Toi Rāwhiti in Ōpōtiki, the Porirua Local Group and the West Coast Partnership have now been selected from the 49 applications received. “Right now, the Government spends more than $8 billion a year on social services delivered by community groups, iwi and non-government organisations,” Nicola Willis says. “The West Coast Partnership is made up of Te Tauraki, Pōkeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu, West Coast Community Trust and Homebuilders West Coast, backed by the region’s iwi – Ngāti Waewae and Makaawhio – and the Buller, Grey and Westland district councils. But before any group takes full responsibility for designing local services, their plan has to show real outcomes and accountability – or it doesn’t go ahead. “Our goal is for this to become the normal way social services are run, not a one-off.