The HRC established the Catalyst in the Community Award in 2025. It recognises an individual or research team whose recent research has supported local, transformative, and cross-disciplinary research in health for any specific community in New Zealand, in partnership with that community, over a 5-year period.
The award honours an exceptional researcher or research team that has facilitated significant change or accelerated translation and uptake of findings to produce a significant impact locally in the community, bringing about transformation of health outcomes. For the purposes of this award, a community is defined as any population group, or representatives of that group, who are seeking to improve health outcomes for their population through health research. The award is for a specific body of high-impact collaborative work, in partnership with a local community, that goes beyond academia.
Catalyst in the Community Award - past recipients
(Inaugural award) 2025 - The research team from Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou Taurite Tū Limited, whose Taurite Tū programme, a uniquely Māori approach to falls prevention rooted in both western science and traditional Māori practices, has significantly reduced falls risk and injury rates for Māori aged 55-plus.