The Origins of Community Think.

Cissy Rock, our Lead Facilitator, and Director at Community Think, has dedicated her career to empowering communities to drive positive change in areas close to their hearts.

She moved into Auckland Council and the Empowered Communities Design Group from the Waitakere City Council as part of the super city merger. She was a key driver behind initiatives such as the Rainbow Door within Auckland Council, a precursor to the current Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel. However, her desire to devolve power to communities went beyond what was possible to achieve within local government.

Striking out on her own, Cissy worked with the Living Wage Movement and other community organisations while offering her unique talents as a facilitator, supervisor and strategic thinker on a contractual basis. Finding strong demand for her skills, she began to focus on these as her main source of income. As pieces of work became larger and more complex, Cissy began to develop relationships with community developers to work alongside her as needed. Community Think had been born.

Securing an agreement to deliver the Neighbours Aotearoa campaign in 2018 (formerly Neighbours Day) moved Community Think to attract larger and longer-term contracts. Community Think has spent seven years delivering the Neighbours Aotearoa kaupapa alongside other significant pieces of work for local government, government agencies, and community organisations. Today, Community Think has several permanent staff alongside Associates and other contractors.

Cissy’s focus on empowering communities remains strong. Highlights include working alongside communities that are part of the Department of Internal Affairs Community-led Development Partnerships, the various community plans and community voices projects and working with the Joint Venture Business Unit, Te Puna Aonui.