Each Living Water site has had an evaluation report completed by a team including independent evaluation experts and Living Water staff.

Each site report is structured to provide:

• Context and background: An overview of the site, including its ecological significance and the initial goals set by the Living Water programme.
• Key activities and outputs: Detailed accounts of restoration efforts, community engagement, and capacity-building initiatives.
• Outcomes and impacts: Assessment of results, highlighting ecological improvements, changes in community practices, and policy influences.
• Insigts, challenges and lessons: Reflections on obstacles faced and strategies employed to overcome them.
• Areas for improvement: Recommendations for enhancing sustainability and impact, emphasising the importance of diversifying funding streams, fostering long-term partnerships, and integrating structured reflection sessions.

The final programme evaluation used a performance story framework, combining qualitative and quantitative data to tell the story of each site. Complexity-aware monitoring and evaluation techniques were used to look for unexpected results, different causes for outcomes, and various ways to achieve impact, understanding that this work focuses more on contribution than direct cause-and-effect. This approach recognised the complexity of the Living Water site programmes and the many aspects of change.

Through this evaluation, we aim to share the rich lessons from the Living Water programme and contribute to the broader discussion on freshwater improvement approaches in Aotearoa New Zealand.