New initiatives support Māori and Pacific Peoples research aspirations

Two new funds – He tipu ka hua and He aka ka toro – are set to open in April and July 2023. They will provide up to $10 million per year to Māori organisations, building Māori research capacity, capability and aspirations over the next 5 years.

Government also signalled the establishment of a short-term Ngā Puanga Pūtaiao Fellowships scheme to support early-to-mid-career Māori and Pacific Peoples researchers, and investment in an internship scheme known as Te Ara Pōtiki that will support young Māori innovators.

This announcement is part of a wider Government focus on increasing Māori and Pacific Peoples participation in the research workforce under Te Ara Paerangi – Future Pathways; a multi-year programme focused on the future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s research system.

Key objectives of Te Ara Paerangi – Future Pathways include embedding Te Tiriti and Māori aspirations into the design of the research, science and innovation system and building a research system that truly supports an excellent and diverse workforce.

The new funds, fellowships and internships will be funded in part out of the 'Expanding the Impact of Vision Mātauranga' initiative, from Budget 2020, where $33 million was allocated to attract and grow Māori talent in the research, science and innovation sector.

The fund He tipu ka hua will provide up to $6 million per year for up to 3 Māori-led research programmes or platforms with terms of up to 5 years.

He aka ka toro will provide $4 million per annum to Māori organisations to determine how they want to develop internal capability and capacity to engage with the research, science and innovation system.

Full eligibility criteria for the Māori and Pacific Peoples Ngā Puanga Pūtaiao Fellowships and Te Ara Pōtiki Internships is in development and will be released by June 2023.

New initiatives to unlock Māori science and research resources(external link) – Beehive

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