Wednesday 4 October, 2006
The chair of a committee that has overseen a major new study says New Zealand society would collapse if it wasn’t for non-profit organisations. Garth Nowland-Foreman, chairperson of the Committee for the Study of the New Zealand Non-Profit Sector, says the report has been widely anticipated and will be viewed with great interest by both non-profit organisations and government.
Defining the Nonprofit Sector: New Zealand is a major step in understanding and increasing the profile of non-profit organisations in New Zealand. It is published by the Center for Civil Society Studies, which is part of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA. This report on New Zealand is part of a bigger international research project involving more than 40 countries. The Center is working to improve the understanding of the role and contribution of non-profit organisations around the world.
“We are a nation of joiners. For too long, however, non-profit New Zealand has been overlooked and under-valued. Non-profits are a unique form of social organising. At last, this is a chance to increase their profile and give due recognition to the crucial role they play in our society,” said Mr Nowland-Foreman.
“If you wiped out non-profit organisations, there is hardly a part of our society that would not collapse. Our churches and political parties are non-profits. So are our trade unions, federated farmers, and employers associations. Even the Business Roundtable decided that the best way to organise itself was as a non-profit.
“Most of our sporting groups, many arts and cultural groups, hobby groups, fraternal societies, ethnic associations, residents groups, service clubs, environmental groups, historical societies, professional associations and many advocacy groups are all non-profits. Not to mention the thousands upon thousands of health, welfare and other charities and self-help groups that hold our community together. From Alcoholics Anonymous to Zonta Clubs, where would New Zealand be without them?”
The New Zealand research has tested the applicability of international definitions and classifications to New Zealand-grown non-profits. The work done here for this study is likely to make a contribution to further research around the globe in two important areas:
- Statistics New Zealand, working in close collaboration with this research, has developed ‘decision trees’ to help clarify which organisations meet, or do not meet the international definition of non-profit organisations developed by Johns Hopkins University.
- For the first time, indigenous tribal organisations have been recognised in their own right in a major international study. This research proposes a way to classify ‘tangata whenua governance’ organisations, which could very well set a precedent for similar research in other parts of the globe.
Defining the Nonprofit Sector: New Zealand is a significant milestone not only as a part of this major international study, but also because it is a part of the first major national study attempting to measure and report on the non-profit sector in this country. It will culminate in the first comprehensive statistical report by Statistics NZ in 2007 and a national overview report from the Center in 2008.
The research has been carried out by a team from Massey University. They have been advised by the Committee for the Study of the New Zealand Non-Profit Sector, made up of representatives of non-profit organisations, researchers, and the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector. The researchers worked closely with Statistics New Zealand in defining and classifying non-profit institutions in New Zealand, as a first step in developing detailed statistics on these organisations.