Taihape – evaluating economic development projects

The purpose of this report is to describe and review several initiatives that occurred in Taihape and the surrounding rural district over the past three years. There appears to have been a significant improvement in the business and economic situation in this area. Is this a false perception? Have the three initiatives (two Government-funded and one Council-funded) been influential in this economic upturn and, if so, could the knowledge gained be useful for the economic development of other small rural towns? These three initiatives were; A Rangitikei District Council commissioned Business and Economic Development Plan and the subsequent employment of a Business Facilitator. MAF study on “Farm Families and Sustainability in the mid-Rangitikei” that resulted in the formation of the Rangitikei Rural Action Panel that then employed a Rural Facilitator. The Taihape Business Development Project funded by CEG (Community Employment Group).