How We Worked

Our Land and Water was a collaborative, transdisciplinary science programme. Our research brought together scientists, innovators, producers, communities, iwi and industry stakeholders

We collaborated

Successful collaboration was at the heart of the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge. Kaitiakitanga (collective guardianship) and shared responsibility is necessary for the long-term wellbeing of land and water in Aotearoa.

We brought together research teams from a range of disciplines, from across universities, all the Crown Research Institutes, and many businesses, iwi and Māori groups, government and non-government organisations, private citizens and regional councils. This approach breaks down barriers between disciplines, research organisations and individual scientists.

We had a formal collaborative relationship with 16 key parties.

We applied a te ao Māori perspective and, in partnership, sought to integrate Māori mātauranga (knowledge), systems and practices into all Challenge research.

We involved industry

Our research was connected to end-users from the very beginning.

Stakeholders, including regional councils, iwi and hapū businesses and entities, businesses and industry bodies, were collaborators and co-innovators in all of our research design and implementation. Half of the journal publications our researchers have published had stakeholders as coauthors.

Our Pathways to Transition research increased the capability of scientists to collaborate and co-design research with industry, changing the way we do science to accelerate uptake.

This resulted in science that is robust, trusted, and more quickly adopted and shared.

We involved communities

Most of our research projects involved an affected community, through workshops, meetings, presentations, surveys, communication or education.

To achieve our goals, we also worked to grow public understanding of land and water science and the principles of kaitiakitanga.

We also built capability for future science and industry leadership, via the Next Generation Influencers and PhD and Master's scholarships. We were proud sponsors of the Pūhoro STEMM Academy and Kaitaki Collective.

We were flexible

We reviewed our overall strategy biennially, adjusting our research focus to respond to economic, political, market and other changes. These adjustments were informed by The Matrix of Drivers, and our Research Landscape Map and Strategy Landscape Map.

Our approach allowed our researchers and partners to evolve research ideas while maintaining the security of multi-year funding, and ensuring that the focus was on high impact, relevant science. All programmes were reviewed annually to ensure their research was relevant and would create change.

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