Getting to know you better to inform our future
It is crucial that the work of Council is informed by our community and the community has a voice in the future of Tauranga City.
You may have taken part in our first Vital Update - Tauranga research in 2019-2020. This was not a one-off or a ‘make and forget’. We use the information, and we know others do as well, so we’re repeating it again in 2023 because we recognise that you are unique and important, and both the City and our communities are evolving.
As our city grows, your feedback will ensure your:
- local knowledge is valued - you know your community best
- wellbeing is prioritised
- needs can be considered
- ideas and aspirations are included
- neighbourhoods are enhanced.
We do this research every three years so that we can get to know you better and help create a better future for the people who call Tauranga home. Together with Acorn Foundation, Bay Trust and TECT we do this research, because we believe that everyone deserves a voice, and by listening to our community we can support and provide resources in the right places to make a difference.
With this information, we can become a city that grows with your needs and wellbeing in mind.
How does it work?
We want to hear from as many people as possible, who live, work and play in Tauranga, people with different backgrounds and experiences and particularly people who we don’t usually hear from.
All Tauranga residents are invited to complete the survey, so we can learn what you enjoy about Tauranga, as well as your challenges, needs and aspirations for making Tauranga better for the future. We are working with a number of community organisations to ensure we hear from as many different parts of our community, including rangatahi (youth), Māori, Pacific Island communities, ethnic communities and newcomers, disabled people and their carers, kaumatua (elders), people experiencing homelessness/housing stress and the LGBTQI+ (Rainbow) community.
The research is conducted by independent research company Key Research who will protect your privacy by ensuring your identity is not disclosed.
Prizes up for grabs
As well as helping us make Tauranga the best it can be, you could go in the draw to win one of the following prizes*
- 1 x $500 Prezzy card
- 5 x $100 Bayfair vouchers
- 5 x $100 The Crossing vouchers
- 10 x $50 Pak’n’Save vouchers
* Terms and conditions apply (85kb pdf)
Take the survey now
Terms and conditions (85kb pdf)
Who uses the information?
Whether you belong to a community organisation, or want to know more as an interested individual, the data we collect is available for everyone to use.
As with the data collected in 2019, it will be published on our Whakahou Taketake Vital Update – Tauranga webpage. As well as a main dashboard and report, separate reports and dashboards will be available by suburb and for each of our priority groups.
At Tauranga City Council we use Vital Update to help inform our Long-Term and Annual Plans, work programmes, and design thinking. We build on what you’ve already told us so we can understand what you’ve told us matters to you.
“I have used the data to gauge where our rangatahi are in terms of social wellbeing, reasons for less contact with whānau and friends, how they engage within the community and any safety factors that are of concern. Having access to accurate data is a great stepping stone for us to keep up with our rangatahi and get an informative idea of changes or support that needs to be addressed and actioned. It is a great platform for our rangatahi to be acknowledged as valuable members of society.”
Jas Douglas, Rangatahi Development Manager, Te Ratonga Poumanaaki Charitable Trust
“The needs, experiences and aspirations of the Pacific community identified in the Vital Update - Tauranga data helped support Pacific Growth’s proposal to the Ministry for Pacific People for the need for services such as ours. This has helped the development of strategic relationships and led to better opportunities and improved outcomes that I can provide for the Pacific community in Tauranga.”
Aifai Esera, Director, Pacific Growth Services
“Vital Update is a powerful tool that provides deep insights into the way we live, what we love about our region, and what needs to improve. Armed with this knowledge, we can make good decisions about how we can best invest into our communities, both for now and for future generations. Our donors know that we use these insights to make the best decisions about where their generous donations are allocated.”
Margot McCool, Donor & Community Engagement Manager, Acorn Foundation
“We use data from Vital Updates mainly at the start of projects to better understand the issues and challenges that a community has identified. When we move into project specific engagement, it allows us to talk to the community about the issues they have already identified and build a more detailed understanding or reaffirm outcomes.”
Carl Lucca, Team Leader: Urban Communities, Tauranga City Council
What’s new in Vital Update - Tauranga 2023?
We’re looking to hear more from our growing Rainbow and Pacific Island communities this year to find out what’s going well in their lives and the issues that pose challenges.
We also want to hear from our younger generation, so through our schools, kura and alternative learning providers we are also going to separately survey children aged between 5-12 years as part of a Child Wellbeing Study, and extend Vital Update - Tauranga to hear from rangatahi (youth) from 13 years old.
*As at 2018, there were 27,612 people under the age of 15 years living in Tauranga City.
The information we gather will help us respond to the needs of your children, including their safety in the community, and planning for open spaces and facilities, neighbourhood planning and neighbourhood/city events.
*Source: Stats NZ
Next steps
The results of the survey and the digital dashboards will be updated by the end of 2023.