Identity, politics, and social marketing for Maori

1
Identity, politics, and social marketing for
Maori
2
This session

• Backgrounds Maori electoral participation
  research programme
• Summarises key findings from the projects
• Focuses on the social marketing literature review
• Suggests wider implications for us all
• Invites your insights and input

3
Our vision

• New Zealands electoral framework and systems are
  widely used, understood, trusted, and valued
• By all people in New Zealand, recognising
  diversity of current political engagement which
  encompasses interest, awareness, knowledge and
  participation.
• Also recognising that people differ in their
  political interest and needs and in the ways in
  which they take in and use information.

4
Turnout in general and Maori electorates -
enrolled
5
Turnout as enrolled 2005
6
Age also a factor

• Over half of those who are not enrolled but
  should be are aged 18 to 25
• In 1999 and 2002 turnout amongst 18 to 25 year
  olds was 15 points lower than overall turnout
• 2006 census shows Maori age profile is younger
  than for non- Maori
• 30 of Maori are aged 10-24 compared to 20 of
  Non- Maori
• 14 of the population are Maori but 20 of 10-24
  year olds are Maori

7
What can we do to encourage participation?

• First we need to understand more about who and
  why
• The aggregate facts will be familiar to most of
  you but there are few coherent answers to
  questions like Why? and then What can be done
  about it?
• We could find no theory based, research on Maori
  participation

8
So

• In 2004 we held a hui seeking to establish a
  Maori electoral research agenda
• In 2005 we commissioned an annotated bibliography
  of academic work on Maori electoral participation
• In 2006 we commissioned research that would
  assist us and others in policy and programme
  development aimed at increasing Maori electoral
  participation

9
We wanted to shed light on

• Who is not participating
• Why they are not participating
• Approaches that have worked elsewhere in engaging
  with Maori to encourage participation

10
Key takeouts 2006 research

• Good insights, but still just scratching the
  surface
• Findings challenge some assumptions
• Age appears as, or more, important than
  ethnicity/identity in participation
• Although identity is an important consideration
  for intervention design and delivery

11
UMR data analysis 2002-04

• Clear differences between Maori voters and
  non-voters, generally as for non-Maori
• Ethnicity not a factor once age, household income
  and gender taken into account
• Maori non-voters more likely than Maori voters to
  live in provincial areas (Non-Maori non-voters
  more likely to live in Auckland)
• Maori non-voters less likely to be on Maori roll
• Attitudes suggest disengagement rather than
  dissatisfaction

12
UMR data analysis 2005-06

• Similar findings as for earlier sample
• Non-voting Maori on Maori roll steady (11 in
  2005, 12 in 2002)
• Non-voting Maori on general roll dropped (10 in
  2005, 16 in 2005)
• Importance of age softened a little

13
He Puna Marama Trust focus groups

• Awareness of belief by some of Maori identity
  being incompatible with a non-Maori political
  system figured for some voters (dissonance) and
  non-voters (rationale)
• Making the choices of party and candidate to
  support felt to be daunting
• Group behaviour factors important for both voters
  (e.g. do it together) and non-voters (e.g.
  transport, hangover)

14
Research NZ literature review

• The participation and engagement of Maori in
  decision-making processes and other government
  initiatives
• A review of both published and grey information
• Four key domains
• Programme establishment, engagement and
  evaluation
• Levels and types of participation
• Maori involvement in decision-making processes
  Case studies
• Influencing Maori attitudes and behaviour
  through social marketing and health promotion
  campaigns

15
The search strategy

• Database search of Te Puna, Index New Zealand,
  Google and Google Scholar
• Extensive search of government department, local
  body and district health board websites to
  identify research and initiatives, and key
  contact people
• Direct contact with 47 government departments, 86
  local body organisations, 21 district health
  boards

16
Social marketing

• Social marketing requires an understanding of its
  intended audience if it is to deliver
  appropriately focused strategies
• In New Zealand that means social marketing
  initiatives intended to reach Maori should
  consider the cultural values, needs and
  aspirations of Maori

17
A kanohi ki te kanohi approach

• Much of the material in this review emphasised
  the value of a kanohi ki te kanohi approach to
  engage with Maori
• For example, in research for the NZ Fire Service
  Commission, of 300 Maori interviewed in the
  Bay/Waikato Region 90 said they relied on word
  of mouth to keep informed on what was going on in
  their area
• Four-fifths (83) thought the marae was the best
  place to speak to Maori about fire safety
  issues. Three quarters had attended a marae in
  previous six months

18
Other channels for delivery

• Kanohi ki te kanohi approaches may not always be
  appropriate or reach those who are not members of
  groups or networks
• Television particularly useful for over-arching
  messages and to gain initial attention
• Radio, newspapers, community noticeboards and ICT
  all identified as useful channels
• The key is choosing the appropriate method for
  the audience/segment

