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What and who is this resource for?
Māori Intermediary(s) (MI, Kaiwhakarite)
Assisting the scientists in each of these phases is a Māori Intermediary (or facilitator) whose role(s) include assuring scientists are adequately prepared for dialogue with Māori entities, and to assist in the dialogue process itself. The role of the intermediary is to facilitate the process – but not to ensure a predetermined outcome is delivered upon.
A key component throughout this process is that the scientists, (and/or the Māori entity) may chose to utilise the skills and facilitation of a ‘Māori Intermediary’ (or group of intermediaries), or ‘Kaiwhakarite’, to assist scientists with Toolkit Stage 2 (including reshaping research proposals), as well as facilitating the dialogue between parties. This person/people should be respected by both parties and sufficiently knowledgable in Tikanga and Te Reo Māori, and able to understand and communicate the broad scientific concepts. Ideally, the dialogue partners would collectively choose the MI, or if one or either parties is sufficiently experienced in such exchanges, then no Intermediary may be necessary.
Moreover, different people could be used for different proposals, and may not necessarily involve the research providers’ Māori employees. A set of ideal (but not mandatory) characteristics for the intermediary(s) are outlined in the Table below.
Table: Preferred characteristics of the Māori Intermediary(s)
| Characteristic |
Function |
| Ability to understand and teach Māori values (tikanga) and protocols (kawa) |
Enhance scientists in dealing with cultural situations
Assist scientists in to answer questions triggered by the toolkit |
| Ability to understand and relay basic scientific information and methodology |
Assist iwi in the interpretation of scientific process and data
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| Have respect in both the scientific and Māori Community |
To be acceptable and feel comfortable working with both parties |
| Understand the funding requirements for scientists, and associated application processes |
Assistance in communicating the research proposal for a wider public forum including Māori
Assist in the reshaping of a proposal to take into account any issues after interaction with Māori Organisations |
While it is expected that the research provider fund the Māori Intermediary(s), the MI’s role is neutral in terms of the issues being discussed. This neutrality is important to guarantee the success of the dialogue, to allow for the protection of both parties’ interests, and for the Māori Intermediary to retain his/her/their Mana (status) from the perspective of the Māori partner(s) in the dialogue.
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