, participants mentioned that they appreciated the opportunity of being with other

Māori Trust leaders, sharing, listening and learning from one another, and realising they are not

alone. The 2.5 day workshop also provides an opportunity for trustees from the same Trust to

work more closely together, build team spirit, reenergise one another and renew commitments to

working to achieve better outcomes for their whānau Māori, hapū and iwi. “Thank you for the

weekend, it has really given me the shot in the arm that I need” –Trustee participant quote.

For some trustees, the programme proved to be a very good ‘reality check’. This resulted in

Trusts looking anew at current challenges, and, through their newly acquired knowledge, skills,

tools and resources, reimagining the potential for their Trust and seeking innovative solutions to

improve the economic development and growth of their primary asset base.

“I feel that it should be compulsory for all chairpersons and trustees to do an Icehouse course -

the three-day workshop with the continuation [coaching sessions] throughout the year. It

identifies their weakness but this course also enhances and strengthens those around the Board

table.” – Trustee participant quote.

Financial skills

Participants regarded the session around financial literacy as being particularly useful. Trustees

are able to access a range of financial tools and resources in both hard copy and on The Icehouse

online learning portal, which improved trustees’ capability and confidence to actively participate in

the management and decision-making of a Trust’s finances. Trustees also learn how to apply key

performance indicators as a way of holding external service providers to account.

An example of the Trusts building robust financial expertise is Waiteti Whenua Trust, who built a

relationship with Deloitte through The Icehouse programme. As a result, the Trust now contracts

Deloitte’s financial expertise. They have also co-opted a Deloitte accountant (also a Trust

beneficiary) as one of their associate trustees to build a Māori team highly capable of assisting

them as they actively go about achieving their growth ambitions.

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Value of coaching sessions

Trusts mentioned that they particularly benefited from the Business Coaching Sessions, and the

value that the coaches added as the trustees grappled with the challenges of implementing new

tools, systems and processes introduced into their existing Trust environments. Building a sense

of trust is an integral part of Māori Trust leaders allowing the Business Coach to help them with

their areas of ‘stuckness’, and to trust us enough as we move them rapidly toward a path of

improvement. The Coaches played a valued facilitative role in introducing new problem-solving

and kaupapa Māori techniques and frameworks, refereeing ‘politics’, challenging trustee mindsets.

At times the coach also played the role of Chairperson – keeping trustees to the agenda, eliciting

input from quiet trustees, and holding trustees accountable for key actions in order to create a

new level of ‘normal’ and a culture of achievement. An observation we have made from working

with a number of Māori Trusts is the distinct and widespread lack of good Chairperson skills in

Māori Trusts.

Finally, each Māori Trust on the programme receives a BIQ™ report, which comprehensively

details across six crucial business areas, how well a Trust is performing. Using a ‘traffic light’

reporting format, the report details the Trust’s strengths, and more importantly, where

improvements can be made.

The value Trusts enjoy as a result of participating in the programme, are that their large under-

performing Māori-owned primary sector assets are looked at, and a strategy put in place to turn

them around to become high performing, productive ventures, and actual progress is made, which

contributes to:

the aspirations of whānau Māori, hapū, iwi;

the economic prosperity of New Zealand; and

enhancing New Zealand’s reputation as highly regarded competitors in the international

marketplace.

Dissemination of knowledge

All of the Māori trustee participants noted that they have shared the programme learnings and

new knowledge with other Māori business leaders and applied it in other Māori Trusts on which

they govern. This suggests a multiplier impact of the programme due to the nature of Māori

trustees’ involvement with multiple landblocks. “[The programme has] given me the strength to

move forward with my own whānau Trust – it was just sitting in the back pocket for so long. Now

the ball is rolling and I am more proactive and stuff is getting done. I have got cousins who are

in Trusts and they don’t know what to do, and now they are older and are wanting to be more

involved and now I can tell them where to go for information and what to do, and how to do

things. So it’s helped heaps.” – Trustee participant quote.

