He Taonga te Raraunga: Exploring Māori data sovereignty practices for whānau Māori

About this research

Intern

Kayla Manuirirangi, University of Waikato

Supervisor

Professor Tahu Kukutai, University of Waikato

Overview

Māori data sovereignty (MDSov) has become an institutional buzzword in academic, government and some corporate spheres. Organisations are rushing to create data sovereignty policies, but there is a dearth of accessible, relevant resources for hapū, iwi and hāpori that clearly explain what MDSov is and what it means for us. 

To address this gap, the interns worked with the project supervisors – both MDSov researchers and advocates – to produce a set of foundational MDSov resources that are community-focused and relevant. In so doing they expanded their research skills and applied these to knowledge translation and brief writing. 

Three briefs were created that were grounded in tirohanga Māori, and explored what Māori Data is, what Māori Data Sovereignty is and the follow life cycle of data.