Our Tikanga

Definitions of words used in our Service Agreement:  

“Client” means the organisation that engages our services, including its officers and all individuals participating in our services on its behalf.

"Confidential Information" means any information shared between the parties that is considered private, including details of this agreement, unless explicitly stated otherwise. 

“Facilitator” means our trained employees, agents or contractors who perform the agreed Services. 

“Force Majeure Event” means an event or occurrence which is beyond a party’s reasonable control, such as natural disasters, government actions, pandemics, alien abductions, and other emergencies which may impact service delivery.

"Intellectual Property" means all Services, proprietary materials, including programme content, teaching plans, designs, operational procedures, distinctive marketing, trademarks, domain names, software, copyright, Confidential Information, know-how and trade secrets, whether registered or unregistered, that we own or have rights to use.

“Participants” means those individuals selected by the Client to take part in the Services and our Programmes. 

“Programmes” incorporates all materials provided as part of our training and coaching, such as guides, course materials, software, and online or physical resources.

“Service Agreement” means the signed document that is provided to the Client outlining the terms of engagement between us and the Client.

"Services" means the specific services outlined in the Service Agreement. 

"Term" means the duration of the agreement, as specified in the Service Agreement.

We partner with each client to help them progress their kaupapa - growing their capability, governance effectiveness, impact, and their sustainability.  In turn that supports our mission to enable Māori organisations to be world class.  Strong relationships with each of our clients ensures the success of our programmes, and we ask that all engagements be approached with this collaborative intent. 

✔  We work with you, not just for you.

✔  Open and honest communication is key to success.

✔  We commit to high-quality, culturally aligned service delivery.

DescriTo ensure we progress meaningfully, both of our sides have responsibilities:

Our commitment to Clients:

✔ Deliver the Services as agreed in the Service Agreement or as otherwise agreed in writing. This includes at the times, place, manner and up to the number of participants specified.

✔ Provide skilled facilitators who uphold high standards.

✔ Adapt to the needs of the Client and participants, while staying true to our kaupapa.

✔ Correct any material deficiencies in our service delivery.

✔ We may delegate or subcontract facilitators to deliver services on our behalf.

✔ We reserve the right to assign our interest in the agreement to another party if required.ption text goes here

Client commitments to us:

✔ Sign the Service Agreement before we begin.

✔ Provide all necessary documentation and information in keeping with the programme timelines.  Any delay in doing so may delay or render us unable to effectively perform the Services, or diminish the benefits of the Programmes;

✔ Ensure participants engage fully in the learning process, including pre-work and pre-reading.

✔ Allow us to acknowledge your participation in reports and marketing (without disclosing any confidential details).

✔ Allow us to update and improve certain Programme(s) without prior notice to make them even more effective.

✔ Clients cannot transfer, sublicense, or assign their rights or obligations under this agreement.

Fair exchange is important to us, and this ensures the sustainability of our mahi.

✔ Payments are due within 14 business days of invoicing. Overdue payments may result in us suspending Services until payment is received.

✔ Additional charges may apply for extra printed materials, new resources that need to be created, new participants, or additional training elements beyond the Service Agreement.

✔ Projects must be completed within 180 days of signing, or we may invoice for outstanding amounts.  

• This recognises that we limit the number of clients we take on in any 180 day period to ensure delivery.  

• Clients retain the right to nominate dates for undelivered elements to be performed after the 180 day period, subject to facilitator availability.

We take the privacy of our clients and participants seriously.

✔ All sensitive information shared in our sessions is treated with care and discretion.

✔ We may use your logo, testimonials, or general case studies for marketing and reporting purposes, ensuring that no confidential information is disclosed. This applies during and after our engagement and may include online platforms such as our website, social media, and funding reports.

✔ Clients are responsible for moderating the way that their participants use intellectual property and confidential information. 

We honour the knowledge that we bring, the knowledge that is shared with us, and that which is created together between us our spaces.

✔ We retain ownership of all programme materials, tools, and content that we provide, including those developed in the course of delivering the Services to you.

✔ Clients may not copy, distribute, modify, republish or license our materials without our written permission.

✔ This ownership survives termination or expiration of the Service Agreement. 

