Research Themes
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has three research themes, each comprising three sub-themes. the themes and sub-themes are presented below. Please note these are the original themes and we are now in a transition to Phase Two and expect these themes will be changed in the near future.
In summary:
Theme 1: HEALTHY COMMUNITIES IN HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS
- Strengthening the Generations
- Developing Healthy Environments
- Developing Healthy Communities
Outcome sought: Families and communities that value their place in space and time
(Families young and old)
Theme 2: TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY
- Improving Educational Outcomes for Māori
- Strengthening Participation (social, cultural, economic) and Citizenship
- Transforming Institutions
Outcome sought: A society and economy that are greater than the sums of their parts
(economic transformation)
Theme 3: NEW FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE
- Developing Knowledge of Māori Society, Language, History, Arts and Culture
- Developing the Relationship between Māori Knowledge and Science
- Strengthening the Production of Higher Level Knowledge
Outcome sought: Unique knowledge society through Māori and global knowledge
(national identity)
In detail:
THEME 1: HEALTHY COMMUNITIES IN HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS
This theme pursues the outcome of Families and communities that value their place in space and time and will contribute to the Government goal of Families – young and old. In the Māori world-view, a healthy community is characterized by extended and inter-generational whānau with shared values, collective and individual responsibilities, and diverse relationships among and across individuals and generations. Robust, healthy, educated and connected families with at least two sets of cultural resources are able meet the challenges of a complex world that is Māori, that is New Zealand, and that is global.
A healthy community depends on a healthy environment, which in turn depends on the community placing a high value on its environment. The Māori world-view expresses the value of the environment through whakapapa (genealogies), the inter-dependency of people and the components of their environment. Healthy communities in healthy environments thus comprise strong whānau, which have a commitment to the place they inhabit, in the time that they inhabit that environment. This theme thus extends the Government goal of Families – young and old to include the community’s tūrangawaewae (its place to stand), its environment and the relationship of the community with its environment, as an essential element of the success of families. This view of the family and community living in its place and time is developed in the sub-themes below.
SUB-THEME 1.1 Strengthening the Generations
Māori world-views emphasise the fundamental importance of whakapapa in defining our humanity – our identities, relationships, histories and connections to place – and in unleashing our potential. Past and present policies and practices have contributed to significant weakening of these components of Māori society and will have an impact on generations yet to be born. This sub-theme will include research that aims to protect both present and future generations and the relationships between the generations. It will enable research into new areas such as issues related to intergenerational justice, indigenous rights across generations and the drive within Māori communities to ‘protect’ cultural and collective assets for generations to come.
The sub-theme will thus examine the ways in which information, knowledge, assets, wealth, values, and culture are transferred between generations. Research under the theme will explore access to customary lands and environments; the transfer of culture and language; and intra-whānau dynamics associated with parenting, knowledge transfer, care of older members, and modes of inheritance. Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has added considerable research expertise in the area of whānau and will support research initiatives to strengthen the position of Māori families. The sub-theme will encourage research that seeks to strengthen vulnerable groups within Māori society such as children and young people, the elderly, and those groups who are alienated from Māori and mainstream society. Research on marginalisation by Ormond, Cram and colleagues, on vulnerable elderly Māori by Keepa and on kaumātua by Durie highlight the significance of processes such as marginalisation, isolation and displacement on the bonds that ought to keep generations and families connected and also significantly highlight the enduring expectation that whānau will take care of each other.
SUB-THEME 1.2 Developing Healthy Environments
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has differentiated itself from other providers in environmental research by supporting projects that focus on people embedded in rather than being separate from their environment. The encapsulation of important relationships between people and the environment in whakapapa requires that humans ensure the environment flourishes so that the people may flourish. Failure to do so undermines the ability of a Māori community to claim tūrangawaewae. Although expressed differently, these relationships between physical environments, economic wealth, and human health are well-recognized internationally.
