1 Introduction
In 2006, the Māori & Pacific Education Initiative (MPEI) was Foundation North’s first significant investment in high-engagement philanthropy. Over the following years, MPEI demonstrated the power of communities to identify and explore how to lift educational outcomes for Māori and Pacific young people.
In 2014, Foundation North commissioned its Centre for Social Impact to undertake a ten-year longitudinal study to keep working with some of the MPEI initiatives. This study was named Ngā Tau Tuangahuru - ‘looking beyond for ten more years’.
This collection of resources draws together the learning and evaluative reports from these bodies of work, as well as digital stories about the initiatives and their impact.
2 MPEI summary and timeline
The Māori and Pacific Education Initiative (MPEI) was a long-term, high-trust and high-engagement model of philanthropy, developed from 2005 to 2008 by Foundation North (then the ASB Community Trust), with the active participation of community stakeholders.
The intention of MPEI was to identify ways to turn the tide on Māori and Pacific achievement in Auckland and Northland. From 2008 to 2015, nine multi-year initiatives were funded and supported. These offered a diverse range of approaches to lifting educational achievement - from early childhood to tertiary level. The combination of secure funding from the Foundation for each initiative, alongside capacity and capability building support, created optimum conditions for the potential of each approach to be explored.
Two further initiatives were funded in 2016; Mad Ave Community Trust’s Urutapu Leadership Programme for young Māori women, and a longitudinal study over ten years, with five of the first nine initiatives. This study would involve over 100 students and their families. Foundation North Kaumatua Kevin Prime gave the study the name Ngā Tau Tuangahuru ('Looking Beyond for Ten More Years').
3 MPEI initiatives
The Māori and Pacific Education Initiative (MPEI) vision—Mā tātou anō tātou e kōrero, We speak for ourselves—captured the essence of the initiative, that communities know what is best for them.
The following initiatives were selected for MPEI funding and support:
| Sylvia Park School, Mt Wellington | Mutukaroa: a home and school learning partnership, fostering the active engagement of parents who are supported to assist their child’s learning and wellbeing. |
| Rise UP Trust, Manukau | Building Learning Communities project: fostering a learning community and a village approach to education and community building. |
| The Starpath Project | A collaborative research and evaluation project, based at The University of Auckland, aimed at improving university entrance pass rates among students from secondary schools in Auckland and Northland. |
| Ideal Success Charitable Trust, Manurewa | Ngā Huarahi Tika programme to assist pupils to transition to primary, intermediate and secondary school and empower their whānau to support their success. |
| Unitec Graduate Diploma in Not-for-Profit Management, Henderson | Interactive and practice-based learning qualification, supported by scholarships and pastoral care, to grow Pacific leaders and managers for the early childhood sector. |
| The Leadership Academy of ‘A’ Company, Whangārei | Developing leadership for rangatahi Māori through its residential programme, customised learning and partnering with local secondary schools. |
| Manaiakalani Education Trust, Tāmaki | Enabling full digital citizenship for students through devices and dedicated technical support, alongside upskilling and support for whānau. |
| Oceania Career Academy, Māngere | Providing NZQA accredited education options in the Pacific community and pathways to jobs, especially in the construction industry. |
| High Tech Youth Network, Ōtara | Engaging young people in advanced level technology through linking cultural knowledge and values, to give them skills for the future. |
| Māori into Tertiary Education (MITE) | Pipeline Project linking Māori tertiary students with employment pathways, internships and graduate programmes to help them be ‘job-ready’. |
| Mad Ave Community Trust, East Auckland | Urutapu Tamāhine Programme: a two-year leadership journey for young wāhine Māori, incorporating traditional tikanga and contemporary leadership models and thinking. |
4 MPEI evaluation and learnings
A strong framework of monitoring and evaluation ensured that issues were identified, and learnings captured throughout the process.
5 Ngā Tau Tuangahuru learnings and insights
Ngā Tau Tuangahuru (NTT) explored what success looks like for Māori and Pacific children, young people and their families, as Māori and as Pacific people, and what helps and hinders that success. The focus on Māori and Pacific success came out of two years of discussion with our study partners, along with kaupapa Māori and Pacific research stressing the importance of strengths-based inquiries based on lived experience.
In 2025, Foundation North commissioned CSI to produce an Overview & Learning Debrief on the NTT longitudinal study. Further reading on Ngā Tau Tuangahuru is available on our Centre for Social Impact website.
Watch:
Here is a video made by CocoNet, based on the launch of the video at the Māngere Arts Centre in August 2023.
6 Digital stories
6.1. Impact stories of supported initiatives
6.2. MPEI insights for philanthropy
Related reports
View all reports-
Foundation North feedback on Whaikaha’s Draft Disability StrategySharing our feedback to Whaikaha on their Draft Disability Strategy
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Foundation North submission on DOC’s Predator Free 2050 Strategy ReviewFeedback on DOC’s Predator Free 2050 Strategy Review
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Māori & Pacific Education InitiativeA comprehensive collection of evaluation, learnings and impact storytelling about our Māori and Pacific Educat...
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Foundation North submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi BillSharing our submission to New Zealand Parliament.
