Project Management Workshops for Maori Organisations

Date:  31 January 2013

The Department of Conservation is providing project management training workshops for Maori organisations to enhance the way iwi/hapu conservation projects are managed in New Zealand.

The programme is the first of its kind in New Zealand and has been developed for non-profit community groups wanting to build knowledge and skills in project management. 

“This an example of DOC’s approach to support Maori partners in their efforts to achieve more conservation,” said Duane Wilkins, DOC’s National Lead for Geospatial Information.

“Participants learn all the aspects of project management and will return to their organisations with new skills and tools to apply to their projects.” 

Maori conservation projects include the restoration of natural areas, pest control, species recovery, water quality projects and native plantings.   

The training supports Maori organisations to access sophisticated commercial mapping software from US based supplier Esri to utilise in their projects.

The training also offers an opportunity for DOC to establish connections between its business partners and Maori project leaders.  DOC has been working with both Genesis Energy and Eagle Technology Group Ltd who have sponsored two workshops to be held at Pukekohe and Huntly later this month.

The Department provides support by way of a project management trainer and printed materials and community groups provide a venue and host the two day workshops, many of which are marae based.

Successful workshops have already been held in Wellington, Hastings and Rotorua and Whangarei. Positive feedback has been received from the attendees who also have an opportunity to continue their study in this field and gain an international qualification.

Additional Info

Eagle Technology Group Ltd has sponsored the printing of manuals and guidebooks for the workshop held at Pukekohe on January 24th and 25th which was being facilitated by the Huakina Development Trust.

Genesis Energy has sponsored a workshop in to be held in Huntly on the 30th and 31st of January at the Huntly Power Station conference rooms.

The programme was specifically developed by DOC and their business partners for community groups implementing conservation projects.

Conservation and GIS are the focus of the case studies but the tools can be applied to any project. The workshops teach participants how to manage the phases of projects, planning, estimating, reporting, working with project teams and establishing governance groups.

One aspect of the workshop is the use of mapping technologies to communicate and plan work visually and maintain information to illustrate change over time. The training improves conservation resource effectiveness by a minimum of  5 -10%.

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