Kaitiaki E Tū capability programme

Preparedness, built by people.

Kaitiaki E Tū is a four-hui programme delivered in person at your marae. Together, we'll develop an emergency management plan, support your people to form and train a local response team, and put your plan into practice through a scenario based on the hazards most relevant to your community.

Start a kōrero What you walk away with
A prepared response teamYour people know their roles and how to support each other.
A marae-owned planAn emergency plan shaped by your people, your tikanga and your local risks, with clear roles so everyone knows what to do.
One practical simulationPractise responding to a realistic emergency together, then identify what worked and what needs improving.

OUR APPROACH

BUILT WITH YOUR MARAE IN MIND

Your people’s skills and local knowledge shape the programme.

CLEAR ROLES

Match response roles to the skills and strengths of your people.

KNOW THE GAPS

Identify the supplies and support your marae needs to guide planning and funding applications.

Put into practice

Test your plan through a realistic scenario and identify what needs improving.

The process

Four hui, shaped around your marae.

Hui are scheduled around your marae, usually a few weeks apart, allowing time to gather information and continue the kōrero.

01Hui one

Whakawhanaungatanga and stocktake

We begin by building relationships, exploring past emergencies and local risks, and identifying the resources your marae already has.

Together, we may walk the whenua and check water, kai, equipment, communications and access routes.

KEY TAKEAWAYSPrioritised local hazards, resource and skills registers, and a map of supporting groups and services.
02Hui two

Building the plan and forming the team

Together, we review a draft plan based on Hui one, agree when to activate a response and decide who has the authority to do so.

We assign response roles to trusted people, with backups where possible. We also plan for supplies running low, a tangihanga during a response or the marae being unavailable.

KEY TAKEAWAYSAn activation decision card, assigned roles and available backups, a response site layout and a plan shaped by your marae.
03Hui three

Plan review and response team training

Your marae reviews and adopts the plan, then the team practises starting a response using your available resources and systems.

Where a Resilience Hub is available, practice may include opening it, starting the generator and setting up communications and response boards. Your team learns their roles and how to support each other, then talks through a scenario before the simulation.

KEY TAKEAWAYSAn adopted plan, a trained response team, individual role cards and a training record.
04Hui four

Simulation and assessment

Your team leads a full-day scenario based on your marae’s priority hazards, while independent assessors observe against agreed criteria.

Your team responds to challenges such as disrupted communications, equipment issues and unexpected arrivals. Afterwards, your people reflect first, then assessors share their findings. Together, you agree actions, responsibilities and timeframes.

KEY TAKEAWAYSAn assessed exercise, a findings report with timed observations and a prioritised action list.

Within 10 working days, your marae receives the assessment report, updated plan and gap register, plus a one-page summary to support funding applications. Everything remains with your marae.

The outcome

Your marae, ready to respond

A practical plan, trained people and clear next steps for your marae.

01A written emergency management planSpecific to your site, hazards, people and resources.
02A named response teamClear roles assigned, with backups identified where possible.
03An activation decision cardA simple tool to help your team decide when to activate the response.
04Eight role cardsClear responsibilities and actions for each response role.
05A site layout for response modeShowing where reception, kai, communications, first aid and response boards are set up.
06A contact directory and relationship mapBuilt around your rohe, local partners and relevant emergency contacts.
07A costed resource and gap registerA clear record of what is missing, what it may cost and how it could improve preparedness.
08Trained people and a training recordA record of who was trained and what the training covered.
09A written assessment reportFindings from the exercise, with a prioritised action list, owners and timeframes.
10A review scheduleA plan for keeping the work current, with a named person responsible for future reviews.

PUTTING YOUR PLAN TO THE TEST

CONFIDENCE THROUGH PRACTICE

Practise your response together to see what works and what needs improving.

The simulation gives your team space to make decisions, adapt when things change and learn together before a real emergency.

  • Local hazardsReflects your awa, access routes, past outages and local risks.
  • Independent assessmentAssessors who did not facilitate your hui observe the response against agreed criteria.
  • A team-led debriefYour team reflects first, then agrees next steps with the assessors.

For funders and partners

EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR NEXT STEPS

Kaitiaki E Tū documents your marae’s readiness and priorities to help guide future planning and funding.

  • Documented findingsYour marae receives a report showing how the team responded against agreed criteria and where improvements are needed.
  • Practical measuresResponse times, communications and completed actions help show how the plan worked in practice.
  • A costed gap registerA record of missing resources, estimated costs and how they would strengthen your response, ready to support funding applications.

How we shape it

A programme shaped around your marae.

We agree how to work together, guided by your marae’s preferences and kawa.

Your marae leads the decisions

Your people identify local hazards, agree when to activate the plan and choose response roles. We help record those decisions.

Support that suits your team

We guide discussions and help turn your team’s knowledge into a clear, practical plan.

Built around your kawa

Your people guide how each hui runs, with space for karakia, kai and whakawhanaungatanga. We follow your marae’s tikanga and kawa.

HOW WE SUPPORT YOU

GUIDANCE THAT FITS YOUR TEAM

We can lead the programme or support your marae, iwi or Civil Defence facilitator. It can run with or without a Resilience Hub.

HOW IT IS SCHEDULED

FLEXIBLE TIMING

Four hui, scheduled around your people.

Four separate days. Spaced weeks apart, with time to work on the plan between hui.
Two overnight stays. Four hui across two two-day stays, covering the same content with fewer trips.
A shorter intensive. Two days to develop a plan and run an initial exercise, with less time between sessions.
One marae or several

LEARN TOGETHER ACROSS YOUR ROHE

One marae or several can share learning and a simulation, while keeping their own teams, site information and local priorities.

The first kōrero is where we work together to decide what structure best suits your people, rohe and timeframe.

GETTING READY

What to expect

The right people involved

Include trustees or komiti who can make decisions, people who run your marae and whānau who may help in a response. The first hui usually includes eight to 25 people, with a smaller response team forming during the programme.

Time for four hui

Hui usually run from around 9am to mid-afternoon at your marae. We agree dates and delivery options with you.

A key point of contact

A kaiwhakahaere, or coordinator, keeps things moving between hui and remains the main contact for the plan. We can help you choose someone for this role.

Open discussion about the gaps

Together, we identify what your marae has and what it needs, without judgement. This helps set priorities for future planning and funding.

Start the kōrero

Ready to talk it through?

Let’s kōrero about your marae, your people and what being ready looks like for you.

Kaitiaki E Tū can run on its own or alongside a Resilience Hub. We can also help with your funding application, with your marae leading the decisions.

Start a kōrero Marae preparedness

Our team will reply within two working days.