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1.3 How well did the programme match the identified needs of programme

participants and other key stakeholders?


The evidence that was collected to inform how well the programme matches the identified needs

of learners and other key stakeholders includes:

Client assessment systems and processes





Feedback from Māori primary sector asset owners/trustees and other key stakeholders.

Programme delivery takes explicit account of cultural preferences, pedagogies, and use of

te reo and tikanga Māori

Routine collection and analysis of feedback from learners, workshop and other key

stakeholders

Use of data, information and feedback to inform programme improvements.

The Icehouse understands the needs of Māori trustees very well. This is reflected in the following

inter-related strengths of the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme:

1. the Workshop offers practical, applied, ‘hands-on’ governance and business management

tools and techniques, enabling participants to effect real change at the Board level, while

also acknowledging the realities of Māori governance, owner/stakeholder politics and

responsibilities of managing collectively-owned Māori primary sector assets; and

2. the on-site Business Coaching Sessions assist participants in implementing learnings from

the workshop, ensures trustees are focused and accountable for the growth of the Trust,

and to themselves as trustees, and provides the opportunity for Trusts to build strong

working relationships that are founded on trust with Business Coaches and The Icehouse.

Journey programmes work

The feedback from trustees confirmed the need to go on a ‘journey’ with a Trust in order to

achieve the change sought. The Icehouse has validated this previously in the mainstream context

working with more than 5,000 business owners in a range of short and long programmes, and

impact measurement found that the more interactions The Icehouse has with a business, the

more likely the business is to grow. A similar conclusion is drawn from this pilot programme.

Attitudinal shifts

In this vein, the whole programme experience is about learning, consolidating, and then moving

up to the next level, which builds capability as well as a sense of belief and confidence as Trust

leaders see their progress and growth. This speaks to the ‘Attitudinal’ shift that The Icehouse

mentions is a fundamental starting point in capability development of Māori trustees.

One example of this ‘Attitudinal’ aspect is addressing the inter-personal challenges that hold back

Māori Trusts. Multiple data points and research undertaken by The Icehouse indicate that the

most pressing issues holding back Māori agribusiness productivity involve the politics, mindset,

attitudes, and misaligned priorities and beliefs of Māori agribusiness leaders. Many of the trustees

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reported that the areas they have noticed the greatest improvement has been the quality of

conversation, interaction, taking responsibility and unity as a Board. ”Now I feel I can hear the

[other trustees] arguments because I can balance it in my head from what I’ve learned and

instead of just cutting that person off I try and see a good angle in that. The training allows me

to listen better, understand better and contribute better.” – Trustee participant.

Spending the time in the programme to improve the inter-personal relationships of trustees before

building their strategic and functional governance capability has led to the Trust culture, the

interaction between trustees, and their style of leadership improving, meaning trustees can get on

and govern effectively. This was reinforced by participating trustees mentioning that Trust

meetings have become more efficient and focused on strategic issues rather than irrelevant or

trivial matters. “I think what I’ve seen with the change in the trustees after coming away from

The Icehouse course is that they are a lot more willing to be aspirational rather than focusing on

the detail where management should be working.” – Māori Trust advisor/secretary, Deloitte partner.

“On the opening night of the programme I noted a few comments that illustrated local tens ions.

Each trustee wore many hats including some of a pan hapū/iwi nature. I heard distrust and

annoyance from some of the trustees – focusing mostly on the faults of others. I observed that

by Sunday the majority of the trustees were focused on how they could improve their own

performance and make change in their Trusts as exemplars for others.” – Programme facilitator

A Māori-centric approach

A key difference between general training programmes of other providers and The Icehouse Māori

Leaders Programme is our use of whakaaro Māori (Māori concepts), kaupapa Māori (Māori values),

te reo Māori (Māori language) and tikanga Māori (Māori processes and protocols). In preparation

for the workshop, participants are asked to watch an introductory video. Just under ten minutes

in length, the structure of the programme is laid out as well-respected Northland Kaumatua and

Tohunga Tārai Waka, Hekenukumai Busby, shares stories from his own journey on becoming an

acknowledged expert in all facets of traditional waka making, sailing and open sea voyaging. The

inspirational video reflects the main concept underpinning the programme; that of the waka

hourua (double hulled sea voyaging canoe).

