Canterbury research office

You will require a Locality Authorisation to conduct research within Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury if you are planning research that involves:

• Our patients
• Our clinics or staff
• Our data or patient records
• Our facilities, buildings or space

Locality Authorisation may be required alongside other processes - e.g. subcontracts/agreements with other organisations, following successful grant applications.

If you are not a Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury employee, you will require a co-investigator within our organisation (in a Department relevant to the study) to support your application for Locality Authorisation. Please contact us if you need assistance with this.

Locality Amendments

Please inform the Research Office if there are any changes to a Locality Authorisation. We will let you know what is required for approval.

• If an amendment is minor, your email notification may be enough to process it as a locality amendment;
• If an amendment is moderate, we may ask you to provide Departmental email approvals and additional documentation;
• If a proposed amendment is significant, it is likely to be processed as a new locality following all internal approval steps.

Our Research Advisors provide advice on funding and assist with all processes associated with Health NZ Canterbury-hosted grants. Your application must be registered with the Research Office before it is submitted to the funder. Contact the Research Office for more information or to schedule a meeting with an Advisor.  

Please register your funding application to start the process. You will be sent a Grant Information Form to complete.

Please note: the Grant Information Form and all additional information must be submitted to the Research Office no later than two weeks prior to the funder’s due date. This time is required to obtain standard organisational approvals and to review your application prior to submission to the funder.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

If your funding application includes a researcher from another organisation, an outgoing MOU with the partner organisation may be required. The Research Office will manage this process so that the MOU can be submitted with the funding application. We encourage researchers to begin this process well in advance of the funder’s application deadline. Please register your MOU application to start the process.

Contracts

For successful grant applications, Research Advisors will work with you, our Legal team, the funder, and any collaborating organisations to arrange contracts, subcontracts, agreements and any variations to these documents. All of these documents are processed by the Research Office. Please contact us if you have any questions.

When institutions would like to include Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury staff in their funding applications and/or engage staff in their grant-funded projects, please contact the Research Office to discuss:

• Expression of Interest (EOI) stage of funding applications
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for funding applications
• Subcontracts to engage our staff in another organisation’s grant-funded project
• Amendments to subcontracts

Please request an MOU and provide all supporting information to the Research Office at least two weeks prior to the funder’s due date or your institution’s deadline. Please register your EOI request, MOU or Subcontract application to start the process.

Please note: this section is for Clinical Trials hosted by Health NZ Canterbury only. If Health NZ Canterbury will be a sub-site of a clinical trial hosted by another organisation (at present this includes other Health NZ regions), please register a locality application instead.

The purpose of a CDA is to ensure that sensitive information is protected when exchanged between parties.  In the context of a clinical trial, or other research project, a CDA with a Sponsor places obligations on Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury to maintain confidentiality of information. These obligations must be adhered to, as any breach may have significant consequences. The Research Office arranges for legal review and approval of CDAs.

Researchers may find it useful to consider the following in their research projects:

Relevance to Māori

What is the reason for the study?

Is this important for Māori health and/or do inequities exist?

​​​How does the research contribute to eliminating Māori health inequities?

Māori experience poorer health outcomes than non-Māori in nearly all areas of healthcare. Research should acknowledge these inequities and aim to mitigate them. Your research should not contribute to perpetuating or increasing these inequities - either passively by ignoring them, or more actively through inappropriate methodology, recruitment or analysis. For example, if data is analysed only at a total population level, then the status quo of health inequities is maintained.

Equity is a priority for the health sector, and for organisations that provide funding for health research.

Māori Involvement

How will Māori be involved in this research?

Researchers are encouraged to examine opportunities for Māori participation in all aspects of research, from conception of the research question through to dissemination of the findings, and implementation into health practice. For example, researchers may involve a Māori advisory and/or support group for the duration of the project.

Consultation with Māori is a minimum obligation under the Treaty of Waitangi, and an expectation of Te Whatu Ora - Waitaha. The level and depth of consultation will vary according to the type of research project. Consultation may improve your research project, draw your attention to key Māori issues and stakeholders, and improve your knowledge transfer outcomes. Researchers are encouraged to think about the need for consultation with Māori early in your research design.

