MAHI TAAPOI
Sustainable Tourism Development
The Māori Tourism Business Facilitation Service was an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism and was administered by Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry of Māori Development. Peter was appointed to the small team of specialist business assessors whose responsibilities included:
Māori Tourism Business Facilitation
Copyright Mahi Taapoi, 2008-12. All Rights Reserved.
Mahi Taapoi is the specialist tourism development arm of Dialogue Consultants Ltd, Auckland and Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand
Māori Tourism Business Facilitation
Māori Tourism Marketing Review
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Onsite Review – a questionnaire used during the site visit to further explore the key issues identified in the Business Snapshot. It is used to test/confirm the initial findings made during the initial analysis. -
Prioritisation Grid – used to identify and prioritise the key issues that are required to be addressed. The grid illustrates the relationships between the key strategic issues in terms of their impact on the business and their ability to be addressed within known resource constraints.
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Capability Report – provides detailed discussion of the identified strengths and weaknesses within each of the six Performance Areas. It brings the information together in logical steps and shows how the resulting actions were determined. A key part of the Capability Report is the Needs Assessment which outlines the current state of selected strategic goals against the desired future state.
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Action Plan – outlines the strategic goals and actions that will be implemented throughout the next twelve months. Goals are broken down into steps that are easily measured and include timeframes for implementation and completion.
Peter assessed a series of businesses including a tour operator, an island resort, a craftsperson, an orchard, an arts trust, and a cafe specialising in contemporary Maori food.
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Finalise BDP and clarify BDP recommendations, if required
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Ongoing role to review progress on the implementation of the BDP recommendations
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Record client interventions and progress in SmartFund (the on-line project management system)
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Sign off work of the Business Mentors.
The process used standardised formats to ensure consistency throughout the process covering:
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Business Profile – a template filled out by the business operator and details most of the information required by the Account Manager in order to assess the eligibility of the business operator to enter the programme.
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Business Snapshot – a comprehensive assessment that is completed by the business operator and aims to gather as much information as possible through a reasonably simple process. The assessment works through the six Performance Areas and is designed to provide the Assessor with a reasonably detailed view of the strengths and weaknesses of the business. In most cases the business operator will need encouragement and support during this assessment phase.
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Assessor Notes – a template used by the Assessor to document their analysis of the business under each of the six Performance Areas that have been identified in the Business Snapshot. The notes are designed to identify strengths and weaknesses in the business prior to the site visit.
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Assess the Business Snapshot and evaluate business strengths and weaknesses
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Complete an Onsite Review and Needs Assessment
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Provide coaching during assessments as required
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Onsite identification and prioritisation of key strategic issues
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Prepare a Business Development Plan (BDP) after the onsite assessment
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Select relevant interventions that address key strategic issues including mentoring/delivery options
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Present draft BDP to client
