Ako Aotearoa released the new details for its National Project Fund last Thursday and they’ve made some good shifts.

One of the main changes is they’re being much more focused in their work, moving beyond the open entry approach. They have selected some key areas of work and, in most cases, they only intend to fund one project in each area to the tune of $100,000. It is a sign of Ako Aotearoa’s maturation that they feel that they know the issues and the research sector’s capability well enough that they can make these calls. The broad priorities are listed below.

• The Research and Implementation Projects will cover evidence-based enhancement of teaching and learning at the organisational level, experiences of tertiary teachers, hearing and acting on the learner voice, measuring and enhancing value add to learners, and measuring and enhancing employment outcomes.
• The Maori Initiative Projects will cover kaupapa Maori practices and measuring the impact of tertiary education on Maori learners, whanau and communities.
• The Pacific Peoples’ Projects are being pre-selected by Ako Aotearoa and Pacific groups.

Ako Aotearoa has been building good support and I agree that it’s now time for them to be more directive and demand higher quality. If they are to reach the influence of, say, Australia’s NCVER, then they need to up the game in producing research that is high quality and addresses priority issues, with a strong emphasis on practical and policy recommendations with wide relevance.

In terms of their priorities, it is great to see them focusing on outcomes, value add and related matters. I might even have a look at a project around the employment outcomes priority area.