The Health Research Council of New Zealand is making research funding more accessible to Māori communities, with the upcoming launch of the redesigned Ngā Kanohi Kitea Community Advancement Fund.
The fund will enable iwi, hapū, and other Māori community groups to undertake research that improves hauora/health outcomes for their communities.
The revised fund is more responsive by providing greater scope and opportunity to nurture research skills and prepare communities to identify and investigate issues that matter to them most.
Funding will be available to match different stages of the research journey, depending on a community’s research ability and readiness to undertake research. Applicants will be able to access funding to:
- Establish/elevate capability or get ‘research ready’: This funding helps communities to identify and/or establish the skills and capacity required to undertake health research, which could include building the relationships, networks, and development opportunities that they will need to get ready for research. Funding might be used to allow hui or wananga so that communities can determine what their research needs are.
- Respond to evidence needs or undertake research: This is funding for a research project: it will support communities to investigate self-identified issues, framed with a well-defined health research question.
- Enhance uptake of mātauranga or embed mātauranga back into the community: This funding can help communities share and translate their research findings so they can make positive changes within their communities and in the healthcare sector.
The funding documents have been designed with a greater community focus, while retaining the HRC’s key criteria for excellence and impact. The assessment timeframe has also been shortened in keeping with the practical needs of communities engaging in research.
Applications open on 7 June 2022. A funding pool of $1.9 million will be available to Māori communities and organisations across the country.
While applications may involve partnership with a larger research entity, such as a university, research must be clearly driven by the needs and focus of the community or community organisation.
All details and application forms will be available soon on the HRC's funding portal – HRC Gateway.