19
Best fit messengers

• Ropiha (1994) suggests that, in promoting
  messages to Maori , the best fit messengers are
  likely to be Maori
• This is not always possible and there may be a
  need to educate the educators, e.g. on using
  resources and presentation skills and evaluating
  their cross-cultural understanding

20
New Zealand Fire Service An example

• Research on the use of firefighters in domestic
  fire safety promotion found that it is, in many
  cases, not interactive or focused specifically on
  at-risk groups (such as Maori )
• Firefighters generally enthusiastic about fire
  safety role, but many believed there had been a
  lack of training to support them
• Some reported discomfort about doing proactive
  safety promotions across cultures. For example,
  some firefighters were better prepared than
  others for entering a Maori household

21
New Zealand Fire Service An example

• A more interactive approach might include greater
  involvement in local communities, ensuring the
  mix of firefighters reflects the cultural
  diversity of the community, and ensuring they are
  well trained and resourced to meet the needs of
  at-risk groups
• The Bay/Waikato Region was the first to appoint a
  Maori liaison officer whose work includes
  delivering targeted messages through community
  organisations

22
Development of resources

• Developing resources in te reo Maori requires
  appropriate language and cultural understanding
• Messages may utilise the images, language and
  protocol of Maori . However, one approach to
  design unlikely to suit all
• A need for caution in the use of Maori imagery
  and concepts where this may perpetuate
  stereotypes
• Established Maori organisations may be
  well-placed to supply Maori -specific resources
  to Maori groups

23
Recognising diversity

• Social marketing and health promotion campaigns
  can aim to incorporate a range of realities into
  their messages, but they may also need to focus
  on particular groups of Maori
• The following case study illustrates a social
  marketing campaign that has considered the
  diverse needs of Maori

24
Te Mana Ki te taumata - get there with learning

• Encourages Maori students to take responsibility
  for their education and promotes idea that
  everyone can make a difference. Models success in
  its many forms and aims to evoke self-belief,
  empowerment and pride in learning
• Te Mana campaign seen as impacting effectively on
  the majority of its intended audience
• Recent research considered ways the campaign
  could inspire and motivate hard to reach
  rangatahi to engage and/or re-engage in
  learning/education

25
Te Mana Ki te taumata - get there with learning

• What those rangatahi interviewed found
  motivating, important and influential (personally
  and educationally) were whänau/family, friends
  and good teachers - strongly relationship based
• Rangatahi and key informants saw the advertised
  Te Mana message as more philosophical than
  practical. They preferred a straightforward
  message that they could relate to and understand
  how it might be achieved

26
Te Mana Ki te taumata - get there with learning

• Among recommendations on the development of
  communications for hard to reach rangatahi
• quality production values and cutting edge
  graphics
• a clear simple, relatable message
• primarily a television advertising strategy
• while a Maori cultural element should be
  retained, youth culture elements more likely to
  achieve quick attention grab
• extending rangatahi vision from today to a
  further point in time, e.g. by the end of the
  year

27
Some observations for discussion

• Confusion still exists between information and
  social marketing
• A tendency to still approach Maori as one
  homogenous group, when a one size fits all
  approach is clearly not appropriate
• Barriers to successful engagement exist on both
  the provider and audience side
• Lack of evaluated initiatives
• There is a major capacity issue affecting the
  ability to involve Maori researchers evaluators

28
Social marketing is not information provision

• Confusion continues to reign
• Social marketing is more than just the provision
  of information using above-the-line advertising
  communications

29
One size fits all

• For many years now, Durie and others have been
  reminding us about the diverse realities of Maori
  
• Yet, there is a tendency to still approach Maori
  as one homogeneous group, with a common message
  delivered through a common channel
• Is this simply a resourcing issue?
• The response has been predictable

30
Factors resulting in successful engagement

• Meaningful consultation
• Initiatives that recognise diversity
• Accessible messages
• Kanohi ki te kanohi approaches (although not
  unique to Maori )
• Appropriate use of television, radio, newspapers,
  community noticeboards and ICT for communicating
  messages

31
Barriers to successful engagement

• Provider-side
• Consultation can be costly
• Capability of staff to engage with Maori
• Frameworks for service delivery to Maori need to
  incorporate tikanga Maori
• Audience-side
• Consultation can be costly
• Cynicism towards central government
• Some Maori prefer to operate within a Maori
  framework

32
Lack of evaluated initiatives

• Evaluation often not planned or budgeted for
• Evaluation design can be challenging
• Can be difficult to assess impacts at a
  population level
• Can evaluate aspects of a campaign, e.g. Its
  About Whänau
• Some use of pre-testing for resources
• Focus groups
• Process evaluations

33
Capacity issues

• Demand exceeds supply
• Skill level is variable

34
For more

• www.elections.org.nz