As a consequence of the focus on economic development followed by deregulation of the economy in the mid- and late 20th century respectively, there are at present significant links between the physical environments in which Māori live and work; the health and vitality of Māori families, communities and cultural institutions such as the marae (the physical centre of the Māori community); and the economic performance of Māori families. The Centre has developed considerable expertise that will be applied to environmental research projects which solve multiple problems simultaneously. The Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga funded projects are also strongly coupled to capability building and knowledge exchange through collaborations with communities, schools and local governments in such places as the Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, and the Firth of Thames/Hauraki Gulf.
SUB-THEME 1.3 Developing Healthy Communities
Research supported by the Centre under this theme will focus on achieving positive ‘gold standard’ health outcomes for Māori. This Sub-theme will address the range of social, institutional and cultural factors that impact on and/or lead to improvements in Māori health and well-being. After fundamental needs such as food and shelter are met, key components of individual and community well-being are a sense of identity, hope for the future, and confidence in the ability to manage change over time.
The absence of one or more of these latter components of well-being is associated with higher than normal occurrence of diseases of physiological or mental stress. For Māori, this association is often attributed by the dominant group in society to either genetic predisposition or lifestyle choices despite the lack of strong evidence for causal links to the observed patterns. Such attributions have, in recent months, been made in the media over the incidence among Māori of diabetes (Professor Paul Zimmet, Monash University, NZ Herald November 15, 2006), aggression (Dr Rod Lea, ESR (a CRI) NZ Herald August 9, 2006), and smoking (Dr Don Brash, Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition, NZ Herald September 30, 2006). A positive Māori identity combined with interventions that generate hope and confidence for the future are key to achieving healthy Māori communities.
The Sub-theme will also address communities that are not bound by whakapapa or place, but rather, are bound by their shared situations and common experiences. An international research project led by Aspin et al (2006), for example investigates resiliency factors for indigenous communities in relation to HIV and blood born viruses. A new proposal being developed by the same team will include researchers in the Gambia and the Pacific to investigate indigenous peoples and HIV/AIDs. Research under this Sub-theme will allow for research with the wide range of diverse Māori communities.
THEME 2: TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY
This theme seeks the outcome of a society and economy that are greater than the sums of their parts and contributes to the Government goal of Economic transformation. Māori participate in society and the economy both as individuals and through collectives such as iwi organisations and urban Māori authorities. It follows that investment in research which enhances participation will provide a benefit through both of the modes in which Māori participate in our institutions, our society, and our economy.
Māori participation through collectives has a special role to play in society and the economy because (1) significant assets are being returned to collective ownership through Treaty settlement processes and (2) collectives such as iwi trusts and urban Māori authorities also deliver significant services and accumulate specialist expertise that adds value to Government investments in the services they provide. Māori have also been identified as one of the most entrepreneurial people in the world, and Maori women in particular have the world's third highest opportunity entrepreneurship rate demonstrating their initiative for engaging in the market is through initiative rather than necessity.
Māori participate in both the market economy and in spaces outside the market economy because of the drive to protect collective assets for future generations. Research in this theme will therefore contribute to theory and knowledge about the processes and conditions for increasing Māori ability to participate individually and collectively in society and the economy through enhanced educational outcomes and through enhancement of social and economic contributions of collective Māori entities.
SUB-THEME 2.1 Improving Educational Outcomes for Māori
New Zealand has a world class education system that scores in the upper range of OECD indicators across the compulsory and tertiary education system. The performance of the New Zealand education system, however, does not yet translate into equal outcomes for Māori and Pacific Islands students. What we have is a first class education system that delivers a first class education to some students and less than that to others, a higher proportion of whom are Māori. Over generations the negative impact of this educational disparity has been profound and leaves a challenge in the 21st century to address the problem before more generations are excluded from any possibility of well-being and human dignity. The immediate challenge this sub-theme presents for researchers is to investigate strategies for accelerating transformation in families, schools, communities and institutions of higher learning. In our view, this requires a multi-disciplinary approach drawing on all the capacity that can be mustered across institutions and, most difficult of all, the active engagement of Māori families, communities, leaders and successful individuals. It is not simply a case that the New Zealand system has not attempted to address this crisis but that the problems are complex and the solutions require the support and active participation of Māori communities if they are to work effectively.