This is a powerful metaphor in the Māori world, and is one of the most distinctive concepts to

Māori history. The reference to the waka hourua is used to illustrate the importance of having the

right knowledge and skills to achieve success. It is also applied further in the programme’s actual

structure and delivery as detailed in the table below:

1. Claiming our Waka

(Governance)

locating where your organisation is exploring roles and responsibilities

2. Where is our waka going? (Strategies & Goals) developing a vision, goals, strategy

how our journey is tracking

executing plans

3. Who’s on our waka?

(Teams & Partners) building the right team

managing roles

building partnerships

4. Keeping the waka on course

(Tools for growth & Resources) financial management

risk management

kaupapa Māori values

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Our values

The Icehouse Māori Development unit and the Māori Leaders Programme are underpinned by

values (kaupapa) that bridge two worlds, firstly those that are consistent with entrepreneurial

business principles and secondly adopting the values of successful Māori organisations. These

values include:

Ū ki te kaupapa: Doing good We ensure that all of our work has purpose and real impact

Ngakau oha: Generosity We go the extra mile to add value

Auahatanga: Innovation We are adaptive, entrepreneurial and innovative

Mahi ngatahi: Partnership We seek out collaborative relationships based on mutual benefit

Kairangitanga: Excellence We strive to perform above the expectations of our stakeholders

Pono: Integrity We are open, honest & have brave conversations

Ako tonu: Continuous learning We continuously challenge ourselves to improve our approach

and value add

Applying these values in the programme means there is a blending of a business focus with Māori

concepts, values, te reo Māori and tikanga Māori. This highlights the programme’s third strength

– content that is directly relevant to the needs of Māori trustees, delivered in a way that

acknowledges their respective Māori cultural values, beliefs, practises and experiences.

For example, whānaungatanga is expressed on the programme through a preference for trustees

as a group to participate on the programme, rather than as individuals. It is also evident in the

way The Icehouse facilitators provide an environment that encourages teamwork, networking and

information between trustee members, as well as between the Trusts themselves.

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1.4 How effective is programme monitoring and reporting?

The rating for programme performance in relation to this key evaluation question is Good.

The evidence that was collected to inform whether there is effective quality programme

monitoring and reporting includes:





Robust assessment processes in place, reviewed and updated

Key indicators in place to track progress against agreed outcomes

Performance measures and targets in place and actively tracked

Analysis and use of feedback from: The Icehouse staff; programme facilitators and

coaches; service providers to Māori Trusts.

The Icehouse demonstrates a good understanding of the importance of monitoring and reporting,

for ensuring the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme is responsive to the needs of

participants before, during and post-delivery.

Gathering information

Considerable effort is made by The Icehouse Māori Development unit to clearly identify the needs

of participants through ‘kanohi-ki-te-kanohi’ (face to face) conversations with Trust leaders, and

in-depth research of the Trust itself, including the economic, social and cultural landscape, current

strategy and political context.

Information from additional sources is also gathered, including data and information from Māori

participating in other Icehouse programmes, oral feedback from Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders

Programme participants, completed written assessments (pre-, during and post-programme

delivery), and Icehouse Trainers and Icehouse Director’s observations and de-briefs during

programme delivery. As a result, all this data and information, coupled with the experience of

Icehouse Trainers and Business Coaches means the programme is constantly being adjusted and

tailored to ensure participants achieve the maximum benefits.

For example, after the first Business Coaching Session with each Trust, Business Coaches

identified early in the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme, that more than three sessions

would be needed if Trusts were to successfully achieve their expectations. Additional Business

Coaching Sessions were subsequently offered to the Trusts, and proved a significant factor in the

level of success achieved by the Trusts at the end of the programme.

