He Oranga Poutama (HOP) is a Sport NZ (formerly SPARC) initiative that supports Māori wellbeing through sport and recreation. In 2009, the programme evolved from a focus on increasing the participation by Māori in sport, to one of participating and leading as Māori in sport and traditional physical recreation at community level.
A developmental evaluation was commissioned by Sport NZ to support the implementation of the new HOP programme vision. Developmental evaluation is an evaluation approach that brings together evaluative thinking and evidence to decision makers as programmes are developed and implemented. It is designed to sit alongside and support emergent, innovative and transformative programme or organisational development and on-going adaption (Patton, 2012).