• Accessibility [Access Key '0' ]
• Home [Access Key '1' ]
• Site Map [Access Key '2' ]
• Search [Access Key '3' ]
• About MoRST [Access Key '4' ]
• Current Work [Access Key '5' ]
• Funding [Access Key '6' ]
• International [Access Key '7' ]
• Careers [Access Key '8' ]
• Contact Us [Access Key '9' ]
• New Zealand Government online [Access Key '/' ]
• Main Content [Access Key '[' ]

He Waka Tāngata

He Waka Tāngata is a forum of eight highly talented researchers who are among the emerging leaders in the social science community. MoRST has set up this group to foster leadership in the social sciences and to find new ways to increase the role and impact of social research in New Zealand. This group builds on our successful Oxygen Group established in 2005 as a cross-science-sector initiative designed to better connect us with younger scientists.

Role of the group

He Waka Tāngata was created in early 2007. Its purposes are to:

• promote public understanding of the integrity and diversity of social science knowledge;
• stimulate debate on the contribution of social science knowledge to New Zealand society;
• identify opportunities for and support the communication of social science knowledge to diverse audiences;
• foster dialogue between emerging and mid-career social scientists and government policy advisors on the experience and direction of science policy in New Zealand.

He Waka Tāngata Terms of Reference

Work programme

ince its inception in early 2007 He Waka Tāngata has instigated a number of initiatives, including the:

• He Waka Tāngata Lecture in Social Science.
• Members of He Waka Tāngata have also joined forces with the Oxygen Group to organise successful runninghot! conferences in 2008 and 2010. This year, runninghot! 2010 will bring together researchers from the sciences, humanities and creative arts - and leaders from the government, business and community sectors - in a conference which will explore the different forms of value generated by research in New Zealand.
• New Zealand Social Science Delegation Report. Several He Waka Tāngata members were part of the first New Zealand delegation to the World Social Science Forum and the European Commission Directorate for Research (EU social sciences).

Group members

Members are at early to mid stages of their careers and come from a wide range of social research disciplines, including geography, economics, sociology, and psychology. They work in diverse fields including education, health, environment and disaster management, and come from a range of social research institutions, including Crown Research Institutes, universities and independent research bodies.

Current and past He Waka Tāngata members