Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund

Piri: [English translation of welcome in te reo Māori] Greetings to all who are watching this video.  Today we want to talk about the Vision Mātauranga Capability fund. 

Kylie: We’ll give you an overview of the Fund and tell you about some of the requirements if you are thinking of applying. 

Piri: We encourage Māori organisations to apply and participate.

Piri: The Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund (or VMCF) is a contestable science fund aimed at building skills and connections between Māori organisations and the science community, and improve understanding of how research can contribute to the aspirations of Māori organisations and deliver benefit for New Zealand.

Kylie: Four million dollars is invested annually in approximately 30 projects. Projects can run for up to two years with a maximum of $180,000 per project. There are two schemes, a Connect and a Placement.  Placements are to build the capability of a named individual.  There is a co-funding requirement of one third of the MBIE contribution and this can be cash or in-kind co-funding.

Piri: The funding helps Māori organisations to partner with research organisations to work on a project together that’s important, or to develop a particular individual staff member within their organisation.

Kylie: The funding also helps researchers to gain a better understanding of what Māori organisations need and want from the science system.  By building this capability, researchers are better equipped to undertake research that successfully meets those needs, and therefore benefit New Zealand. 

Kylie: Capability is the focus of the fund.   It’s a stepping stone for achieving your long-term aspirations in science.  For Maori organisations it’s about building the capability in science within your organisation to achieve those long term goals.

Piri: Economic development, health, education, marketing and development should not be the primary outcome of your Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund application. 

Kylie: So what makes a great application?

Kylie: It needs to show clearly that science capability is being developed in the team members.

Kylie: There are clear benefits to both the researchers and the Māori organisation.

Piri: The project will align with at least one of the themes of the Vision Mātauranga Policy: indigenous innovation, environmental sustainability, social well-being or Mātauranga.

Kylie: Check out MBIE’s VMCF webpage for more information about how to prepare your application this year.  This includes common mistakes and how to avoid them, how to address the assessment criteria and also how to submit your application to MBIE using the IMS Portal.

Piri: [English translation of farewell and email address in te reo Māori]:  We are here to help you if you have any questions get in touch by emailing us at VMCF@mbie.govt.nz.