Examining the efforts of the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho to improve equity and diversity in the research system

Aotearoa-New Zealand’s research community has been shifting towards more societally-engaged and responsible approaches to better address complex socio-ecological challenges like biodiversity loss. Such approaches to research benefit from workforces diverse in career stage, disciplinary background, age, gender, ethnicity and worldview. Yet exclusionary practices and processes, including disciplinary and epistemic hierarchies which devalue the ‘soft’ sciences and Indigenous knowledges, continue to undermine transformative system change. While these systemic inequities are well documented, less attention has been given to examining efforts that address such inequities. Over a ten-year period, New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge (BioHeritage) made a conscious effort to support the flourishing of diverse ways of doing, knowing and being in the research system. In this paper, we use reporting data, and an online survey conducted in 2021, to assess the initial outcomes of this approach. We find that BioHeritage’s conscious efforts to support early career, female, and Māori leadership, disciplinary diversity, and mātauranga Māori have meaningfully impacted the diversity and inclusiveness of BioHeritage’s workforce. We also reiterate the importance of engaging carefully and reflexively with systemic challenges in ongoing efforts to foster diverse and inclusive research spaces.

奥特亚罗瓦-新西兰（Aotearoa-New Zealand）的研究界正逐步转向更具社会参与性与负责任的研究范式，以更好地应对生物多样性丧失等复杂的社会生态挑战。此类研究范式的落地，有赖于职业阶段、学科背景、年龄、性别、族裔与世界观多元的研究队伍。然而，诸如贬低"软科学"与本土知识的学科与认知层级等排他性实践与流程，仍在阻碍变革性的系统转型。尽管这类系统性不平等已有充分文献记载，但针对此类不平等的应对举措的考察却相对不足。在十年周期内，新西兰生物遗产国家科学挑战计划（Biological Heritage National Science Challenge，以下简称BioHeritage）有意识地支持研究体系内多元的研究实践、认知范式与存在模式的发展。本研究借助项目报告数据与2021年开展的线上问卷调查，评估了该范式的初步实施成效。研究发现，BioHeritage在支持早期职业研究者、女性与毛利族（Māori）学者的领导力建设，以及推动学科多样性与毛利传统知识（mātauranga Māori）融入等方面的有意识举措，切实提升了该计划研究队伍的多样性与包容性。本研究同时重申，在持续打造多元包容的研究环境的进程中，需审慎且反思性地应对各类系统性挑战。