Auckland Council’s Māori Responsiveness Framework, Whiria Te Muka Tangata, outlines four drivers – Value Te Ao Māori; Enable Te Tiriti o Waitangi; Enable Māori Outcomes; Fulfil Statutory Māori Obligations – and three goals – An Empowered Organisation; Effective Māori Participation in Democracy; Strong Māori Communities. This literature review focuses on the general areas to consider in the process of developing Māori responsiveness, Māori engagement and organisational change and the key issues involved in addressing the needs and aspirations of Māori within and by non-Māori organisations or structures. It raises issues of structural impediments and ways of building cultural competence to encourage Māori participation and collaborative research. It also covers the theory behind cross-cultural collaborative work, as well as case studies of such collaboration and the lessons learnt. These key areas were determined following a wider exploratory literature search.