What does a Community Connector actually do?
Imagine knowing someone nearby who could bring neighbours together—and help you find support when life gets difficult. Someone who welcomes a household, helps neighbours share skills or connects a resident with an organisation that can help. Through the proposed Aotearoa Community Resilience Network (ACoRN) model, volunteer Community Connectors will invest three hours each week gathering neighbours together and connecting people with support, locally or through Wellington-wide networks.
The purpose is human flourishing
Helping people belong, develop their capabilities, contribute to their communities and support one another to live well. Stronger everyday relationships and greater resilience help make that possible.
Bringing the whare to life:
Think of our approach as a whare. We have designed its foundations, walls and roof: the coordination, training, support and tools that will help neighbourhood groups become established. Investment will enable us to put that structure in place.
Connectors will gather residents to work out the fit out of the whare and how they want to live within it. What matters to them? What skills, cultures and aspirations will they bring? What would they enjoy doing together? How will they support one another?
ACoRN provides the structure. Connectors bring people together. Residents make it their own.
The life within the whare gives the structure its purpose: people and communities flourishing together.
Starting with local experience
Our 2019–2025 community survey results and trends provide a starting point for residents and Connectors to explore strengths, vulnerabilities and priorities. The visuals also show projected trajectories towards 2035 across economic, social, cultural, environmental and disaster resilience. Together, residents will consider what neighbours can do themselves and where wider support or investment is needed. They might share gardening skills, organise a meal, help someone with technology or celebrate different cultures.
Connectors will help people find appropriate support through neighbours, local organisations or Wellington-wide networks. Everyday relationships also provide foundations for disaster preparedness, including conversations about household preparations and communication during disruption. Residents’ experiences can inform community intelligence, helping wider decisions and investment respond to local priorities.
Supporting the people who connect
Connectors will co-develop an app supporting neighbour communication, training and support, and access to emergency information. During implementation, they will receive quarterly training, monthly mentoring and monthly professional group supervision. Quarterly catchups will provide opportunities to share experiences and encouragement. They will also connect with other suburbs building community. Volunteers need confidence, clear boundaries and somewhere to turn when situations exceed their role. Investing in their support helps them contribute sustainably.
The bigger the ambition, the more bounded the first step should be. Human flourishing is an ambitious purpose. Our proposed first step is deliberately defined in time, place, scale and cost, so we can test the approach, learn from residents and volunteers, and make an informed decision about implementation. We seek NZ$57,800 for a proposed March–May 2027 trial supporting 40 volunteer Connectors to establish 20 neighbourhood groups across Newlands, Paparangi, Woodridge and Bellevue. ACoRN would provide trial training and coordination, with fuller support arrangements introduced during implementation, subject to funding. The trial would assess participation, resident connection, mutual support, Connector retention, training, app usefulness and costs. These practical measures would help establish whether the approach is building foundations for human flourishing and what needs to improve. We also seek conditional implementation commitments to sustain relationships and volunteer momentum if the trial succeeds. Funding would be released subject to trial success and agreed conditions.
This investment would help create neighbourhoods where people belong, contribute and know where to find support. Could you introduce us to a trust, foundation, business or individual who could help fund the trial and implementation? Please read and share our Investment Brief for funding stages and accountability arrangements.
