Maori Research and Development

• Introduction
• Progress-to-Date
• Maori Development and Maori Advancement
• Approaches to Research for Maori
• Maori Foresight in Health Research
• Te Oru Rangahau
• Limitations to Historical Purchasing
• Future Challenges for RS&T
• Future Challenges for Health Research
• Notes
• References

Introduction

While Maori have participated in the Foresight Project  ¹  , creating scenarios, identifying competencies and outcome areas, it has not been a planning process which has attracted a high degree of Maori involvement. Acknowledging this, the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST) has embarked on a number of strategies to gain Maori views and identify future pathways for research, science and technology development. This paper briefly summarises the apparent results from MoRST’s approach to date and identifies the many issues which the Crown, Maori, and Maori researchers in particular, will need to address in the months ahead. This direction has particular relevance for health research, which has had a focus on Maori research for some time now.

Progress to Date

Four strategies seem to have been employed by MoRST in seeking Maori-specific input. First, Maori were invited to participate in the Foresight project. Almost surprisingly, given the voluntary and user-pays (volunteer-pays?) approach, several Maori individuals and groups accepted the invitation as evidenced by the submissions received by MoRST.  ²   The second of these strategies was the co-sponsorship of Te Oru Rangahau  ^a   – the Maori Research and Development Conference held by the School of Maori Studies, Massey University, in July 1998.  ³   In tandem with this stratagem, the third one was the commissioning of a discussion document  ⁴   presenting a range of research approaches and analysing their potential to furnish knowledge salient to Maori planning. Fourthly, and following the MidSight Conference,  ²   MoRST convened a Maori Working Group to assist in advising on the structure of the Maori Development outcome area.

Rather than detail each stage, this paper summarises the overall picture that has arisen. The process has thus far identified:

• the dual goals (outcomes) of Maori Development and Maori Advancement
• a range of valid approaches to research for Maori as researchers and participants
• the limitations of historical mechanisms for purchasing research relevant to Maori Development and Advancement
• challenges to the future of research, science and technology (RS&T) in New Zealand, including enabling Kaupapa Maori research theory to flourish, promoting a Maori system for assessment and ethical review, measuring sector performance, the identification of Maori priorities for research, the continuing development of a Maori research capacity and collaborative globalisation with other indigenous peoples.

Maori Development and Maori Advancement

A number of contributors to the Foresight project have commented on whether Maori issues should be implicitly or explicitly addressed in identifying outcomes. Critical to understanding how Maori issues will be addressed by the RS&T sector in the future has been the identification of the dual goals of Maori Advancement and Maori Development. Rather than a trivial debate of semantics, these dual goals represent a statement of philosophy, which is based upon the union of the positive approach of development (Maori development) and the problem-oriented approach of addressing disparity by advancing progress on achieving outcomes (Maori advancement).

These goals are not mutually exclusive and must be addressed contemporaneously. Their union provides a comprehensive pathway to improved Maori outcomes and outcomes for Maori.  ^b   Yet the processes for addressing each of the goals, and the specific outcomes sought, may be significantly different. It is possible to characterise these dual goals specifically in an education sector environment.

Maori Development
One difficulty with interpreting the term "Maori development" is that it is often used with an implied rather than a specific definition. And this is further compromised by varying views as to whether "development" is a process, an outcome or a mixture of the two. But most commentators are agreed on a number of principles.

Maori development is fundamentally people-focussed. It is a dynamic, ongoing process through which Maori seek the outcomes of cultural affirmation, social well-being, economic self- (and collective-) sufficiency, and mutually beneficial partnerships (nationally and globally).

In the developmental process emphasis is placed on:

• the importance of people as the most valuable resource
• the diversity of Maori and the subsequent need for a set of equivalent pathways
• the full participation of Maori in society, the economy, the education sector as well as in research
• self-determination and deliberate planning for the future
• the Treaty of Waitangi as a pathway for future development
• co-operation within Maori society and with wider societies.

