Join us for the next SASS Learning Lunch
The Systems Change Advocacy, Support and Solidarity (SASS) group was founded in 2022 by experienced, hands-on changemakers fiercely passionate about community-led, relationship-based, collaborative systems change and creating a more equitable future in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
The group is a diverse network of wāhine and non-binary humans who gather together through the grace of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as systems changers grounded in community. SASS works together in various forums to create a safe space to be present with each other, who lean with each other as we go deep and share our wisdom to enrich others practising as systems changers.
We at Tāhono support SASS as a secretariat and facilitator, allowing the group to focus on their work in scaling up, scaling deep, and scaling out.
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Our journey so far
Read about why this group came together, and the work the group has done so far.
In 2022, the core group came together because of their shared passion for systems equity change and a recognition that this is hard work. They met monthly (online) to connect, support and uplift one another; to share learnings, resources and wisdom; to channel community voices across multiple sectors; and to evolve together the work of the group.
An in-house workshop session on Matike Mai allowed the group to imagine and deepen their understanding of Te Tiriti responsive futures.
An in-person retreat allowed the group to connect and rejuvenate through listening together and to appreciate and validate their work as systems change leaders. It also allowed them to deep dive into their experiences leading systems change and to harvest key learnings and make recommendations for leading collaborative, community-led systems equity change.
In 2023, the group wrote and published Voices From the Frontlines: Community-Driven Pathways for Systems Change in Aotearoa, outlining an adaptable systems change framework with practical guidance and tools for community leaders and funders and decision makers.
“Voices from the Frontline” identifies five community-driven pathways for systems change: enable systems change leadership; strengthen relationships and working together; address racism, bias, and exclusion; overcome funding and bureaucracy challenges; encourage experimentation; and amplify transformation.
Following on 3 representatives of the core group discussed the learnings from “Voices From the Frontlines” on a Tamarack Institute Collective Impact Webinar, thus growing SASS’ profile and partnership network (from national to international).
Tāhono organised and held a follow-up work retreat for the SASS group to whānaungatanga new members and to build a path for the year ahead. There were some difficult conversations at the retreat about Te Tiriti and the place of ethnic minority communities as they engage in a Te Tiriti framework and what it means for their belonging in Aotearoa, New Zealand. An action plan was developed and finalised into three stages, outlined below:
Scaling Up: engage with and uphold Te Tiriti in all systems change work;
Scaling Deep: relationship building, focused on scaling deep through building trust, collective visioning, and supporting each other;
Scaling Out: building capability, sharing knowledge and resources, and taking on knowledge.Keep an eye out for our lunchtime learning webinars which we be rolled out monthly over 2024!