Relationships with Māori stakeholders will be on a continuum, from provision of information and dissemination of research findings, to deeper relationships based on partnerships. Some researchers will have Māori individuals and/or groups involved in their project. For researchers without Māori involvement, key Māori stakeholders may be recommended. 

Consultation, by definition, includes a feedback loop. Agree on what, when, and how you will feed back during your consultation process.

Promoting Māori Voice

Whose story is being told by this research?

Researchers need to consider a range of questions in their research design. If there are Māori/non-Māori inequities in your research field then it is important to design your study so that Māori are well represented in your data. If you are using existing datasets, you will need to consider the accuracy and completeness of ethnicity within the dataset. You may also reflect on whether or not your study needs to have the power to analyse Māori outcomes independently, and how you will achieve this. A project that ensures that a sample is sufficiently powered to answer the research question may require additional planning or expertise on the research team.

If you think there are no inequities in your research and you will not use ethnicity as a variable of analysis, you may be asked to justify this position as part of the assessment of your project.

Be aware of your own conceptual views and the possibility of researcher bias, for example, be careful to avoid “deficit model” thinking - or “romantic framing” of results. Be careful about your ability to generalise or draw conclusions about all Māori from your results.

Governance

How will I uphold my responsibilities to Māori?

Governance in research encompasses the values and principles of communities of interest, and protects the rights and interests of these communities, by overseeing standards and regulatory processes that ensure good research practice. This includes, but is not limited to, consent, reflection about research relationships, and data sovereignty

Most researchers are familiar with procedures for obtaining individual consent. Good practice requires that researchers provide for whanau and other support for participants if wanted; that project choices are explained; and that participants are empowered to make choices around participation in research projects.

At times, individual written consent may not be sufficient for participation in a research project. For example, collective consent may be important in studies involving the use of human tissue, body fluids, DNA, and data, especially where future use is being considered. DNA and genetic information reflect the whole whānau​​ across generations, and collective consent may be most appropriate in research using these data. The Research Advisor Māori can provide advice on this.

Is ethnicity a variable of analysis in your research?

If you intend to use ethnicity as a variable of analysis in your research it is important to be clear in your understanding of ethnicity and what your assumptions are in its measurement.

Ancestry and ethnicity are different concepts, ethnicity cannot be used as a proxy for ancestry. It is important to be clear about these definitions and to use the appropriate concept. Ancestry is a way to characterise individuals beyond their race or ethnicity. Ancestry is appropriate when family history or lineage is being considered. Because ancestry is aligned with whakapapa, further consultation may be necessary with relevant iwi, hapū and whānau groups. Ethnicity on the other hand is a construct, self-ascribed or socially assigned, based on physical characteristics. Individuals may identify with different ethnicities over time and/or with multiple ethnic groups.

If your research concerns an area where ethnic health inequities are present, it is important to determine what your hypothesis is in relation to ethnicity. Ethnicity should not be used as a substitute for measures of health determinants such as socio-economic status or geographic place.

It is important to understand standard methods of collecting ethnicity data. You will need to consider the accuracy and completeness of ethnicity data collection in your research design and/or in assessing the data sets you use. Please ensure you are familiar with current Ministry of Health Ethnicity Data Protocols (external link).

Research involving human tissue, especially genetic research, carries specific obligations. For many Māori, there are additional aspects to consider specifically when carrying out studies involving human tissue and/or genetics, particularly if samples are being sent internationally, or if it may be used for future purposes.

Researchers must specify how they plan to manage human tissue and DNA. This will involve clarity about how tissue will be stored, whether it will be used for any future purpose and how it will be destroyed.

• Some iwi do not support storage of tissue and blood samples because of cultural implications.
• If study samples are being sent overseas for analysis and/or storage, they move beyond the jurisdiction of New Zealand law. This is an unresolved point of significant sensitivity to some.
• Some Māori consider that the rights and protections of tissue extend to the data generated from this tissue - including genetic data. These issues need to be clarified during the consultation and consenting process.

