Our Approach and Focus
In any voyage the kaiurungi needs to have the mātauranga to sail the ship, the ability to gather information to plan the journey, and the skills to read the tohu and adjust course to their destination.
Te Mātātupu is the information and research team. It builds an evidence and knowledge base to support decision-making across Te Mātāwai and the wider sector for Māori language revitalisation. The team is also responsible for reporting on progress toward the outcomes outlined in the Maihi Māori strategy.
Research and evaluation findings hold the most value when they are shared with key stakeholders, including whānau, parents, marae, community members, hapū, iwi leaders, and te reo Māori champions. Therefore, dissemination, promotion, and advice are vital outputs alongside research reports and practical experience.
Te Mātātupu provides data, insights, and knowledge to support our waka as we journey to reach Hawaiki Mokopuna, to restore te reo Māori as the primary language in our whānau.
Our research is focused on language revitalisation activities at a micro level, among kāinga, hapori and iwi. Micro activities are whānau and community focused while macro activities exist at a national level, in the economy as a whole. Māori language revitalisation at a macro level is the key focus of the Maihi Karauna strategy and is administered by the Crown.
Key responsibilities of the team
- We create research to provide new te reo Māori knowledge.
Data of Te Mātāwai revitalisation initiatives
- We collect data about Te Mātāwai reo Māori revitalisation initiatives, such as wānanga, kura reo, classes, and events held throughout Aotearoa.
- Our data captures how our revitalisation initiatives support the Oranga o te reo, which is primarily driven by Tukuihotanga and Hononga Hapori Reo.
- Tukuihotanga – Deliberate intergenerational transmission
- Hononga Hapori Reo – Connected language speaker communities
- He Oranga te reo, he oranga te whānau – Where te reo Māori and our whānau thrive
Our measures on Oranga, Tukuihotanga, and Hononga Hapori Reo enable Te Mātāwai to support our strategy and to capture our impacts on te reo Māori.
Partnership and leadership in research and data
- We play a leadership role to support te reo Māori data, including partnering with other Māori language entities on research.
- We support our Board, Pae Motuhake, and Kāhui with information about revitalisation initiatives, data, and research.
