A short video showcasing NEXT educational investments.
Education Investments
From 2014 to 2024, NEXT focused on three areas in education – the first 1,000 days of life, teacher excellence and leadership in education.
NEXT education initiatives
Ako Mātātupu:Teach First NZ
Tackling education inequity
Ako Mātātupu: Teach First NZ is focused on addressing education inequity through accelerated teacher training for outstanding graduates and people changing career. During the period of NEXT’s support, over 400 teachers have trained in this kaupapa, including 108 Māori and 78 Pasifika participants. These teachers bring knowledge, energy and leadership into low-decile secondary schools.
The Education Hub
Bridging the research gap
The Education Hub is improving opportunities and outcomes for young people by bridging the gap between research and practice in education. NEXT backed this impressive start-up alongside other givers. The Education Hub’s reach has now extended to more than 900,000 interactions and they are leading in bridging the gap between education research and the classroom.
Manaiakalani
Scaling Manaiakalani to 120 schools
Manaiakalani works in partnership with Māori, Pasifika and low income communities to address educational inequity in primary schools. It leads to better educational outcomes through evidence-based improvements to teacher practice and a digital and collaborative teaching model. This proven kaupapa accelerates learning gains in reading, writing and mathematics. And the benefits persist into secondary school and across some of our poorest communities.
With NEXT support, Manaiakalani scaled to 120 schools nationally.
The Mind Lab
Empowering teachers for digital change
The Mind Lab believes teacher education is critical to making the most of advances in technology, and has developed a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital and Collaborative Learning to help teachers and educators upskill for the digital age.
NEXT Foundation granted a series of scholarships over four years, enabling more than 4,300 New Zealand teachers to upskill and further prepare for a rapidly changing education environment.
Springboard Trust
Growing strategic leadership skills in education
Springboard Trust works with the New Zealand education sector to help school principals and other school leaders develop strategic leadership skills – and in turn, improve students’ educational outcomes.
NEXT supported nationwide expansion of Springboard Trust’s Strategic Leadership Programme for Principals, with a priority focus on low decile schools. Over the years of support, Springboard reached 750 principals who are ‘doing better than ever’ and have stronger strategic leadership.
Talking Matters
Backing start-up Talking Matters
Talking Matters’ aims to improve quality of life outcomes through building language-rich environments for babies in the first thousand days – through evidence-based practice change. NEXT supported Talking Matters through startup, strategy, implementation, and advocated with other funders so the work could endure.
SPACE
Parental support in a baby’s first year
Space for you and your baby, is the Parenting Place’s post- natal programme, supporting new parents and their babies over their first critical year together. Space uses a group setting and format to nurture a sense of acceptance and belonging, supporting new parents to feel confident and valued in their parenting role.
NEXT invested in SPACE for you and our baby as it transitioned into The Parenting Place.
Read the story here.
Tamariki Wellbeing
Early years innovation
Tamariki Wellbeing was established as part of The Southern Initiative (an innovation unit within Auckland Council) and looked for new ways to support and improve the outcomes of whānau and their tamariki, especially in the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life. The initiative took a strengths-based approach, working with communities experiencing significant challenges, to help break cycles of generational inequity.
Tamariki Wellbeing Manager Aimee Hadrup described the NEXT investment as catalytic, ‘There was flexibility and trust. We drew on neuroscience, whānau lived experience and matauranga Māori.’
Previous Investments
Humanitix
NEXT invested in Humanitix from 2019- 2021, while it established a sustainable business model in New Zealand. As a not-for-profit organisation, it now operates as one of the leading event ticketing platforms. The organisation offers hassle-free event ticketing that puts humanity first – dedicating 100% of profits from booking fees to charity.
Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru
Rotorua – a great place to learn
Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru is an innovative, community-driven initiative that supports schools, learners, iwi, communities and whānau/families to make Rotorua “a great place to learn”. Established to address the growing challenge of inequity amongst the Rotorua district’s schools and in some cases declining rolls, it is demonstrating the ability of a backbone organisation to bring a transformational shift to collaborative, digitally-enabled learning in the district.
NEXT invested in Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru for three and a half years.
Summer Learning Journey
Reversing the summer slide in student literacy achievement
Summer Learning Journey (SLJ) is a digital Iiteracy programme to support students over the summer holiday period. It is an equity-focused programme, designed to provide students from low-income communities with access to digital learning opportunities outside of school.
Foundation Education Initiatives
In addition to supporting the establishment of NEXT, Annette and Neal Plowman initiated and/ or supported several other major philanthropic projects, through their benefaction of a charitable trust. These include:
AUT – BUSINESS UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SCHOLARSHIPS
These scholarships enabled students in the Bachelor of Business to undertake international exchanges at business schools in the USA, Canada, UK and France. They offered assistance to students when financial circumstances make it difficult for them to undertake the exchange.
THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND - BUSINESS SCHOOL
Following the establishment of a Chair in Entrepreneurship in 2003, $10 million was contributed to the University of Auckland Business School Endowment Fund, which is focused on fostering a culture of innovation and enterprise in New Zealand. Funds are used to help students become outstanding business leaders and entrepreneurs, to contribute to the creation of wealth through business education, and to help the School become more attractive and competitive on a global scale.