Nau mai, welcome to the simpact AI Blog
Long-form whakaaro (thoughts) and photos from the simpact AI team.
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Newsletter · Issue 02: Backing rangatahi to lead
A youth-led impact report, plus an amazing SROI example (we demystify the jargon too).
Impact Reporting 101
Every community organisation is already making an impact, but far fewer feel confident reporting it. In this “think-piece”, we unpack what impact reporting actually is, why it matters in Aotearoa, and how the alphabet soup of SSP, SROI, RBA, ESG, annual and impact reports fits together, sized to your capacity.
Newsletter · Issue 01: Nau mai!
The very first issue of the simpact AI monthly newsletter, featuring YES! Disability and Shore Junction, plus links to events we’ve been attending and some coming up.
AI for Good, together: introducing our Lunch & Learn community of practice!
We can’t wait to co-host a monthly, online gathering for people in Aotearoa's community sector who want to explore AI thoughtfully - and in good company.
AI for Social Good Starts With People, Not Technology (ML4SG)
At a time when artificial intelligence is moving quickly from experimentation into everyday use, one question matters more than ever: how do we ensure AI is truly serving social good?
Reflections on sharing a ‘AI for Impact’ keynote talk at IoD Governing AI Forum 2026
I felt incredibly humbled to be invited to share a keynote on AI for Impact: How NFP directors are using AI alongside such amazing speakers and in front of the esteemed Institute of Directors (IoD) community.
Hope in the Machine: My Auckland Writers' Festival Recap
When you sit in a room and hear, in the same breath, the full weight of what AI is currently doing to people – and then meet proof that it can be done differently – something in you shifts. At this year’s Auckland Writers’ Festival, a panel called “Hope in the Machine” offered exactly that: a clear-eyed look at extractive, hyperscaled AI, and a grounded example of another path in the work of Te Hiku Media, a Māori-led broadcaster building one of the most important demonstrations of ethical AI on the planet.
This recap explores why small, purpose-built models, community data sovereignty, and rigorous bias auditing are not “nice-to-haves”, but the foundation of AI that genuinely serves people – and how these same principles shape what we are building at Simpact AI.
Reflections on TechWeekNZ: AI for Good in Aotearoa NZ(Virtual Workshop)
On a crisp Wednesday morning on 20 May, almost 200 participants from the community sector across Aotearoa gathered for a free two-hour virtual workshop hosted by simpact AI and Fundsorter as part of TechWeek NZ 2026.
AI / Tech for Good in Aotearoa NZ (virtual workshop)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how organisations work - and the community sector doesn't have to be left behind.
People. Place. And a Harder Question About AI
How funders are thinking about AI and it’s impact on communities and grantees, reflections from the 2026 Philanthropy New Zealand conference and simpact AI’s official launch!