Community engagement

Waikato progress indicators – Tupuranga Waikato
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Waikato Progress Indicators - Tupuranga Waikato

Image - WPI community engagement - submission formCOMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

WPI - down arrow   WORSENING TREND

Survey results show that over the past decade and a half, Waikato residents have become much less likely to agree that the public has an influence over the decisions their local council makes.

This indicator measures people's level of agreement that the public has influence on local council decisions, using information from the Quality of Life Survey.

Why is this indicator important?

Community involvement is critical for effective local government. People’s perception of their council's accessibility to include them into its decision-making processes, and the extent to which they feel they can have an influence over council decisions, is a measure of how adequate these processes are for community involvement.

Measuring people’s perception of the extent of public influence over local council decisions can assist councils in improving their community engagement processes. Greater engagement between councils and people living in the Waikato region can help councils become more representative of what residents and ratepayers want and need.

Community engagement

Waikato Progress Indicators - Community engagement graph

Year Some or large influence
2006 62
2016 46
2018 36
2020 37
2022 31

What is this indicator telling us?

  • Compared to 2006, Waikato regional survey respondents in 2022 were much less likely to agree that the public has an influence over the decisions their local council makes (31% compared to 62% in 2006). This reflects a similar trend in other councils.
  • Across the Waikato region in the 2022 survey:
    • The percentage of people who agree the public has an influence over local council decisions ranged from 21% in Hauraki district to 39% in Matamata-Piako district.
    • In terms of statistically significant differences, respondents who were most likely to agree the public has an influence over their local council decisions were from Hamilton West ward (38%).

DATA SOURCE AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Indicator is the percentage of people who agree that the public have ‘large’ or ‘some’ influence over the decisions that their local Council makes. Data are from the Quality of Life Survey.

Update details: Waikato regional results are available for 2006, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022.

Customised data request requirements: Quality of Life data.

DATA AVAILABILITY – OTHER THAN WAIKATO REGION:

Territorial Authority (TA) disaggregation: Yes

Other regions: Yes

New Zealand: No (but 8 cities average is available)

Other countries/ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): No