SPEaR Good Practice Guidelines 2008: Research and evaluation involving Māori
Applying the Principle of Responsiveness to research and evaluation involving Māori
To ensure the responsiveness of their processes, officials should:
- Talk with participants about how they want to be researched rather than assuming knowledge of what is best for participants. Get feedback about how they want to participate in the research and be responsive to their suggestions.
- Involve Māori participants in the design of the project - including the design the research question(s), the methodology, the methods, analytical framework and mechanisms for disseminating results.
- Develop processes that enable Māori participants to maintain contact with the project team throughout the life of the initial research project, or future unspecified projects, and which enables the project team to keep participants informed of the progress of the project(s).
- Ensure that interim project reports and other reporting documents include a summary of negotiations with Māori participants and stakeholders on issues related to project design, and report back on any subsequent design changes.
- Be open to using different approaches, for example a Kaupapa Māori research paradigm, adherence and inclusion of tikanga, practices of manaakitanga, etc. One example cited was the identification of key community personnel to be research coordinators in each of the communities where research was being carried out. The payback for taking a different approach (being responsive) was greater engagement by the various communities and an increased sense of community ownership of the research because it came from the people themselves.
- Make no assumptions about what it means to be Māori. An example was the use of te reo Māori in a research project involving rangatahi Māori in gangs. During the interviews the rangatahi were very quiet and did not say much at all. On checking with one participant, we found out that they felt whakamā because they did not speak Māori. Ask participants if they prefer English or Māori, and whether they prefer individual or group interviews.
- Recognise that research should value and utilise current and historical relationships. For example, Māori organisations have typically been the subject of more than one research or evaluation project and have often told their stories many times over. Contracting with the same group of researchers or evaluators, where trust and confidence exists, facilitates engagement because of the established relationships and saves time because organisational history and profile information is already known and documented.
- Recognise that responsiveness means putting aside your own ego and starting from a place of others knowing.
… five kuia and kaumatua shared their stories about an important historic happening with a researcher; me. I loved the fabulous stories, the rich data, and how wonderfully well their variations of the story fitted with my theories around presenting multiple voices and allowing Māori to speak for themselves. I presented their rich diversity with their multiple stories in book form. They hated it. They wanted me to re-write it as a single narrative. To me, responsiveness was about re-writing their stories as a single narrative. This is a work in progress. I had to put aside my ego. Despite ones best intentions, it's the recipient who ultimately decides what constitutes responsiveness. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)
… I was asked to develop a pakeke health plan. I undertook to have conversations with forty pakeke in [Primary Health Organisation]. The conversations touched on their childhood stories around health, their use of Rongoa and tohunga, their physical activities as young people, adolescents, and adults, and their prospective needs and use of rest homes in their aging years. The tape recordings were returned to the pakeke, who have since shared their stories with their children and moko. It is often easier for participants, to tell their story, when interviews start with their experiences and their knowledge of the situation or context. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)
- Responsiveness is not about paying lip service
… a government department I worked for had the task of assessing how responsive other government departments were to the needs of Māori. As a new analyst I was listening to a senior analyst explain the framework and process our department used for this. I asked a question, Who determines the criteria for responsiveness, and what involvement did Māori affected by those agencies being assessed have in the assessment process? The response was, Not much really. I am pleased to say that some things have changed now. Māori views, perspectives and values should be the basis for determining the success of programmes that touch the life of Māori. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)
- Ensure that discussion starts at a place that is relevant to the person or people involved
…I travelled six hours by car to interview someone in his environment. This was responsive, but I wished I had flown. I took an empty bag with the intention of filling it with knowledge. After talking to a gentleman for two hours, it was clear he either had not seen anyone in quite some time, or he was simply passionate. I left, taking my bag, which was barely quarter full of knowledge. I did notice on my way out however, that he had a bag full of satisfaction, having been listened to far more intently than he had been accustomed. Being responsive may not always yield what we want, but it sure can make people feel really good. Being responsive may be more beneficial to the respondent. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)
- Responsiveness means responding when you're asked, and being prepared to go beyond expectations.
Responsiveness means responding when asked and when you're not asked. It means going beyond what's stated in your contract as to what will happen and how things will happen. People have shared their stories with me, let me into their whare, which has had flow-on effects. Although some aspects weren't part of what I was contracted to do, I needed to do those things for them and for me. When you're asking people to share part of who they are and what they've experienced, they need to be able to determine the responsiveness and you need to be able to respond. Being responsive means you may need to be reactive in some situations and proactive in others. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)
- Responsiveness means recognising and valuing past relationships.
… A General Manager of a Māori Health organisation said of evaluators, 'Well, it's like they're going to live in your whare for the next three years, sit at the table and eat of your kai. You wouldn't want just anyone to live with you over the next three years. I realised then that organisations should have a say in who evaluates them; they should be able to select evaluators whom they've worked with in the past, and they should be able to do all of this - have a say at the table - at the time the evaluation is being contracted. Being responsive means looking to build on past research relationships and not assuming that an 'independent' tender process is the best way to select researchers. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)