The use of human tissue for future unspecified use is an issue which will be very carefully evaluated by ethics committees, as it may carry unquantifiable but potentially high risks for some participants. Consent to the future unspecified use of a person’s tissue samples must be distinct from consent to collect the sample and distinct from consent to use the sample in specified research. Consent may be given for the unidentified or de-linked use of the donor’s tissue sample. However, in such situations, the donor must be informed that they will not be able to withdraw their consent in the future.

Researchers are provided with a Māori health advancement form when they register their project with the Research Office. Please complete and return the form to CDHBResearch@cdhb.health.nz. You are also encouraged to contact George Haremate, the Research Advisor Māori, during the project design phase if you have any questions about Māori health advancement and responsiveness to Māori.

Reid P, Paine SJ, Curtis E, Jones R, Anderson A, Willing E, Harwood M. (2017). Achieving health equity in Aotearoa: strengthening responsiveness to Māori in health research. (external link) The New Zealand Medical Journal, 130(1465), 96-103

The Pūtaiora Writing Group. (2010). Te Ara Tika Guidelines for Maori Research Ethics (external link). Auckland: Health Research Council of New Zealand on behalf of the Pūtaiora Writing Group

Ministry of Health (2019). Wai 2575 Māori Health Trends Report (external link). Wellington: Ministry of Health

Robson B, Harris R. (eds). Hauora: Māori Standards of Health IV. A study of the years 2000–2005 (external link). Wellington: Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare

Please see University of Auckland Te Kupenga Hauora Māori (Dept of Māori Health) Ethnicity Issues (external link) for the following:

• Jones CP. (2001). "Race", Racism, and the Practice of Epidemiology. American Journal of Epidemiology, 154(4), 299-304
• Robson B, Reid P. (2001). Ethnicity Matters: Māori Perspectives. Wellington: Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare
• Cormack D, Harris R. (2009). Issues in monitoring Māori health and ethnic disparities: an update. Wellington: Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare
• Cormack D. (2010). The politics and practice of counting: ethnicity data in official statistics in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Wellington: Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare
• Cormack D, Robson C. (2010). Classification and output of multiple ethnicities: issues for monitoring Māori health. Wellington: Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare
• Cormack D, Robson C. (2010). Ethnicity, national identity and ‘New Zealanders’: considerations for monitoring Māori health and ethnic inequalities. Wellington: Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare
• Cormack D, McLeod M. (2010). Improving and maintaining quality in ethnicity data collections in the health and disability sector. Wellington: Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare

Please see University of Auckland Te Kupenga Hauora Māori (Dept of Māori Health) Human Tissue and Genetics (external link) for the following:

• Winship I, Marbrook J. (1998, amended 2000). Ethical considerations relating to research in human genetics. Auckland: Health Research Council of New Zealand
• HRC Gene Technology Advisory Committee. (2008). Process and Guidelines for Application for Approval of Proposals Involving Administration of Gene Products to Human Subjects in New Zealand. Auckland: Health Research Council of New Zealand

• Support emerging researchers in Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury
• Grow research capacity across Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury
• Support diversity in the research workforce in Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury
• Support research that contributes to health equity in Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury

Applicants must:

• Be a Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury employee but not in a research capacity, and have not previously been funded for a research project
• Have the support of a team which includes one or more Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury employees

The project must:

• Have a duration of 1 year
• Align with the purpose of the grants
• Be supported by the applicant’s department

Applicants must think carefully about what they can achieve within the funds and time available. People who are new to research can under-estimate how long it takes to complete research activities. Examples of projects that could be completed with the Grant include a literature review, an audit of existing data, or a focussed piece of qualitative research. Projects that involve a large number of interviews or a large survey, or that require full national ethics review, are unlikely to be completed within the time available.

• Grants are awarded to a named member of staff and cannot be transferred to another person
• The project must be conducted in Canterbury with significant oversight by Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury
• The grant recipient is required to submit a 6-month progress report and a final report on completion
• The grant recipient will be invited to present at the Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury Research Forum and other Te Papa Hauora presentations