A Better Start | E Tipu e Rea
The aim of the Better Start Challenge is to improve the potential for young New Zealanders to have healthy and successful lives.
Launched: 19 February 2016
Funding: Up to $34.7 million over 10 years
Host: University of Auckland
Summary
The aim of the Challenge is to improve the potential for young New Zealanders to have healthy and successful lives.
To achieve this objective, the Challenge is:
- researching improved methods and tools to predict, prevent and treat obesity
- identifying and addressing learning and mental health problems in children and teenagers.
The Challenge’s research strategy is new for New Zealand as it will target at-risk children early, engage their communities, draw together different disciplines, and take a holistic approach to obesity, learning, and mental health difficulties, which are frequently studied in isolation.
The Challenge is using ‘big data’ as captured by a range of government agencies to inform progress in reaching key developmental milestones in each of these areas.
Challenge objective
To improve the potential of young New Zealanders to have a healthy and successful life
‘Grow ye o seed and fulfil your potential’
This is the first line of a famous poem penned by Sir Apirana Turupā Ngata (member of Parliament for Eastern Māori 1905-1943).
Title translation
E Tipu e Rea - Grow and branch forth
Listen to the Māori title [MP3, 113 KB]
Collaboration partners
- Auckland University of Technology
- University of Waikato
- Massey University
- Victoria University of Wellington
- University of Canterbury
- University of Otago
- AgResearch Limited.
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