Māori focused CoRE one step closer

MEDIA RELEASE

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Māori focused CoRE one step closer

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, hosted by the University of Auckland, has been invited to submit a full application as part of the process for selecting a Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) focused on Māori research.

Three applicants submitted pre-proposals for consideration as a Māori CoRE.

The decision to invite Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga to make a full application was made by the Māori CoRE selection committee, chaired by Emeritus Professor Sir Mason Durie, following a selection committee meeting in December 2014 where all applicants presented their proposals to the committee.

Two other pre-proposals were submitted by Te Kāpuia, with the University of Waikato as host; and Ngā Pou Whakawhenua with Massey University as host.

In reaching their decision, the selection committee found the application from Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga demonstrated strengths across all the selection criteria.

“The standard of applications was very high and we will be encouraging Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga to work collaboratively with the other applicants to incorporate key features of their pre-proposals,” said Sir Mason Durie.

“The Māori research community is small and we are keen to see people and organisations working together on one full application to achieve the best possible outcomes for Māori advancement.”

The application from Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga focuses on research programme themes of Whai Rawa (Māori economy), Te Tai Ao (Environment) and Mauri Ora (Human Flourishing). These are underpinned by te reo Māori and tikanga Māori, and research which will be shaped and designed by and for Māori communities.

The intended outcome of the Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga research programme is ‘Māori leading New Zealand into the future’, to ensure positive engagement in national life, excellence in indigenous scholarship, and to provide solutions to major national and international challenges.

In Budget 2014, the Government committed $5 million each year for five years from 2016 for a Māori CoRE. The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) is responsible for making the final funding decision to select the Māori CoRE.

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has until late February to submit their full application. This process provides an opportunity for them to address any feedback from the selection committee and to host a site visit from the committee.

The selection committee will meet again in March to consider the full application before making a recommendation to the TEC Board; a decision is expected by June 2015.

ENDS

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