Te Māra o Hine-Raraunga

Te Māra o Hine‑Raraunga (the report) was commissioned in partnership between Āti Awa Toa Iwi Māori Partnership Board and Manatū Hauora to identify culturally appropriate whānau voice data storage and protection solutions that also enable appropriate sharing and utilisation of whānau voice data. This work recognises that for whānau voice to be used effectively to set local and regional health priorities for Māori, trusted processes that uphold the mana of those voices are required.

The report provides:

• an assessment of the limitations in current approaches to whānau voice collection, storage and protection
• a proposed framework (Te Māra o Hine‑Raraunga) describing the key components of a strong whānau voice system
• a staged pathway for how IMPBs can move toward a sovereign, fit-for-purpose system.

Whānau voice includes narrative, lived experience and whakapapa-linked kōrero, but is typically collected and stored using tools designed for administrative or transactional data. This creates a fundamental mismatch between the nature of the information and the systems used to manage it, meaning it is not handled in ways that reflect its significance or sensitivity.

Data is often held across multiple locations, formats and tools, with inconsistent approaches to who can access the data, how it can be used, and what protections apply. Good governance therefore is not embedded in system design.

The reliance on international corporate platforms means whānau voice data may remain subject to external control and legal jurisdiction. The report suggests that this infrastructure is incompatible with the principles of Māori data sovereignty and does not support rangatiratanga.

Where storage, governance and use are unclear, confidence in the system can be undermined. The report stresses that trust is a necessary precondition to the collection and use of whānau voice. Without confidence in how their kōrero will be handled, whānau may be less likely to share it.

Finally, the report emphasises that there is no clear pathway toward a data system that is fundamentally built on Māori data sovereignty principles. As a result, improvements tend to be incremental and ad hoc and do not address the underlying misalignment between existing systems and Māori data governance aspirations.

The report proposes a sovereignty-first approach to whānau voice data. In practice, this means moving toward systems that are hosted in Aotearoa (as opposed to international corporate systems) and governed in ways that uphold Māori authority and tikanga.

To achieve this, the report introduces Te Māra o Hine-Raraunga; a framework that uses the analogy of a garden to position how data can be collected, stored and used in tikanga-aligned ways. The framework describes five connected components of a successful whānau voice data system:

The framework also sets out a four-stage pathway for improving whānau voice systems. This staged pathway acknowledges that the ideal state (Stage 4) will take time and investment to reach, but that any change or action made towards the earlier stages will still support a more secure and rangatiratanga-focused whānau voice collection system.

It is also important to note that each stage is not about establishing distinct and new systems and approaches. Rather, the stages represent a progression along the same core dimensions: how whānau voice is collected, stored, protected and used, with each stage improving how these elements are applied.

At their core the stages are:

Stage 1: data is handled consistently and safely.
Stage 2: data is captured in a way that makes it easily usable.
Stage 3: data is handled differently depending on what it is (governance).
Stage 4: the system is defined by a Māori worldview and owned by Māori.

Stage 1 is about getting to a point where all whānau voice is handled in a consistent, safe way, with basic rules in place for consent, access and use.  

It is about moving from the current approach where each IMPB, and potentially each kaimahi, has their own approach to documenting, storing, and labelling data. In stage 1, data is kept in one place, with clear information about what whānau agreed it could be used for, who can access it, and how it can be protected and used.

At Stage 2, the system moves from simply storing whānau voice to capturing it in a structured way that makes it easier to bring together and identify patterns.  

The core shift is that kōrero is no longer just recorded, but organised at the point of entry so it can be used without needing revision or re‑analysis at a later time. At this stage, analysis is built into the way the data is captured.

This stage is about making sure different types of insights are handled differently, based on clear rules set by the organisation. 

The core improvement is from just creating easily usable data to ensuring there are deliberate and unique rules and governance that are tailored to the data that is being collected. Good governance will ensure access, sharing and use of the data is in line with whānau desires and consistent across various whānau voice collection methods.

This stage focuses on achieving full sovereignty, where the system is fully designed and shaped by Māori, and reflects tikanga in how whānau voice is collected, protected and used.

In Phase 4, the system itself is designed, structured and owned in line with Māori authority, so that not only the rules, but the underlying logic and use of data reflect tikanga. This represents a shift from controlling a system to defining and owning the system itself.

Or you can read the report online below: