Abstract
In indigenous community development there has been a reliance on critical theory to inform and underpin practice. In this article constructivist approaches such as Native theory provide an alternative theoretical basis to community development in a New Zealand Maori context. The study describes a Maori community development initiative in the southern South Island of New Zealand that was evaluated using Barr and Heshagen's ABCD framework of examining the inputs, outputs, processes and outcomes of a project. The conclusions supports a Native Theory approach that focuses on a community's strengths, using it's cultural processes where projects must be constructed on a case by case basis.