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has a unique assemblage of the critical expertise to conduct research that will lead to effective interventions at the levels of individual students; students together with their whānau and communities; teachers, schools and their leadership; tertiary education organizations; and life-long education. Thus Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has, for example, supported research leading to interventions that enhance the Māori student experience through professional development for teachers and will rapidly expand current production of Māori-medium curriculum resources in science based on the work of leading Māori scientists. Research supported by the Centre will also be extended to include the ongoing education and training of Māori with a view to ensuring the succession of Māori leaders who will take responsibility for the development and successful transfer across generations of the physical, financial and intellectual assets that are collectively held by Māori.
SUB-THEME 2.2. Strengthening Participation (social, cultural, economic) and Citizenship
This sub-theme will support research that maximises the ability of Māori to participate as citizens in the national society, culture, and economy through affirmation of Māori humanity and identity as a basis for social and economic development. The Māori demographic profile is pyramid shaped with most of our population under the age of 25 years. In the most recent General Elections, a higher proportion of young Māori than other young people did not vote and were not registered to vote. This and other social indices show a lack of participation by Māori in many aspects of society.
A conservative estimate of the Māori asset base is $9.4 billion. According to the GEM Report Maori are great starters-up of business, they are not technology shy, and have high expectations of being able to create jobs for others within their initiatives. For many Maori businesses, wealth creation is not as important as is independence and being able to make a contribution to Māori development. For some groups there is an extreme alienation from most social institutions and systems with in some cases intergenerational families living outside Māori and mainstream social ‘norms’. The engagement between institutions and Māori is not just a case of Māori ‘choosing’ not to engage but also reflects the failure of many systems and institutions to (1) recognise a need to engage with Māori, (2) learn how to engage with Māori and (3) change their ways in order to make the engagement meaningful.
Where there is participation Maori tend to participate in different ways often drawing on cultural values and identity to make their contribution. Over the last decade, Māori businesses and social service providers have increased substantially in numbers and impact. Recent research for example shows that Māori have engaged in entrepreneurial activities at an extraordinary rate. Māori businesses and social service providers succeed because they affirm Māori identity and so mediate Māori participation in the wider society. The opportunity therefore exists for research to capitalise on what can be learned from the success of Māori organisations to enhance Māori participation across all sectors of society and the economy.
SUB-THEME 2.3 Transforming Institutions
This sub-theme will support research that enhances the ability of institutions, Māori and national, to respond to Māori as people as well as to the impact of the young and rapidly growing Māori population in our society over the 21st century. This Māori demographic profile presents significant opportunities for research on the adaptation required for our institutions to contribute effectively to the social and economic transformations sought by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga and the Government. In tertiary education for example, the finding that Māori research staff perform at higher levels than their peers in a number of measures used by the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) (Ministry of Education, 2006) represents a significant opportunity for Tertiary Education Institutions (TEIs) to greatly enhance both their contributions to social and economic transformation and to their own futures through active recruitment and career development of Māori staff, who will rapidly attract enrolments of Māori students. Similarly, iwi organisations working to discharge their responsibilities for the valuation, transformation, development and transfer across generations of collectively held assets received under Treaty claims will stimulate significant research developments in economics, which currently does not address collectively held assets.
THEME 3: NEW FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE
This theme will contribute to the Government’s goals of Economic Transformation and National Identity through research that harnesses Māori identity and knowledge together with the western intellectual tradition in pursuit of the outcome of a Unique knowledge society based on Māori and global knowledge. Māori inhabit both the Māori and metropolitan societies of New Zealand and have highly distinctive experiences of the world as a consequence.
The tribal and cultural identity claimed by much of the Māori population engenders a commitment to place that requires greater efforts to make things work than will be the case for many other citizens, who may feel more able to choose to emigrate in search of better opportunities overseas. We note, for example, that Ernst Rutherford encouraged his contemporary at Canterbury University, Apirana Ngata, to travel with him to England to pursue further studies. Ngata chose to remain in New Zealand, however, recognizing correctly that the need for his skills was too great to be ignored.23 Sir Ernst Rutherford became New Zealand’s first Nobel prize recipient whereas Sir Apirana Ngata became the first Māori to graduate from University and went on to become a great leader – both men contributed to New Zealand but in vastly different ways. Research supported by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga under this theme will actively seek to enhance the effect of Māori identity on the above pattern of commitment to New Zealand as our collective tūrangawaewae and to the new journeys that Māori are making in a global context.