✔ Clients retain ownership of any information they provide to us relating to their organisation. 

✔ We encourage clients to apply what is learned to uplift your whānau, hapū, and community.

7. He Oati – Warranties & Service Standards

✔ We guarantee that our programmes will conform to the standards and details set out in any accompanying guides or proposals

✔ We have the knowledge, skills, experience, expertise, resources and capacity to perform our obligations under the Service Agreement efficiently, diligently and professionally. 

✔ Beyond these assurances, we make no other warranties.

✔ Liability is limited to the fees paid for Services rendered.

✔ We are not responsible for: 

• Commercial outcomes of the programme.

• Delays outside our control (e.g., client non-compliance with deadlines).

• Any indirect loss or damages caused by external factors or delays in completion of the Services.

✔ Neither party is liable for delays or non-performance caused by force majeure events (e.g., natural disasters, government actions, or other unavoidable circumstances).

✔ If any part of the signed Service Agreement is found to be invalid, the remaining terms still apply and remain legally enforceable.

✔ Failure by us to enforce a term at any time does not waive our right to enforce it in the future.

✔ Formal notices must be in writing, signed by an authorised representative, and can be sent by letter or sent by e-mail to the intended recipient's e-mail address as set out in the Service Agreement.

✔ Notices sent after 5:30pm on a business day will be considered received the next business day.

✔ Client requests for variations to the Services can be rejected by us if they would incur additional costs or time beyond what was quoted or agreed.  Such variations can be agreed to if the Client agrees to cost recovery.

✔ Requests for specific topics outside the scope of our facilitators’ existing content or areas of expertise can be rejected. 

✔ Requests that are accepted but that would necessarily involve an external facilitator may incur additional charges and coordination fees for sourcing, briefing and coordinating the external facilitator to perform the Services. 

✔ Any significant changes must first be communicated and agreed to in writing.

✔ The signed Service Agreement represents the full and final understanding between both parties, overriding any previous discussions or informal agreements.

✔ The Service Agreement may be executed in one or more counterpart copies, which together form the full legal agreement.

When challenges arise between us, we follow tikanga-based dispute resolution principles and practices.

✔ We seek resolution through open discussion guided by ‘hohou te rongo’ (restoring balance). 

• Each party should allocate a representative to lead the ‘hohou te rongo’ discussions.

• We first agree on the ‘take’, which is the dispute/grievance that exists. 

• We then agree on the ‘utu’, which is the approach that each party wishes to be taken to ensure a resolution and restoration of both parties' mana.

• We then arrive at the ‘ea’, which is the agreed state of resolution where the desired outcome is achieved and the matter is settled and no longer at issue. 

✔ If the ‘hohou-te-rongo’ process does not result in a successful resolution of the dispute, we move to mediation, and equally share the costs. 

✔ Only after unsuccessful mediation can a party bring any legal action.

Time is a taonga, and we respect yours as much as ours.

✔ Either party may terminate this Agreement for cause by providing 30 days’ written notice.

✔ Cancelling or postponing any Services in the Client Agreement means we have the right to charge a fee for work already performed in relation to those Services. 

✔ Cancelling a training workshop 31-60 days prior incurs a 50% charge of the workshop fee.

✔ Cancelling a training workshop within 30 days incurs a 100% charge of the workshop fee.

✔ Either party may end the agreement if commitments are not upheld, by written notice to the other party. This includes: 

• Where there is a material breach of the Service Agreement, and is not reasonably capable of being remedied; 

• Where a non-material breach is not remedied within 10 business days of written notice;

• Becomes unable to pay its debts as they fall due, goes into liquidation, or has a receiver or statutory manager appointed.

✔ We are not required to refund payments for Services already provided.

✔ A Client, and any of their representatives, must stop using any item incorporating our Intellectual Property after termination;

✔ Each party must immediately settle all sums owing (whether or not payment is due) to the other. 

✔ Obligations relating to ‘Intellectual Property’, ‘Confidentiality’, and ‘Limitation of Liability’ continue even after termination.

✔ Projects that remain incomplete beyond one calendar year from the Service Agreement date are treated as completed, and no further obligations apply.