Tēnā koutou e ngā kairangahau, e ngā rakahinonga, e ngā ākonga, koutou e ngā manukura.

We recognise mātauranga Māori and tāonga including art, te reo and native flora and fauna. That’s why we’ve developed a Māori intellectual property policy to protect Indigenous knowledge, traditions and data from accidental or deliberate misappropriation. Major principles of the policy include consultation, partnership, sharing, and free, prior and informed consent.

The policy is a beginning – it’s intended to evolve as experience and understanding deepen at UniServices and around the world. For example, there is growing awareness within international legal frameworks that Indigenous understandings of ownership and property are more about responsibility and kaitiakitanga than Western understandings are.

UniServices is working to build our capacity to engage with Māori. Part of this involves bringing on more Māori staff. We have a Kaiārahi, a Manutaki Whanaketanga Umanga Māori | Māori Business Development Director, a Poutaki Hononga | Investment Development Lead and a Kaitātari Tauhokohoko | Investment Analyst overseeing the wider Māori strategy for UniServices. This team is working on building relationships with iwi and hapū as well as with Māori businesses, organisations, researchers and other manukura to bring us closer to mātauranga Māori and the Māori economy.

We have also increased our Māori staff in other roles across our business. This includes appointing Poutaki Mātauranga Māori and other leading roles in our services and projects to ensure we’re meeting Māori needs in areas such as supporting the education and mental health workforce. We’re committed to recruiting more Māori staff and to developing kaimahi through activities such as professional development wānanga and regular meetings of a Māori hoamahi group.

Are you a Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland researcher working in an area that impacts Māori, whenua Māori (Māori land), mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge including science, engineering, cultural practices and worldview), or other tāonga (treasures including arts, language, native plants and animals)? Do you need to consider these factors in a research or funding  proposal? Want to partner with Māori in research or investment? We’re here to help or at least point you in the right direction.

From learning about your obligations to signing contracts, we work with researchers and other University departments in areas such as:

• Offering workshops on topics such as understanding Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Vision Mātauranga, Wai 262 and their relevance to research
• Assessing proposals and intellectual property for relevance/obligations to Māori
• Helping develop and advance research proposals that meet funding bodies’ guidelines
• Helping negotiate agreements that meet the needs of Māori and non-Māori partners