Preparing your proposal

In order to consider responsiveness to Māori in your research project we highly recommend that researchers and the research team undergo the following process:

We recommend in the first instance that all researchers read the following article in order to understand the Faculty's approach to Responsiveness to Māori​​​​​​​.

Navigate all the resources made available on the website. You may wish to start by watching a presentation on Māori Health Advancement by Professor Papaarangi Reid and Dr Sarah-Jane Paine.

Then follow the Te Ara Tika pathway, where it will lead you to field specific resources, including how to consider important Ethnicity issues. Be sure to check information on the Research Hub as well.

Through navigating our website you will have noticed a range of resources that contain recommendations and solutions to common questions about Responsiveness to Māori in health research.

We do our best to keep on top of external developments in Responsiveness to Māori, and share that knowledge and practice with the wider research and research support communities.

Encourage your wider research team to explore these resources too so that they can help you with the next part of this process.

Work closely with your research team to critically reflect on your project by conducting a gap analysis. Comprehensively addressing the four domains of our equity-based approach maximises the opportunity to ensure that your health research is responsive to Māori.

The four domains of Responsiveness to Māori include:

1. Relevance to Māori

Is this important for Māori health and/or do inequities exist?

​​​What is the reason for the study? How does the research contribute to eliminating Māori health inequities?

2. Māori Involvement

How will Māori be involved in my research?

This domain examines opportunities for participation in all aspects of research, from conception of the research question through to dissemination of the findings, and implementation into health practice.

3. Promoting Māori Voice

Whose story is being told by this research?

If ethnic inequities exist in the research topic, it is important that priority be given to the group with the inequity and that an appropriate analytical lens is applied.

4. Governance

How will I uphold my responsibilities to Māori?

Governance in research encompasses the values and principles of communities of interest, and protects the rights and interests of these communities, by overseeing standards and regulatory processes that ensure good research practice. This includes, but is not limited to, consent, reflection about research relationships, and data sovereignty.

If you have any further information needs after using this website, please discuss with your FIRST team.