Kaupapa and background
An overview of the purpose and background of CommunityNet Aotearoa.
Kaupapa / philosophy
An internet resource supporting communities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
CommunityNet Aotearoa aims to help community organisations by:
- Providing access to relevant, good quality information
- Raising the profile of the community sector
- Encouraging information-sharing between organisations
The website is designed for people working in and with whanau, hapu and iwi, and community organisations. This includes the staff, board and committee members of organisations, community development advisors and others working with these groups, and those wanting to set up community projects or organisations.
CommunityNet Aotearoa is concerned with community development and equity issues. It promotes principles of empowerment, partnership, diversity, openness, consultation, effectiveness and community building.
Why have a Community Sector website?
A portal: The Internet offers access to thousands of websites and discussion forums, with new material constantly being created. A huge amount of information is available, but it can be time consuming and confusing to find what you want. CommunityNet editors search for reliable and useful resources already on the Internet and link to them from How-To Guides and Hot Topics. Contact us if you'd like to become an editor.
A Community notice board: CommunityNet Aotearoa also helps organisations sort and share information, and make relevant information available online. You can publish news and notices quickly and easily in the Community Centre, and recommend websites for linking in the Links section. People active in one community can network with others involved in similar activities and build supportive, reciprocal relationships.
Community led: A feeling of ownership and 'buy-in' from community organisations will ensure the website becomes effective. Iwi / Maori and community organisations are invited to contribute to website content material and become involved in setting directions in the community Advisory Group. This helps set strategic and editorial policy.
CommunityNet Aotearoa supports the Government and Departmental Outcome of Strong, sustainable communities / hapu / iwi.
CommunityNet Aotearoa History
The first version of the CommunityNet Aotearoa website resulted from consultation in March 1998 between 16 national community groups met and the Department of Internal Affairs.
A working party was asked to develop a prototype website and recommend for a community governance structure. Representatives from NZCAB, National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges, YWCA, National Kohanga Reo Trust, Maori Women's Welfare League, NZCOSS, Disabled Persons' Assembly, Kupenga Maori, 20/20 Trust, and the Funding Information Service worked in partnership with the Department.
The original website was launched in November 1998, with change and growth expected as feedback was received from users. A few months later it was agreed that Internal Affairs should provide ongoing maintenance of the website, rather than it being run by a charitable trust.
The website grew steadily as a result of contributions by community groups and work by Internal Affairs. On average 5,000 visitors came each month and gave a lot of positive feedback. However, the level of community input into governance has waned.
A review by Internal Affairs in March 2002 clarified what types of information is needed to enhance the website and how community organisations could be involved in governance. This led to a new structure for the website and to the establishment of the CommunityNet Aotearoa Advisory Group.
The new website was launched in November 2002, and visitor numbers, community contributions and the website grew. The Advisory Group drew up a Long Term Plan and Editorial Policies and agreed them with DIA. The continuing development of CommunityNet follows these, which are reviewed at the quarterly Advisory Group meetings.
In early 2003, there were around 4,000 visits each month; in early 2004 it was around 6,000 and by early 2005 it was around 15,000 each month.
(Note on statistics: due to the nature of the web, and the methods of gathering data, web visit statistics are not reliable, and these figures should be taken as indicating trends only. The statistics software we use excludes some major search engine 'web-bots' visits, which often inflate visit figures. However, it is likely that other web-bots have not been recognised and excluded.)
This growth was due to, and matched by, increased information on the website. The number of How-To Guides grew from 4 to 10, community items each month grew from 26 to 36 and Panui newsletter subscribers from 350 to 550.
A Reader Survey in 2005 showed high levels of reader satisfaction and confirmed the value of different functions of the site, as well as identifying improvements, which are being steadily made. A Usability and accessibility Audit in June showed good levels of both.
The Community Research How-to guide and the Managing Well resource catalogue were added. Visits rose to around 20,000 monthly, community items to 60 monthly, and subscriptions to various versions of Panui reached 800. (Please see the Note on statistics above.)
IT & Internet and Volunteering Guides were revamped and expanded, In 2006 the website was one of three receiving an inaugural AccEase Accessibility Award.
The 2005 survey had identified the need for a design refresh. The homepage and content page navigation was revised and the new design went live in September 2006.
Currently over 25,000 visits are logged each month. The statistics page shows the latest graphs. (Please see the Note on statistics above.)
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