About this site

This website helps public servants to involve the community in decision-making. The involvement of community, voluntary, iwi and Maori organisations in decisions that affect them is a sign of a healthy participatory democracy.

This site is hosted by the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS), which is part of the Department of Internal Affairs.

Work on the website was initiated in 2002 as a result of discussions between community and government representatives on ways to promote good practice ideas across the whole of government. This work was influenced by the findings in Communities & Government: Potential for Partnership, the report of the Community and Voluntary Sector Working Party, published in May 2001.

The working party received a strong message from community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations that:

• the potential contribution of the community sector had been undervalued in the work of government
• government agencies needed to be more accessible to people in communities
• government consultation exercises needed improving
• where appropriate, decision-making should be devolved to local structures.

» Download Communities and Government: Potential for Partnership Whakatōpū Whakaaro

The website was officially launched on 15 September 2003 to improve the way government agencies engage the community and voluntary sector in decision-making. The site’s explanations of a range of engagement options have particular relevance for anyone involved in stakeholder engagement.

Public servants:  Please use the information on this website to design participation processes for your specific projects. Tell us which sections are most useful to you, and give us the benefit of your experience.

Community groups and members of the public:  We want to hear your comments about the site, your experiences working with government agencies and your ideas for future development.

Access keys allow keyboard users to move directly to a link on the page. Press Alt + Accesskey, then Enter to access the areas of the site shown in the following table. (This function is not supported in all browsers).

Key	Destination
0	View the access keys for this site (this page)
1	Home
2	Site map
3	Search
4	About this site
9	Contact page
.	Return to the top of the current page
[	Go to the beginning of the main content
/	Go to the New Zealand Government website portal