As a result of the success encountered during the pilot, the programme has since been

strengthened, with the number of Business Coaching Sessions increased from three to five, and

the period of time Business Coaches and Trusts work together extend from ten to twelve weeks.

While The Icehouse provided evidence of monitoring and reporting documentation, tracking

sheets, written assessments and notes, there is a need for a more systematic approach to the way

in which the data is gathered, stored, analysed, and then used to inform ongoing programme

improvements. The Māori Development unit is endeavouring to align the programme’s monitoring

and reporting systems with those of the wider organisation.

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1.5 How effective is programme support?

The evidence that was collected to inform the quality of programme support includes:


Effectiveness of professional development



The Icehouse demonstrates a ‘wrap-around’ support and guidance approach, to ensure

participants gain maximum benefits from the programme. For example, attendance at both the

Workshop and Business Coaching Sessions is closely monitored and absences followed up

efficiently.

Dedication to making it work

Given the isolated location of some Māori Trusts, a fully dedicated Icehouse Māori Development

team member is responsible for contacting prospective clients, arranging meetings, undertaking

follow-ups and making preparations for the Workshop and Business Coaching Sessions. Business

Coaches are also required to travel long distances into remote locations to undertake the Business

Coaching Sessions. This dedication reflects the belief and commitment of The Icehouse Māori

Development unit, The Icehouse Trainers and Business Coaches in:

the value and benefits of the programme to Māori trustees in improving the productivity of

collectively-owned primary sector resources, through improved knowledge and confidence

to make informed governance and business management decisions; and

an intimate understanding of the realities of Māori for whom: o being a trustee is just one of many roles and responsibilities that they carry out for

their community on a day-to-day basis; and o the challenges in managing the expectations and often entrenched behaviours of Trust

owners and stakeholders.

Participants on the pilot programme have indicated that the support offered by The Icehouse was

a key aspect to them getting value and improving their Trust’s progress. “I think the workshop by

itself is valuable for Māori Trusts, but you definitely need do the aftercare stuff. It’s the wrap

around service that The Icehouse group have been able to bring which provides the benefits – not

just the coaching, but also talking to the other team members.” – Trustee participant quote.

Programme participants also have access to a wide range of business services, expertise and

resources that The Icehouse is able to offer through:

its collaborative partnership with the University of Auckland Business School;

strong relationships with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, BNZ, Deloitte, Microsoft and

extensive national and international business networks such as Boston Consulting Group;

networks into accounting firms, banks, tertiary organisations, industry bodies and

government ministries; and

online learning portal that includes business publications, articles, tools, templates,

dashboards, videos featuring experienced Icehouse Māori alumni, and national and

international examples of Māori and indigenous business success stories.

The evaluation also notes the considerable workload of The Icehouse trainers. Personal sacrifices

have been made to ensure the programme continues to meet the needs of Māori trustees.

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Recommendations

The following recommendations are informed by the findings of this report as well as from the

experience of The Icehouse Māori Development team in working with more than 400 Māori Trust

leaders during the period of 2012-2015.

Place particular attention on peer-testing and strengthening Māori Trust strategic plans.

Developments made to the programme since the Pilot Programme have led to a greater

focus being placed on strengthening Māori Trusts organisational strategies. We have

found that the majority of strategic plans are weak, based on outdated models, and not

focused around action and measurement. Assisting Trusts to develop strategies that are

innovative as well as clear, focused and action-oriented is proving to radically improve their

decision-making and the way they mobilise resources to improve the productivity of their

agribusinesses and contribute to improving the wellbeing of their Trust shareholders.

