Measuring and Reporting Community Outcomes (MARCO)

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In 2005, the then 12 territorial authorities of the Waikato region, together with Waikato Regional Council, jointly coordinated a process to identify regional-level community outcomes. The joint regional initiative was called “Choosing Futures Waikato".

The process included consultation with iwi throughout the region, information collected by local councils through consultation with their local communities and information from key organisations including central and local government, businesses, industry groups and community organisations.

A draft set of Waikato regional community outcomes was reviewed by key stakeholders and promoted for community feedback before being signed off in November 2005.

In 2005 the MARCO team (Monitoring and Reporting Community Outcomes) was established to compile indicators that help tell us about the quality of, and any changes in, life for people in the Waikato region.

The MARCO indicators were up-dated, analysed and reported every year from 2006 to 2013. 

Legislative changes to the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA Amendment Acts 2010, 2012) redefined community outcomes as those that a local authority aims to achieve in meeting the current and future needs of communities for good‐quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions. The Amendment Act 2010 also repealed the requirement for councils to identify and report separately against community outcomes. These are now incorporated into long term plan and annual report process.

In view of these changes, Waikato Regional Council revised its community outcomes and associated MARCO indicators to align with our strategic direction and the three themes from our new mission statement – healthy environment, strong economy and vibrant communities.

The new measures drew on the MARCO indicators, and were independently reviewed and then published as the “Waikato Progress Indicators" ( or 'WPI').