Co-designing for research impact: lessons learned from practice in Aotearoa New Zealand

Aotearoa New Zealand’s mission-led National Science Challenges are expected to deliver research impact by connecting researchers, Māori partners, stakeholders and end users to co-design and co-create research to respond to the country’s biggest and most complex issues. This report contributes to collaborative research theory and practice by examining key aspects of the co-design scoping process undertaken by New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho (the Challenge), to establish the foundations of its Strategy 2019–2024. Drawing on Challenge leadership and process participants’ reflections and experiences through 25 interviews, the research identifies
what worked well and what did not work so well from multiple perspectives.