Te Tai Tokerau
Our research office supports people undertaking research at Health New Zealand Te Tai Tokerau.
Pātiki and Waharua Kōpito patterns
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About us
Our research office supports people undertaking research at Health New Zealand Te Tai Tokerau.
Our role is to facilitate research review and authorisation so that people conduct their research according to the National Ethical Standards for Health and Disability Research and Quality Improvement.
Contact us
- email: research@northlanddhb.org.nz
Locality Authorisation
Our staff administer the local authorisation of research to be conducted with our services.
The terms "locality approval" or "locality authorisation" refer to the process used by the NZ Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDECs) to ascertain that all local governance issues have been addressed at sites participating in a research project.
All health research undertaken at Health NZ Te Tai Tokerau must have locality approval before research begins. Applications should be submitted by the local study representative from our locality. Before submitting a locality approval application, researchers should consider undertaking:
Local consultation
Consult with the local heads of department and service leaders to confirm that they support the proposed research being conducted within the relevant services and approve of the resource use and proposed budgets.
Māori consultation
In the first instance, the HDEC publication Te Ara Tika (external link) provides excellent guidelines for approaching and planning research methodology. In addition, local consultation is always advisable before submitting a locality approval application.
Ethics review
The level of ethics review depends on the project. There are a few options for ethics review including HDEC or through an academic institution. The HRC website (external link) provides a good overview of ethics requirements in New Zealand.
Applying for locality approval
To obtain Te Tai Tokerau locality approval, researchers should do the following:
- Download and complete the locality approval form. Please email research@northlanddhb.org.nz for a paper form if you are an external researcher without a local study contact.
- Attach your completed locality approval form, together with the following:
(i) Full research methodology/protocol
(ii) Evidence of ethics approval or exemption (or intention to apply)
(iii) Patient information/consent Forms (as relevant)
(iv) Information relating to local contact and support; including letters of endorsement (as relevant) - Send the above documents in one email to research@northlanddhb.org.nz.
The Te Tai Tokerau research review group will review the locality approval application. Additional information or clarification may be requested. Please allow 2-3 weeks for approvals to be processed.