Four new indigenous research projects announced

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Indigenous Centre of Research Excellence, has commissioned four new research projects. One of these is 'Fostering te pā harakeke: Advancing healthy and prosperous families of mana'.

Ngā Pae says:

"This research project aims to determine how whānau might flourish. The researchers, led by Professor Mason Durie, Massey University, will focus on six themes – the characteristics of flourishing whānau; profiling the contemporary lives of Māori whānau; exploring the cultural realities of modern whānau; identifying the necessary resources (cultural, social, economic) for whānau to flourish; assessing the challenges facing whānau in 2025; and developing strategies that will enable whānau to flourish. The research will provide information that can be translated into action and will be especially relevant to iwi, central government, territorial authorities, local communities, services and whānau themselves. By identifying the characteristics of flourishing whānau and exploring ways those factors can be replicated, the research has the potential to transform circumstances and to shift the focus from ‘what is wrong’ to ‘what is right’. In the process a shift from a deficit to a strengths based approach will foster an associated attitudinal change that focuses on protective factors rather than risk factors."

One of the other projects is 'In pursuit of the possible: Indigenous well-being – a study of indigenous hope, meaning and transformation', led by Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith from Waikato University. Information about all the projects can be found at the link below. Information about Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga is available on their website here.

'Four new indigenous research projects announced', Press Release: Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, 3/12/12