SPEaR Good Practice Guidelines 2008: Research and evaluation involving Māori

Applying the Principle of Competency to research and evaluation involving Māori

To ensure the competency of the work they do with Māori, officials should:

Include in the project team, officials or external advisors with an appropriate level of experience and knowledge of the tikanga (protocols) applicable to the Māori entities involved in the project, with experience in research involving hapu, iwi and or other Māori organisations, and with experience and knowledge of methodologies and methods applicable to Māori research contexts.

If your agency does not include people with such experience, consider including a paid advisor in the project team. Larger agencies and Te Puni Kokiri can advise you. In an agency context, if you're not given the right tools to do the job and/or if you don't find the right people, then you're setting yourself up for failure and being incompetent. Sometimes it's not the fault of an individual, but it is about the structures and processes of the organisation and the lack of support or resources provided to the research project by an agency. Organisations have a responsibility to ensure they employ or contract competent people and provide the necessary support to enable the research to be carried out. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

Not assume being Māori equates to linguistic or cultural competence and confidence. Not all Māori speak te reo, have knowledge of tikanga or feel competent to lead engagement processes with whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori organisations. Talk to and confirm with Māori the areas that they feel confident to lead and participate in.
Not elevate Māori to positions outside of their skill, experience or knowledge base - without providing quality support and guidance. Sometimes Māori get tagged to do jobs because they are Māori. However, they may lack certain skills and not be an appropriate choice.

For example, a Māori male was asked to lead a research project that sought to capture the views and experiences of Māori women in relation to a key health concern. He declined to work on the project as he had limited research expertise. Being a study, which sought the views of women, he felt that it would be more appropriate for a woman to work on the project. He was, however, able to recommend a suitable researcher, who had knowledge and previous research experience in the area. Government agencies need to take responsibility for enhancing their organisational capacity to work appropriately with Māori. An agency can become dependent on a small number of staff to manage their relationships/research with Māori. This can result in burn out of the staff involved and diminish the organisational capacity to engage appropriately with Māori. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

Be aware that competency is about the maintenance of mana.

… I heard my koroua say, If you can't do the job properly, then don't do it at all. Mena kaore te mahi e mahia, kaua e mahi…What he meant was that the whānau had a certain set of standards when it came to doing certain things, and this relates to the concept of mana. If you're not competent, then your failure reflects and has implications on the mana of your whānau. And your whānau belong to hapū, who belong to iwi, so there is that triple effect in terms of the implications of incompetency. Competency goes beyond personal and professional credibility. It's about mana; the maintenance of whānau, hapū and iwi mana. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

Be aware that competency in a Māori context is not necessarily understood
by all, and depends on perspectives and experiences and values.

… there was a competent Māori provider who had a competent program. The provider was introduced to a government department employee who, not being competent in their kaupapa, made them tick the boxes and dot the 'I's'. This made no sense to the provider, nor did they see how it fitted with their kaupapa. Then a competent evaluation team came along, who worked well with the provider and understood them, but they didn't understand the funding client (the government department). The competent evaluator had to work hard to stay looking competent against a system that didn't really protect or promote competence when working with Māori. Whose capacity/competency are we building? Everyone has to know their own kaupapa and that of others. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

… there was a teacher who told her tamariki to write a story every day. She believed they were competent enough to do this and that it was good practise for them. When the tables were turned and the teacher was told to write many stories, she realised what a big ask she wanted from her students, and how incompetent she suddenly felt. Who defines competence or incompetence - funders, providers, evaluators? (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

Competency can be about having a shared understanding and is about listening to the sage advice and wisdom of elders.

… a mother went shopping for food for a birthday. She told the older kids to get the jelly ready, and when she returned home, she saw the jelly outside in the sun. She asked what the jelly was doing in the sun and was told, Mum, it's Sunshine Jelly. Pick the right team, the right workers; keep in mind the different makeup of the people doing the research, the different levels of understanding and different paradigms people come from. Make sure you take all those things into consideration before sending in kids to do an adult's job. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

… mehemea i whakarongo au ki ooku kuia/koroua, kua tu rangatira pakari au ki roto i nga tikanga, kawa, me oona aahuatanga katoa. Ko raatou hoki i maarama, i matatau ki te aaronga o taatou te iwi Maori, aa, kia noho puumau tonu ki roto i eenei raarangi koorero.

Ko raatou hoki i maarama i matatau, ki te aaronga o taatou te iwi Maaori, aa, ka noho puumau tonu ki roto i eenei raarangi koorero. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)