Original Research: Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund

21/08/2023

Independent Evaluation: Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund (2023)

Te Puni Kōkiri commissioned DTK and Associates to complete an independent evaluation of the Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund, which invested $128.98 million between October 2021 and June 2022. Over that period the Māori first-dose vaccination rate rose from 69% to 91%, and the second-dose rate from 49% to 88%. We found that the Fund helped to lift Māori vaccination rates, and that it improved equity of access by funding additional vaccination services in areas with high-priority populations and low access to vaccines.

In doing so, the Fund reduced the administrative burden on whānau living rurally and remotely, tamariki and rangatahi, whānau who needed to hear from a trusted messenger, and tāngata whaikaha. It lowered three kinds of cost: learning costs, such as finding out who in the whānau was eligible and where to get information or a vaccine; psychological costs, such as the stress and stigma of dealing with people unknown to the whānau; and compliance costs, through streamlined application and reporting processes. Kaitono told us that Te Puni Kōkiri regional staff found the right balance between compliance that enabled accountability and compliance that became a burden.

The strongest finding on collaboration was that the Wellington-based officials at Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Arawhiti and Manatū Hauora shared a mission: to reduce disproportionately poor access to COVID-19 information and vaccination services for Māori, rural and older people. That shared mission tended to drive each agency’s priorities and motivate its staff. Officials also acknowledged that they did not spend enough time critically examining one another’s work or building a collaboration fully integrated for kaitono. As the rollout matured and risk reduced, decisions moved closer to where the work was done. We also found that the regional networks of Te Puni Kōkiri, and their deep understanding of the Crown–Māori relationship, were critical to the Fund’s success.

We made two recommendations. First, Te Puni Kōkiri should improve the quality of its programme impact data and, if necessary, align it to the Whānau Ora Pou, if only to reduce the compliance burden on providers. Second, it should give more thought to including Iwi and Māori voices at the decision-making table, whatever the speed of delivery.

Read the report: https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/o-matou-mohiotanga/health/maori-communities-covid19-fund-evaluation-report

Reference
Te Kawa, D., & MacDonald, L. T. A. o T. (2023, August 9). Independent evaluation: Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund. DTK and Associates for Te Puni Kōkiri. https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/o-matou-mohiotanga/health/maori-communities-covid19-fund-evaluation-report