These good practice guidelines are based on just over a decade of learning by central and local government, crown research institutes, and Māori groups, using case studies, reports, papers, unpublished documents and personal communications. The information was summarised and collated to provide a record of what we have learnt about developing relationships between Māori groups and Crown agencies and the ways we measure that engagement performance from different perspectives – Māori and non-Māori. Real achievements have been made in the last decade to improve relationships and collaboration between Crown agencies and tangata whenua, with combined actions making a significant contribution to more harmonious race relations in New Zealand. These efforts have led to increased levels of Māori participation in planning, policy, science and research, and have helped determine issues, establish projects, and improve decision making, allowing Māori to become more equal and active players in New Zealand society. This has generally been achieved through very targeted legislation and policies, and many of these participatory goals would never have been achieved without impetus from legislation, directives, principles, leadership, guidance, instruction and effort. Māori still believe we have a long way to go, while a large proportion of non-Māori New Zealanders feel we have gone too far. Information was further developed and evaluated as part of collaborative research in the FRST funded programme ‘Integrated Catchment Management (ICM), Motueka’, and is aimed at a wide group of end-users, although focussed on the interactions between local government and iwi. It consolidates our learning by using past and present examples from many surveys and discussions, responses to issues, and references to activities, resolutions, and recommendations, and provides valuable guidance for forming effective participation, collaboration, and partnership. Guidelines are not prescriptive, and every situation may have a different set of issues and parameters to deal with. This report begins with a reflective view of where we have come from and provides some context for participation. It then gives some of the major participatory and planning issues from both a Māori and non-Māori perspective and provides background to international frameworks for participation and partnership with indigenous groups. A section is dedicated to the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the relevance of such a document, and the report briefly summarises current resource management legislation. The final section of the report deals with forming an effective collaborative process for Māori and non-Māori to engage and work together, giving good practice guidelines and recommendations. A large number of publications have been produced in New Zealand over the last decade to improve engagement and participation with Māori groups. Some of the key publications are referenced at the end of this report. The guidelines are intended to help improve race relations in New Zealand, in a time when there is mounting use of dis-information, mis-information, and historical amnesia, and high levels of uncertainty are being spread about cultural values and indigenous rights and whether in fact they still exist. We use the premise in this document that Māori cultural views are greatly under represented and under-valued in the resource management planning and policy area and this is a guide to improve participation to achieve equity and balance. We recognise that contemporary New Zealand society is greatly different from society in 1840 when there were two distinct peoples, European (Pakeha) and Māori. Modern New Zealand Māori are assimilated and integrated with other cultures, particularly European. Most Māori have a Pakeha side and vice versa, most Māori are part of Pakeha families and vice versa. But many Māori believe strongly they have an indigenous cultural identity, and although fully assimilated into New Zealand society this cultural identity and integrity has not been extinguished and in fact may have become stronger through cultural revitalisation, and Māori advancement. It is also important to recognise that Māori have as wide a range of views on many issues, as do Pakeha and other non-Māori. Local Government and other Crown agencies – particularly in the resource management area – often work with Māori who represent a subset of wider Māori society, and it is this subset and their associates who commonly have a strong relationship with a defined geographic area, and expertise, knowledge, and perspectives that are usually based on traditional culture, beliefs, and values. These guidelines therefore acknowledge that Māori people, Māori knowledge and Māori values exist. Māori are different and have a distinct cultural identity and, often, different perspectives compared with the mainstream population. What binds Māori as people is whakapapa (ancestral lineage), and responsibilities conferred on descendants by past generations also determine responsibilities for future generations. Māori identity as a population subset is not a definition based on the quantity of blood that is somehow translated into values, knowledge and rights. Māori have much to offer all planning, research and policy making by providing an indigenous perspective that is often lacking in the present Eurocentric western worldview. These guidelines will only work if there is a sincere will to work with Māori groups, such as iwi/hapū, tangata whenua, and urban Māori. That will has to be based on trust, respect, and understanding of indigenous culture; trust and respect – from Māori – for the collaborating individual or agency; a focus on achieving good social, economic, cultural and environmental outcomes for all New Zealanders; and a desire to achieve equity in terms of Māori representation and inclusion at all levels.