Development, as a process, is dependent on an infrastructure which holds the principles detailed above as central to implementation. This has significant implications for the administration, funding, and use of research. It is also dependent on a meaningful system for monitoring and assessing progress. In Treaty of Waitangi terms it is largely an Article 2 response, consistent with "tino rangatiratanga".

Maori Advancement
Maori advancement is a parallel goal to Maori development. It is, however, more likely to be focussed on problems such as reducing disparity, improving performance, developing workforce capacity (and capability) and meeting consumer expectations. In Treaty of Waitangi terms it is largely an Article 3 response.

Maori advancement is progress or outcome-focussed. It relies on conceiving a disparity, setting goals for progress and measuring performance and achievement along the way.

Advancement is a goal through which it is hoped equity or fairness is delivered. Equity has been a major component of the policy setting in Maori Development.  ⁵   Typically equity can be broken down and thought of in terms of:

• equity of access
• equity of utility or use
• equity of outcome.

"Access" and "utility" are sometimes seen as proxy measures for equity of outcome, as outcomes can take a significant time to measure. Sometimes access or utility are in themselves outcome measures.

The achievement of equity through pathways differing from the mainstream is admitted as a valid process. Differential treatment may be applied in order to produce similar outcome performance. The equity approach is generally preferred over the equality approach of "everyone has the same chance" and "one-size-fits-all". Care has to be exercised not to constrain advancement to some normative model based on comparisons with non-Maori. Similar (Maori/non-Maori) advancement measures may need to be characterised differently and strict comparisons may be of little relevance.

Approaches to Research for Maori

A range of research approaches for Maori has been identified in a recent discussion document.  ⁴   The following table from that paper summarises these approaches. This taxonomy provides a framework for determining the location of researchers, their methodologies and methods. Each characterised research type is able to deliver a qualified contribution to Maori knowledge and therefore Maori Development and Advancement. Each research type is characterised by the degree of Maori control and participation, the research methods employed and the type of analysis employed by the investigators.

Maori Foresight in Health Research

A number of issues have been identified in the Foresight for Health component of the Foresight project jointly managed by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) and the Ministry of Health.  ^{6  ,   7}   Maori health has been a priority for the health sector for some time and policies focussing on provider development have currency.

Submissions have identified the following goals:

• undertaking Maori health research with a developmental perspective
• enabling the application of a Maori analysis to data
• the continued development of a Maori research workforce
• identifying and addressing health priorities.

Te Oru Rangahau

Over 200 Maori researchers attended the Maori Research and Development Conference in July 1998 and these are usefully summarised in the proceedings.  ^c   Several presenters made reference to methodological and epistemological approaches to Maori knowledge.  ^{8  ,   9  ,   10  ,   11  ,   12  ,   13}  

Clearly there is a rich and diverse interest by Maori in the formation of Maori methods of research and analysis. In addition, the philosophy of Maori control over Maori research is strongly advocated by most Maori researchers. A responsive research sector will enable this interest and control to flourish.

Limitations to Historical Purchasing

The major shift in emphasis for the future will be to lessen the emphasis on the purchasing of outputs, such as those specified by the "output classes" of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, and increase the focus on the "outcomes set" which arises from the Foresight planning process. The outcomes set will be developed into "portfolios" of research purchased jointly and severally by the research purchase agents, such as the HRC, Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, Technology NZ, the Royal Society (Marsden Fund) and operational research purchasers such as government departments. These changes will go some way to addressing past limitations, which include:

• the focus on outputs with generally prescribed and inflexible budgets
• the highly sectoral and separate nature of the output specifications leading to a sectorally and separately organised Maori research effort and short-term security of funding
• the lack of empathy with a Maori world view, sometimes resulting in holistic projects being disaggregated for funding
• a relatively voiceless Maori research provider group, sensitive to the risks of criticising funders
• a focus on Maori "problems" as research questions
• inconsistent handling of Maori diversity (for example, through unwittingly establishing Maori advisory groups with narrow development or advancement interests)
• the vain hope of a Maori consensus on research issues, a hope not necessarily applied to the mainstream!

