The Roadmap towards Kotahitanga using the Mindsets of Social Innovation

“Following the Currents, Not Just the Map”

When manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, tino rangatiratanga, mana, and ako are embedded in our co-design practices, a roadmap toward kotahitanga is formed. These principles are not just ideals, they shape how we engage, how we listen, and how we create spaces where whānau, hapū, iwi, and communities feel empowered to act on their own terms.

Recently, our team has been coming together for live learning sessions to deepen our understanding of the principles that guide our practice. Across Aotearoa and beyond, there’s a shared desire to better connect with people, represent them authentically, and anchor them meaningfully in kaupapa. As the saying goes: “people don't care about what you know, but they’ll remember how much you care.”

We’re seeing new forms of leadership emerge - leaders refining their approach, investing in storytelling, and using communication to connect, inspire change, instil hope, and move kaupapa forward. While countless tools and templates promise to solve complex challenges, their true impact lies in the mindset of those who use them.

These are the mindsets of social innovation, a way of thinking that drives the development of new ideas, services, and systems that better meet social needs and improve wellbeing, especially for those most affected by inequity.

“We really want to use the methodologies or the approaches of Healthy Families. We want to be the drivers of that. It does require a change in mindset because it's not about being in charge. It's about a collective, collaborative approach.” Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata, Mātaiwhetu Chief Executive Officer, Te Oranganui Trust

These mindsets guide our way of being:

• Sitting in the grey means being comfortable with uncertainty and complexity. It’s about resisting the urge to rush to solutions and instead embracing collective sensemaking.

• Curiosity and learning by doing fuel our work. We learn by acting, reflecting, and evolving alongside whānau and partners.

• Comfort with failure sees missteps as learning moments - an essential part of building better systems.

• Believing people are the experts reminds us to shift power. Those most affected by an issue must lead the way. Our role is to amplify, not overwrite their wisdom.

One of the biggest barriers to social innovation is the mindset around who holds decision-making power. Leadership has too often followed a top-down approach, leaving communities feeling unheard and undervalued. Another barrier lies in our own assumptions about how change should happen.

“Following the currents” means creating space where people feel genuinely heard and valued, not through rigid methods, but through everyday gestures of care, active listening, reciprocity, and cultural awareness. Whether it’s a cup of tea, a warm “Morena,” or reading the room with our wairua and puku, these acts reflect our values and influence how we facilitate meaningful, inclusive engagement.

“I live and breathe the mindsets of social innovation and the six conditions of systems change. I have facilitated small and large groups across the country to address complex problems using these frameworks. I find it helps stakeholder groups to think outside the box, to check their own bias, and to lean into the uncomfortableness of learning new ways of thinking and acting. Systems thinking and systems change helps leaders and champions to zoom in and out of the day to day operating framework to see the dynamic nature of complex systems, and what conditions are holding persistent problems in place. This gives people permission to then look for how these can be overturned, or redesign new strategies for enabling change.” Ripeka Davis, Mataiawa Research & Innovation, Te Oranganui

The journey toward kotahitanga isn’t about building empires, it’s about following the currents, guided by values. When we embody the mindsets of social innovation and ground our practice in care, humility, and shared power, we create space for authentic connection and transformation. True change happens when communities are not only invited in, but empowered to lead. By listening deeply, staying curious, and holding space for uncertainty, we move closer to systems shaped with people, not for them. This is the real work of kotahitanga.