Tikanga in Technology: Indigenous Data and Governance

Te Ngira Researchers

Tahu Kukutai, Vanessa Clark, Roimataote Aroha Jacob.

Funding

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Fund

Timing

2020 - 2024

About the research

Funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Fund, Tikanga in Technology advances Indigenous approaches to transforming data ecosystems.

TiNT has three research themes:

Indigenous Data and Governance

Māori have complex protocols around the protection and sharing of knowledge that safeguards information and maintains community cohesion.

This research takes a tikanga-centred approach to create Māori data governance frameworks, guidelines and tools that can protect group identities and collective privacy, build trust, and reduce group harm in diverse social, cultural and environmental settings.

We also examine how mātauranga Māori can inform new methods of benefit sharing from data and explore this through use cases that enable Māori collectives to implement rules about relational responsibilities and equitable distribution.

This research is conducted in partnership with the James Henare Māori Research Centre at the University of Auckland.

Kukutai, T., Cassim, S., Clark, V., Jones, N., Mika, J., Morar, R., Muru-Lanning, M., Pouwhare, R., Teague, V., Tuffery Huria, L., Watts, D. & Sterling, R. (2023). Māori data sovereignty and privacy. Tikanga in Technology Discussion Paper. Hamilton: Te Ngira Institute for Population Research.