Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) - New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence - has launched nine new research platforms designed to empower and enrich research undertaken by Māori.

NPM says the platforms are also designed to deliver innovation in significantly challenging research areas.

The platforms include digital solutions to support knowledge and futureproofing Māori development opportunities, as well as wider issues including diversity, sporting, community engagement and Māori values.

“NPM continues to draw on the excellence of its researchers and collectives, expanding the capacity of Māori research and enhancing a community responsiveness that has been built through many years of transformative outcomes,” comments NPM co-director Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora.

Each platform has emerged from research that meets the stated goals of NPM's research themes - Whai Rawa (Māori Economies), Te Tai Ao (The Natural Environment), and Mauri Ora (Human Flourishing).

Digital Solutions to Support Knowledge and Connections - Drs Acushla Dee Sciascia and Hauiti Hakopa Identifying the current Māori and Indigenous approaches to developing and establishing digital platforms for knowledge storage, knowledge transfer and knowledge preservation. (Hosted by Massey University)

Future Proofing Māori Development Opportunities - Drs Shaun Awatere and John Pirker How tikanga Māori and matauranga Māori can provide strategies for communities to adapt and respond to climate change and natural events. (Hosted by Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua)

Promising Futures - Dr Arama Rata and Dr Adreanne Ormond How can iwi build stronger, more connected, effective and engaged communities and enhance productive links between these governing bodies and their people. (Hosted by University of Waikato)

Enhancing Culturally Matched Outcomes - Dr Rawiri Tinirau and Fiona Wiremu Investigating how Māori can protect and reclaim control over traditional Māori food sources and practices and deliver food sovereignty for iwi and hapū. (Hosted by Te Atawhai o te Ao)

Developing a Theory of Māori Value - Drs Kiri Dell, Jamie Newth and Jason Mika How can aspects of the traditional and non-traditional values that drive the Māori economy be utilised by Māori communities to specifically enhance their mauri ora – wellbeing. (Hosted by University of Auckland)

Community Connections to Place - Drs Anne-Marie Jackson and Ocean Mercier What role do te tai ao initiatives and engagement with the natural world play in fostering community and individual connections to place, and how can these whānau and hapū connections to their landscapes and rohe enhance identity and wellbeing? (Hosted by University of Otago)

Strengthening Māori Agency - Dr Maria Bargh and Tame Malcolm By using a specific tribal case study, the research will look at what contributions Māori can make as tangata whenua to wider environmental and conservation practices, such as making Aotearoa predator free by 2050. (Hosted by Victoria University of Wellington)

Resilient legacies - Drs Farah Palmer, Carwyn Jones, Mohi Rua and Professor Te Kani Kingi How are the mana and mauri ora of taonga tuku iho applied and commodified in rugby and how can this contribute to understanding how mātauranga and tikanga Māori could be applied to wider sporting management and adminstration through policies and practices. (Hosted by Massey University)

Practices of Sustenance (Professor Angus Macfarlane, Associate Professor Sonja Macfarlane and Dr Tia Neha How can tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau attain sustainable incomes, wellness and success within their modern lived urban and rural environments. (Hosted by University of Canterbury)