Consider a programme specifically for new trustees. As mentioned by one participant, “A lot of our Māori Trusts haven’t thought about succession training so there is a huge gap between trustees who have been there for the last 30 years and have the knowledge and networks, and the new ones that are 35-40 year old trustees who are coming through now and haven’t been privy to a lot of the stuff that’s happened on the Māori Trusts. I think helping a transition for apprentice trustees would be really beneficial.”

Place particular attention on strengthening the capability of Māori Trust chairpersons,

particularly their ability to run effective meetings and elicit trustee engagement.

Ensure a strong focus on developing financial literacy capabilities. This is a common

theme raised by programme participants. “As a landlord financial literacy doesn’t matter

too much because you get your cheque every month from whoever is leasing your land.

But we need a bit more emphasis on financial literacy I think as we move forward from

being landlords, because to lift the Māori economy we actually have to be at the very

pinnacle of everything that we do as Māori Trusts.” – Trustee participant quote.

Build a wider pool of trainer capacity for wider delivery of The Icehouse Māori Leaders

Programme.

Continue to implement a more systematic approach to programme monitoring and

reporting by aligning to the wider organisational systems and processes.

In the future, tracking the participation of Māori trustees on other Icehouse programmes,

The Icehouse Alumni programme and gathering feedback from other key stakeholders

(such as joint venture, business and financial partners, whānau and Trust owners or

shareholders, other Trusts and local marae) may provide further useful data to assess the

value of the Pilot Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme.

Promote more the fact that our programme is centred in whakaaro Māori.

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Next Steps: The Icehouse & MPI

The Icehouse believes this report reinforces our ability to enhance the capacity and capability of

Māori trustees to grow their agribusinesses. This echoes the feedback that we get from the many

other Māori Trusts we have engaged with. Doing this well involves more than just getting the

content right. It requires a deep understanding of training pedagogy, as well as matauranga,

kaupapa and tikanga Māori gained from our deep experience of working with and in Māori

organisations. These are critical elements in the delivery of the programme to ensure that it

effectively contributes to making the change we hope to see in Māori agribusiness growth.

As a result of this Pilot Programme and the engagement with MPI, we now have a robust and

tested evaluative framework to assess the impact of The Icehouse. We are continually improving

the programme based on data and feedback, and adding new frameworks and tools to support

trustees’ learning. We have a strong system in place to support the delivery of the programme,

and systems and processes to operate it.

The Icehouse would like to continue to work with the Ministry for Primary Industries in the future.

This would be worth further discussion, but to seed some initial ideas, it may look like:

i) Offer The Icehouse Māori Leaders Programme as a preferred training programme for Māori

Trust leaders who are interested in improving their capability and mindset to grow the productivity

of their land assets.

Potentially adapting the programme into a series of learning modules delivered partly

online and partly face-to-face, and that includes a mix of governance tools, quizzes, video

case studies, workshops, face-to-face coaching and assessments to measure learning.

Allowing trustees to structure their learning around their day-to-day schedules (respecting

the high demands on Māori Trust leaders time), and meaning they can refer to specific

learning areas multiple times as required to reinforce their learning.

Reducing the cost of making the programme available to Māori trustees.

ii) Provide support funding for Māori Trusts to engage with the programme, referring to existing

Government models.

Examples such as NZTE Capability Development vouchers and the MBIE Māori Innovation

Fund provide a model of how this may be done from a process and policy perspective.

iii) Develop a partnership arrangement to enable 150 Māori businesses to be of international

quality by 2020. A number of interventions are required to complement The Icehouse Māori

Leaders Programme to achieve this. The Icehouse has developed and tested many of these

interventions with Māori Trusts across a range of business growth projects. Such interventions

include:

Identifying relevant market opportunities

Creating access to and relationships with customers

Working with Māori Trusts to develop focused strategies to take advantage of opportunities

Guiding Māori Trusts through disciplined innovation processes to create defendable

competitive advantage

Facilitating collaborations between Māori Trusts to get scale, and with other businesses

Facilitating connections to distributors, capital partners, and experienced team members

Helping implement processes in Māori Trusts that enable them to scale.