Research

After 17 evaluations of our flagship Wave direct commissioning stream, including economic impact analyses, outcome analyses and process-driven evaluations, the results are clear: investing in whānau directly to achieve wellbeing is economically efficient, results in strengthened intergenerational whānau connection, improved cultural connections and opportunities to connect, and increased whānau life satisfaction.

Lead author of the Wave 17 evaluation, Dr Catherine Leonard, Research Manager at Ihi Research, said the latest study confirmed the link between direct social investment and increased life satisfaction for Māori.

“In the previous Wave 16 evaluation in 2023, we sought to measure the impact of commissioning on whānau wellbeing to determine the return on investment (ROI) in partnership with the Agribusiness & Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University. The evaluation demonstrated that the most conservative impact implied an economic benefit of $2.40 for every $1 of investment, with the value of increased life satisfaction combined found to be at least $7.2m. In this evaluation, we asked whānau what contributed to their sense of increased wellbeing to better understand how the commissioning approach supports whānau wellbeing.

“We found that the increased life satisfaction reported in the Wave 16 study could be directly attributed to the way in which commissioning operates because it enables whānau to work together intergenerationally, in culturally aligned kaupapa with financial support.”