The new name, visual identity and website reflect a renewed focus on nursing research and the contribution it can make to the future of nursing and health care in Aotearoa.
The organisation builds on NERF’s work supporting nurses, midwives, kaiāwhina, caregivers and students through scholarships, grants and research funding. That work will continue alongside a broader ambition to strengthen research capability, support innovation and build a more connected and enduring nursing research community.
Why nursing research matters
Research gives nursing a way to build knowledge, test new ideas and approaches, and strengthen the evidence that informs care. Investing in research is an investment in the future of nursing.
Research is how nursing continues to grow. It gives us the opportunity to build on the knowledge and experience of the profession, test new ideas and approaches and generate evidence that can improve care. Investing in nursing research is an investment not only in individual researchers, but in the future of nursing and the health of Aotearoa.
The value of research lies not only in the project itself, but in what it makes possible beyond it.
Research can generate new knowledge, build capability and create opportunities for others to learn and build on from that work. Over time, it can influence clinical practice, inform policy, strengthen health services and contribute to better and more equitable outcomes for people, whānau and communities.
That is why sustained support matters – investing in researchers and their development, creating opportunities for new researchers to emerge, strengthening connections and ensuring knowledge can be shared and carried forward.”
A Māori name with a deeper purpose
The name “Te Pou Rangahau Tapuhi o Aotearoa” was gifted to the organisation by kaumātua. It means the pillar of nursing research in Aotearoa. It comes with the whakataukī:
He pou e tū nei mō te mātauranga, mō te rangahau, mō te oranga tangata.
A pillar standing for knowledge, research and the wellbeing of people.
The name speaks to an aspiration to provide strength and support for nursing research, while recognising the knowledge and contribution of those who have come before and creating a foundation for those who will follow.
The Māori identity is also a commitment to how the organisation works.
For us, having a Māori name is about more than giving the organisation a te reo Māori identity. It reflects the place of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, kaupapa Māori and mātauranga Māori in our future, underpinning everything we do.
Māori knowledge and leadership need to be part of how we understand research, how we make decisions and how we measure its impact. That has to be lived through the organisation, not simply acknowledged.
The organisation is committed to recognising Māori leadership and knowledge and making partnership visible through governance, decision-making, relationships and measures of success.
A new home for nursing research
The new website provides a permanent home for Nursing Research Aotearoa, bringing together information about scholarships and funding and creating space to share research stories and demonstrate the difference research can make.
It also reflects the breadth of the nursing community, including nurses, midwives, kaiāwhina, carers and students, alongside those contributing through education, research and other forms of practice.
Visit the new Nursing Research Aotearoa website.
–– NZNO president Anne Daniels and kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku are co-chairs of Nursing Research Aotearoa. Its predecessor, NERF, formerly operated with NZNO financial and administrative support but moved to an independent model earlier this year before relaunching in its new form.