Applications open for Place Partnership Fund (New Zealand)

Deadline: 31-Dec-2026

The Place Partnership Fund supports community projects that strengthen connections between people and their local places and spaces in Christchurch. The fund supports initiatives that build community capacity, encourage civic participation, strengthen local identity, improve public spaces, and bring people together through collaboration. For the 2026/2027 funding period, a total of $342,000 is available. Funded projects must generally be completed within 12 months of receiving the grant, with successful recipients required to report on project outcomes and finances. The Place Partnership Fund is designed to help Christchurch communities develop stronger relationships with the places where they live, work, meet, and participate in community life. The fund supports place-based community development, with an emphasis on projects that: Build stronger connections between communities and local places. Encourage inclusion and participation. Strengthen local identity. Create shared community experiences. Encourage stewardship of public spaces. Build community capability and confidence. Encourage collaboration and partnerships. Test creative or experimental ideas. Respond to changing current and future community needs. The fund is intended for projects that demonstrate a clear community and place-based benefit in Christchurch. Strong proposals should explain how the project will help people connect with one another and with their local environment. Projects should demonstrate one or more of the following: Increased community participation. Stronger local relationships. Greater inclusion. Improved civic engagement. More vibrant and welcoming places. Stronger community ownership or stewardship. Collaboration between community organizations, residents, or other partners. New approaches to emerging community needs. The Place Partnership Fund is broad enough to support different types of community initiatives, provided they align with the fund’s objectives.

Potential projects can focus on:

Community participation. Place-making. Local identity. Public-space activation. Community collaboration. Civic engagement. Inclusion and accessibility. Community capacity building. Stewardship of local places. Creative community experiments. New approaches to local challenges. The fund also provides an opportunity to test innovative ideas that may have potential to evolve as Christchurch’s communities and needs change. Strong connections between people and their local places can contribute to more active, inclusive, and connected communities. The fund supports projects that can help communities: Develop local leadership and capacity.

Participate more actively in civic life

Create welcoming community environments. Build relationships across different groups. Take greater ownership of shared places. Experiment with new approaches to community development. The emphasis is therefore not simply on delivering an activity, but on creating stronger and more lasting relationships between people, communities, and places. A distinctive feature of the fund is its support for creative and experimental concepts. Applicants can consider projects that test new ways of: Bringing people together. Using or activating community spaces. Encouraging civic participation. Responding to emerging community needs. Building partnerships. Strengthening local identity. Improving relationships between communities and their surroundings. Projects should explain what they are testing, why the approach is relevant, and how the experience could contribute to future community development. A total of $342,000 is available for the 2026/2027 funding period. Funded projects must spend their grant within 12 months of receiving the funding. Applicants should therefore prepare a realistic project timeline that covers: Project preparation. Delivery activities. Completion. Evaluation and reporting. The funding process can be understood through the following steps: Identify a local need. Determine how people in the community could benefit from a stronger connection with a place or shared space. Develop a place-based project. Create an initiative that encourages participation, inclusion, collaboration, or stewardship. Define the community benefit. Explain who will benefit and how the project will strengthen community connections. Build partnerships. Identify organizations, groups, residents, or other stakeholders that can contribute. Develop a delivery plan. Ensure the project can be completed within 12 months of receiving funding. Check eligible costs. Make sure requested funding is not being used for excluded expenses. Submit the proposal. Provide the information required by the fund. Deliver the project. Implement the approved activities within the funding period. Complete reporting. Submit a brief report covering project outcomes and financial information. A strong application should make the connection between the project, the place, the community, and the intended outcomes easy to understand.

A practical preparation process is:

Define the local issue. Explain what community or place-based challenge the project addresses. Identify the place. Clearly establish which Christchurch community, place, or space is relevant to the project. Describe the people involved. Explain which communities or groups will participate and benefit. Explain the approach. Describe the activities and how they will strengthen connections between people and place. Demonstrate participation. Show how local residents or community groups will actively contribute. Explain partnerships. Identify collaborators and describe their roles. Highlight innovation where relevant. If the project is experimental, explain what is being tested and why. Set measurable outcomes. Establish what will change as a result of the project. Prepare a 12-month timeline. Make sure the proposed activities can be completed within the permitted period. Review the budget. Remove any costs that a