Te Tīriti o Waitangi Partnerships Enhances Research, Science and Innovation

Abstract

This report captures the narrative of a striking innovation from a significant proportion of the science community, across multiple disciplines, who have collectively developed, then reflected upon their Te Tiriti o Waitangi journey.

The document is framed through the Pūrākau, Te Orokohanga - the beginning.

The story of seeking to escape a confined, uncomfortable space in search of a brighter future, fits well with the Tiriti o Waitangi journey experienced across the National Science Challenges. This has not been an easy journey, but as the report outlines, experiences of discomfort, experimentation, building collective momentum and realising the possibilities, are all part and parcel of transformation.

This journey has taken place within a particular historical and contemporary context where te ao Māori has been routinely unrecognised, undervalued and underfunded within the RSI system. The National Science Challenge initiative was envisioned as a different way to do science, and yet it had something of an inauspicious start in that it risked reinforcing the same practices and processes that did not work for Māori. As can be seen throughout the pages of this report, however, as each individual Challenge was established and grew, the people involved worked together to ensure a Mission-led approach was taken and Tiriti-honouring practices were front and centre.