SUB-THEME 3.1 Developing Knowledge of Māori Society, Language, History, Arts and Culture
The contribution made by a people’s language, history, and arts to cultural self-definition, personal identity, and social well-being, because of their unique role as a repository of historical knowledge and a site of new knowledge and creativity, is universally recognized. Although the ongoing contributions made by Māori arts and artists are widely recognized, the past and potential contributions made by Māori language, knowledge, and culture are largely, and strangely, absent from current public discussions of New Zealand’s national identity. Interpretation and analysis of these contributions, primarily in the creative and performing arts, tends also to be based on non-Māori perspectives and assumptions.
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has contributed to this discussion through support for research by Māori artists and scholars who have begun the process of reclaiming and re-interpreting Māori culture and history through performances, sculpture, and translations of, for example, Volume IV of Ngata’s Ngā Moteatea and letters by Māori to Sir Donald Maclean during his service as Land Purchase Commissioner and Native Minister in the mid-late 19th century. The Centre will also support research to help satisfy the great desire on the part of iwi communities to record their own stories and to re-connect with iwi members who have migrated in pursuit of economic opportunities, both elsewhere in New Zealand and overseas. This drive for reconnection with history and the Māori diaspora reflects the search for identity lost as a consequence of our history and presents significant opportunities through the re-integration of Māori people, culture and heritage.
SUB-THEME 3.2 Developing the Relationship between Māori Knowledge and Science
This sub-theme explicitly recognises that there are both convergent and divergent understandings of the world that have been independently developed by the Māori and scientific intellectual traditions and that contribute to creation of a unique knowledge society in New Zealand. From the outset, there have been productive (and, unfortunately, counterproductive) interactions between Māori and scientific knowledge systems both of which contribute to New Zealand’s development as a knowledge society. Thus Colenso described knowledge of plants held by his guides that clearly pre-dated Linnaeus whereas the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) turned to Māori communities in the 1950s for help in establishing the tropical kūmara (sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas) as a cash crop that has become a staple in the New Zealand diet. Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has supported research that brings together Māori traditional knowledge with scientific methodologies to address problems in environmental management in the Ahuriri estuary, conservation of endangered seabirds on the Alderman Islands, and control of invasive pests that act as vectors for diseases, such as bovine tuberculosis, which threaten pastoral agriculture.
The distinguishing characteristic of these studies is that they address multiple problems simultaneously by addressing the scientific problem associated with particular species or environments while explicitly seeking to solve associated problems experienced by the local Māori communities such that the communities are empowered to take up and apply the scientific results in ways that both meet their needs and increase the likelihood that the scientific problem is also resolved.
SUB-THEME 3.3 Strengthening the Production of Higher Level Knowledge
This Sub-theme enables research that extends the horizons of all disciplines. The Sub-theme fosters development of new theory and the exploration of research that is ‘blue skies’. The production of higher level knowledge applies as much to research in the area of Māori knowledge as it does to science and other disciplines. Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga is able to make specific contributions to raising the standards of research excellence by individuals and collaborative research teams across all disciplines. Our greatest resource in this endeavour is our researchers, who must each resolve for themselves very different ways of thinking about the world as a consequence of their birth and experience of living as Māori in metropolitan New Zealand society.
The intellectual flexibility developed as a consequence of resolving this apparent contradiction means that Māori researchers often generate highly novel ideas but must challenge orthodoxy in their fields with the attendant difficulty in achieving funding and publication of results of their research. As an example, the Centre has been the only significant funder (despite multiple applications to other agencies such as the Marsden Fund) for Dr Shane Wright, whose ground-breaking work on evolution was published this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA and received worldwide media coverage including reports in the Economist, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, Boston Globe, Melbourne Age, and Nature. This and similar experiences persuade us that our Centre’s unique location at the intersection of the Māori and metropolitan worlds of knowledge and approach to research, capability building and knowledge exchange permit unique contributions in research that contribute to global knowledge and innovation and lead to constructive social change in New Zealand.