Many of these perceived limitations are systemic; the suggested refocussing into larger, longer term portfolios will go some way to addressing these limitations, but responsiveness issues require ongoing work.

Future Challenges for RS&T

A number of challenges face us. In the spirit of Foresight these challenges determine the competencies and outcomes set which should be addressed over the next 10 years.

A Maori System for Assessment and Ethical Review
Maori researchers strive for the same ideals of excellence as other researchers but want these ideals to be formulated in ways relevant to Maori cultural views, aspirations and beliefs. In addition, many Maori researchers feel uncomfortable in compromising or justifying their underlying philosophical position to assessors who frequently have little experience or understanding of Maori approaches to research. A tension between objectivity and Maori cultural expertise exists, yet Maori specific conflicts of interest are seldom well identified.

The Continuing Development of Kaupapa Maori Methodology and Epistemology
Several Maori researchers have developed strong skills (and views) in kaupapa-Maori research and analysis  ^{3  ,   14  ,   15}   yet cross-sectoral collaboration has not been particularly encouraged largely due to the competitive and separate nature of funding streams. Kaupapa Maori theory and analysis will benefit from a broader sectoral, and even a-sectoral, view which will support the continued development of this valuable approach alongside other Maori approaches to research.  ⁴  

Maori Sensitive Purchasing
The identification of a Maori Development Outcome Area  ¹⁶   places focus on both the scope of the area and the mechanisms for purchase through the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, Technology NZ and the HRC. Funders will need to develop Maori purchase strategies that are sensitive to broad Maori responsiveness ideals together with the expectations of the developing Maori research workforce.

Measuring Performance
Clearly the structuring of an ideal Maori Development portfolio, by Maori, will assist the Crown in measuring the performance of purchasers in meeting the objectives of the portfolio. This is an area where tangata whenua, as the Crown’s partner, can more meaningfully determine the indicators of excellent performance.

Developing Capacity
Satisfactory progress will be dependent upon the skills not only of funded researchers but of the system that supports them. A Maori workforce that populates the research funding infrastructure is as important as the Maori research provider workforce.

Globalisation
Although Maori research has been at the forefront of international indigenous research development there now exists a significant capacity among other indigenous people, notably Native Americans. In the spirit of globalisation it is likely that some of the developing Maori methods and methodologies will be able to be validated through comparisons and collaboration with these international developments.

Future Challenges for Health Research

Several specific challenges face the future of health research in addition to those identified above.

Health and Hauora
Definitions of "health" and "hauora" are not coincident  ^d   and this leads to conflicting views as to the degree to which broader social, whanau and spiritual Maori views are supported through health research funding. The intersectoral approach proposed for future research funding  ¹⁶   would go some way to addressing this conflict within a sectorally based view of the world.

More Ways than One
Health research funding needs to support a broad range of Maori research approaches rather than strive for some ideal consensus. Within the current construct determined by the Health Research Council Act, the role of both the biomedical and public health streams of funding need to be reconciled with the Maori health stream in the spirit of the dual goals of Maori development and Maori advancement.

Recognising Priorities
Health research priorities need to be established which are cognisant of wider Maori development and health sector priorities and needs. To this end the HRC have published research themes  ¹⁷   and a strategic plan  ¹⁸   for Maori Health Research. These documents will require refining as purchase strategies are further developed.

Capitalising on an Investment in Training
Possibly the largest challenge will be the retention of Maori health research trainees within the health (research) sector. The training and awards policy of the HRC has supported many aspiring Maori researchers and should be applauded. Yet ongoing certainty in terms of career development and longer term funding is lacking and the Maori health research workforce is ripe for the picking. Again the intended development of the RS&T sector will address this issue. At best this strategy will retain some but not all of those in whom the HRC has invested.

References