Selwyn District Council
Developing a shared economic direction for Waikirikiri Selwyn.
- Client
- Selwyn District Council
- Online
- selwyn.govt.nz
O’D&Co worked alongside Selwyn District Council, mana whenua, businesses and community leaders to develop Kai Aku Rika, the district’s economic development strategy for 2024–2034. We led engagement, authored the strategy and supported its launch and implementation.
The project
As one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing districts, Selwyn needed to be deliberate about how its economy developed. The opportunity was to direct that growth towards lasting benefits for local businesses, communities and future generations.
The strategy needed to reflect the district’s strengths and the aspirations of the people who live and work there. It also needed shared ownership, with mana whenua, businesses and other partners helping set the direction and taking a role in delivering it.
For the Council, this meant a development process that built relationships and confidence alongside the strategy itself.
Our role
- Community and business engagement
- Workshop facilitation
- Strategic framework development
- Strategy authorship
- Collaboration with mana whenua and project partners
- Launch and implementation support
We facilitated community and business engagement, working with people across Selwyn’s economic sectors to understand their priorities, explore opportunities and shape the direction together.
Through workshops and conversations, we helped participants consider what purposeful growth would mean for the district and where collective effort could make the greatest difference. The wider process drew contributions from more than 250 local leaders.
We authored the strategic framework and full strategy document, bringing together the engagement findings, economic evidence and priorities developed with mana whenua, Council and project partners. This connected the longer-term ambition to areas for action, giving people a clear account of what the strategy sought to achieve and how they could contribute.
Our involvement continued through the launch and into implementation, supporting the transition from developing the strategy to putting it to work.
The outcome
Kai Aku Rika established a shared economic direction for Selwyn for 2024–2034. Endorsed by the Council and six strategic partners in August 2024, it sets priorities for supporting business, building on the district’s productive and knowledge sectors, advancing the Māori economy and developing local capability.
The strategy has since been carried into action plans, with the Kai Aku Rika Impact Group bringing industry and community leaders together to support delivery. This gives partners an ongoing role in advancing the priorities they helped shape.
Kai Aku Rika also received the Integrated Strategy Award at the 2024 Economic Development New Zealand Best Practice Awards, recognising the strength of its coordinated approach.
