Vision Mātauranga
Goal: Landcare Research is invited into strategic partnerships with iwi and Maori organisations to address Maori needs, issues and aspirations.
Vision Mātauranga is a Government initiative aimed at unlocking the innovation potential of Māori through knowledge, resources and people. Landcare Research’s Core Purpose is strongly aligned to this – our research is strongly aligned with the way in which Māori link economic, community and cultural well-being with that of the natural environment.
Landcare Research has a 20-year history of successfully partnering with iwi on a variety of research programmes. Initially our focus was on specific projects with Māori organisations and included developing geographic information systems (GIS) to document cultural values and interests, and protecting and restoring particular taonga species such as kiwi in Te Urewera National Park.
Increasingly we are working in a more strategic way with Māori organisations across a breadth of issues. Māori organisations at different stages in their Treaty of Waitangi settlement processes have quite different science needs. These science partnerships focus on meeting the needs of the particular iwi, with projects ranging from biodiversity and water quality monitoring, capacity building, and restoration forestry through to enabling Māori to develop capability to manage and govern their natural assets. All projects have integration of mātauranga Māori and science at their heart.
We are committed to building the bicultural capability of our staff, and developing a strong bicultural ethos to ensure staff understand and appreciate the cultural context, dynamics, and environment when engaging and working with Māori communities.
Key Performance Indicator
- During the year, we engaged in 23 partnerships (23 also in 2012) in which we are linking science and mātauranga Māori in projects with iwi and Māori organisations and projects that address Māori goals and aspirations. Most of these are mature relationships built over several years through multiple projects and interactions.