Working in partnership
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| The Sirtrack team join the annual kiwi call census at Lake Waikaremoana. Image - Andy Dingfelder |
To achieve our Mission, we need to deliver the research that our major funders require and in ways they want. Fifty-seven percent of our research is funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST). FRST is placing increasing emphasis on collaborative partnerships, which are supported by end-users. This is a move that Manaaki Whenua welcomes. We have always believed our research capabilities and capacity for excellence are increased through formal, collaborative partnerships with peers in other research agencies-principally other CRIs and universities- and iwi.
Another 16% of our research is funded by public-good, end-user stakeholders-the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), the Department of Conservation (DOC), the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), the Animal Health Board (AHB), and local government. We maintain close contractual partnerships and have regular meetings to ensure our science is aligned with their needs. Staff from these agencies are involved in a number of our research projects.
Manaaki Whenua is very proactive in fostering fellowships and exchanges with other researchers, and we are extensively involved in networks that have a strong focus on sustainability.
We regularly communicate our science to the general public through media releases, our website and special community-based events such as BioBlitz.
Working with FRST and end-users on OBIs
FRST's intention with the new Outcome Based Investments (OBIs, see page 19) is that they deliver real outcomes from science. Hence, outcomes have to be developed in close partnership with end-users who are committed to incorporating research results into their operations. Preparing our proposals to FRST for investment funding involved extensive meetings and discussions with end-users. Four of our proposals were funded, but two of these were subsequently combined into one OBI. This required more discussions to redesign proposals to meet specifications and limitations imposed by FRST. Manaaki Whenua was fortunate to have the cooperation of its highly supportive, loyal and hard-working end-users. All our OBI partners are represented on the OBI governing bodies.
Our OBIs and key relationships are:
Defining New Zealand's Terrestrial Biota-funded for 12 years with DOC, Biosecurity New Zealand, the Environmental Risk Management Agency (ERMA), and Te Papa Tongarewa
Ecosystems Resilience-funded for 12 years with DOC and Tūhoe Tuawhenua Trust
Sustaining and Restoring Biodiversity-funded for 8 years with DOC, Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, and regional councils . Manaaki Whenua is also a major science provider and partner in the Possum Biocontrol OBI led by AgResearch. The OBI aims to develop cost-effective and acceptable methods for the biological control of possums.
Our staff continue to form partnerships and networks through numerous formal roles where their expertise is shared.
| 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | |
| Staff invited to contribute expertise 1 | 39 | 64 | 68 | 72 |
| Editorial positions with periodicals 2 | 56 | 65 | 64 | 78 |
| Directorships/Board memberships | 11 | 21 | 24 | 26 |
| Formal advisory positions | 73 | 100 | 90 | 113 |
| Honorary university lectureship | 42 | 47 | 52 | 51 |
| Positions in professional societies3 | 56 | 65 | 64 | 63 |
1 includes invited conference presentations,
book chapters, etc
2 includes international
and local periodicals
3 excludes ordinary
membership
Working with Māori
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| Myra Doherty, Tūhoe, visiting our facilities at Tamaki. Image - Aaron McGlinchy |
Our commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi is part of our Guiding Philosophy. Māori are the tangata whenua, connected from birth with the land associated with their iwi-they are the land's custodians, the kaitiaki, for future generations. These deep-rooted, traditional values are supported by Manaaki Whenua because they embody the concept of sustainable development. We have strong links with many iwi, and working with Māori is an integral part of our approach to collaborative research.
We continued working with Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga Centre of Research Excellence (CORE) on "science, mātauranga and schools" and developed a new project on sustainable settlements driven by Māori principles focused on papakainga housing developments- "Bringing people home"-a sustainable community initiative combining traditional and contemporary knowledge. At the same time, the project is developing leadership capacity among young Māori scientists engaged in the research. We also continued our urban ecosystems research with Ngāti Whatua and Opus on "te huarahi ki mua-roads for change".
Our ongoing partnership with the Tūhoe Tuawhenua Trust gained further FRST funding to to study how global climate change may be affecting the forests of Te Urewera. This is part of the Ecosystems Resilience OBI.
This year we began a new FRST-funded programme on Māori eco-cultural tourism, with two regional studies involving the Tūhoe Tourism Federation and the Te Urewera-Tairāwhiti Tourism Forum in the East Cape-Te Urewera area. We are also working with five Ngāi Tahu papatipu rūnunga on Te Pākaihautū o Rakaihautu (Banks Peninsula), with an associated organisation, Takuahi Research and Development Ltd, contributing to the research in this programme.
Ngāi Tahu Development seconded a staff member from Kaupapa Taiao to work with us researching Māori perspectives on waste management, and to provide liaison advice on our major natural ecosystem and biodiversity research programmes.
‘He pēnei te hōhonutanga o te whanaungatanga o Tuawhenua ki Manaaki Whenua, mai te tīmatanga tae noa mai ki nāianei. He tata, he ngāwari, he rawe. Mena ka kore e pēnei, kua mate noa atu’.
The depth of the relationship between Tuawhenua and Landcare Research from the very outset to this day is very deep. It is very close, it is easy and it is beneficial (to both parties). Were it not to be, it would have died a long time ago.
Jim Doherty, Chairman, Tūhoe Tuawhenua Trust.
Working with other research providers
Manaaki Whenua's commitment to developing the best teams for research goals is demonstrated by the number of formal partnerships we have with other research organisations. The Sustainable Land Use Research Initiative (SLURI) on the facing page is an example of this.
Our two new joint research centres, the New Zealand Centre for Ecological Economics (NZCEE) with Massey University, and the Centre for Urban Ecosystem Studies (CUES) with University of Auckland, both continued to make progress. NZCEE, which increased its staff from 8 to 10 in 2004/05, won an important new FRST contract on ecosystem services and the implications for iwi. We also signed an agreement to establish a Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity with the University of Auckland. Our cooperation with Victoria University on sustainable business has been formalised through a MOU.
We continued to provide university lectures, some paid for and some free of charge, and we supervised 49 PhD and 16 masterate students during the year. Sixty-five university staff and students were involved in Manaaki Whenua research programmes. About 10 post-graduate students were supervised through CUES.
PGS&T partnerships
Working with regional stakeholders
Sustainable development is a global issue, but it needs to be achieved at a local level. In New Zealand, regional, city and district government have legislative responsibility for sustainable development. During 2004/05, Manaaki Whenua started three projects with local government:
Waikato: developing tools to map future changes in resource-use and environmental pressures resulting from altered demographics and economic activity.
Marlborough: working with exporters on CarboNZero?brand, a proactive step to deal with possible impacts of climate change on the competitiveness of their products in certain markets by reducing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.
Canterbury: Understanding how key stakeholders in government, business, and the community interact through legislation, economics, and political influence, and how this could affect the way water availability is managed in the future.