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Waipareira chief executive John Tamihere says a delegation to the United States is about consolidating links with other first nations organisations and getting endorsement for the solutions Maori are coming up with at home.
The trip, which has the backing of Callaghan Innovation, includes a meeting in Seattle with Microsoft about Waipareira's Whanau Tahi system, which allows non-governemnt health and social service agencies to keep track of their clients' needs.
The delegation will also attend the Self-Governance Tribal Annual Consultation Conference in Reno, Nevada.
Mr Tamihere says groups like Waipareira are about giving Maori control of their destiny when all they hear from government agencies is how mad, bad and sad they are,
"It's difficult at home because too many people make too much money out of our failure so you've actually got to embark off shore to get acknowledgement that what we do in our community is global leading. If you can sell our intellectual property thats just a big bonus as well" says John Tamihere
Mr Tamihere says he's looking forward to comparing notes with similar agencies in the United States.
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