Explore as a

Share our content

Information for referees

Information on being a referee for a James Cook Research Fellowship applicant.

The 2023 James Cook Research Fellowship Referee Guidelines

Introduction | Kōrero whakataki

The James Cook Research Fellowships, administered by Royal Society Te Apārangi on behalf of the New Zealand Government, are awarded to researchers who have the requisite qualifications and experience and are able to demonstrate that they have achieved national and international recognition in their area of research. The fellowships allow them to concentrate on their chosen research for two years without the additional burden of administrative and teaching duties.

The funding package annually is $100,000 plus GST and $10,000 plus GST in relevant expenses. It is expected that a major piece of research will be undertaken that will benefit New Zealand and advance research in the particular discipline.

More information about the James Cook Research Fellowships, including the Terms of Reference, is available from our website. 

Confidentiality | Mata

The contents of the referee reports are confidential in every respect. A referee report is submitted on the understanding that: (i) it will only be used in the appraisal process; (ii) it is confidential to the selection panels appointed by Royal Society Te Apārangi; and, (iii) that it will not be made available to the applicant or the public.

The contents and ideas contained in the applicant’s proposal are confidential in every respect. This includes intellectual property, financial and all other information. For this reason, the proposal material is not to be used and should be destroyed once your review is completed.

Process | Tūmataitinga

Applicants are required to obtain two referee reports to support their application. Referees will be approached by applicants prior to the application closing date (5pm, Thursday 18 May 2023 New Zealand Standard Time (NZST)) to see if they are available and willing to assist with their application through writing a referee report.

Referees will be emailed a URL link to a web-based portal to complete their report. The candidate’s application is available for review on this page of the portal. There are five questions to answer:

  1. What is your opinion of the research calibre of the applicant?
  2. What is your opinion of the merit, quality and feasibility of the applicant's proposed research programme?
  3. Please comment on the applicant’s outreach and communication plan.
  4. If the candidate is known to you; please state how long and in what capacity.
  5. Any other comments that you feel are relevant.

Once you have completed your referee report in the supplied template:

  1. Login to the web-based referee portal with the supplied URL.
  2. Please click BROWSE.
  3. Locate and select your referee report on your computer for upload.
  4. Please click on the 'Upload attachment' button.
  5. You can see what the printed document will look like by clicking the 'VIEW / PRINT your report' link from the left hand menu.
  6. If your browser blocks pop-up windows you may have to turn this off in order to display the reports / guidelines as these open in new windows.
  7. Once you are satisfied with your report please click the SUBMIT button.

Please note:

For the applicant to be eligible for a Fellowship, your referee report must be received by Royal Society Te Apārangi by 5pm, Thursday 22 June 2023 (NZST).

  • If applicable, ensure that you are familiar with the time difference between NZST and your local time.
  • Referees should not be involved in the proposed programme of research nor be close colleagues, former research supervisors, co-authors, collaborators or relatives.
  • If you chose to withdraw as a referee, please advise the applicant as soon as possible so another referee can be contacted.
  • No signature is required if the report is completed online.

Vision Mātauranga

Vision Mātauranga is a policy about innovation, opportunity and the creation of knowledge that highlights the potential contribution of Māori knowledge, resources and people.

There are four themes:

  • Indigenous Innovation, which involves contributing to economic growth through distinctive research and development
  • Taiao, which is concerned with achieving environmental sustainability through iwi and hapū relationships with land and sea
  • Hauora/Oranga, which centres around improving health and social wellbeing
  • Mātauranga, which involves exploring indigenous knowledge.

Please note that Vision Mātauranga is included as a selection criterion (2d of the Proposal Guidelines for Applicants):

  • Where relevant, proposals should consider the relation of the research to the themes of Vision Mātauranga and broader engagement with Māori.

A Vision Mātauranga statement must be included for all research that has relevance for Māori. If the applicant ticks ‘not applicable’, they are also required to provide a rationale for this decision. For more information on Vision Mātauranga, including guidance for applicants, please see Appendix I (from Proposal Guidelines for Panellists).

Enquiries  | Ngā pātai

If you require further information about the James Cook Research Fellowships, please email us at james.cook@royalsociety.org.nz or phone +64 (0)4 470 5764.

 

Appendix I: Glossary of te reo Māori terms

Āpitihanga I: Papakupu o ngā kupu reo Māori

Definitions taken from maoridictionary.co.nz

Ka mihi ki a Ahorangi Angus Macfarlane, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, mō tēnei. With thanks to Professor Angus Macfarlane, University of Canterbury, for his input.

Aotearoa

the Māori name for New Zealand

Aroha

affection, sympathy, charity, compassion, love, empathy

Atua

ancestor with continuing influence, god, demon, supernatural being, deity, ghost, object of superstitious regard, strange being - although often translated as 'god' and now also used for the Christian God

Hapū

kinship group, clan, tribe, subtribe - section of a large kinship group and the primary political unit in traditional Māori society. It consisted of a number of whānau sharing descent from a common ancestor, usually being named after the ancestor, but sometimes from an important event in the group's history. A number of related hapū usually shared adjacent territories forming a looser tribal federation (iwi)

Hau kāinga

home, true home, local people of a marae, home people

Hauora

health, wellbeing

Hui

gathering, meeting, assembly

Iwi

extended kinship group, tribe, nation, people, nationality, race - often refers to a large group of people descended from a common ancestor and associated with a distinct territory

Kāinga

home, address, residence, village, settlement, habitation, habitat, dwelling

Kaitiaki

trustee, minder, guard, custodian, guardian, caregiver, keeper, steward

Kaitiakitanga

guardianship, stewardship, trusteeship

Kaumātua

adult, elder, elderly man, elderly woman, senior person - a person of status within the whānau or iwi

Kaupapa

philosophy, topic, policy, matter for discussion, plan, purpose, scheme, proposal, agenda, subject, programme, theme, issue, initiative

Kaupapa Māori

Māori approach, Māori topic, Māori customary practice, Māori institution, Māori agenda, Māori principles, Māori ideology - a philosophical doctrine, incorporating the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of Māori society

Koha

gift, present, offering, donation, contribution - especially one maintaining social relationships and has connotations of reciprocity

Kōiwi tangata

human bones or remains

Kōrero

to tell, say, speak, read, talk, address; speech, narrative, story, news, account, discussion, conversation, discourse, statement, information

Mamae

be painful, sore, hurt

Mana

prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma - mana is a supernatural force in a person, place or object. Mana goes hand in hand with tapu, one affecting the other. The more prestigious the event, person or object, the more it is surrounded by tapu and mana. Mana is the enduring, indestructible power of the atua and is inherited at birth, the more senior the descent, the greater the mana. The authority of mana and tapu is inherited and delegated through the senior line from the atua as their human agent to act on revealed will. Since authority is a spiritual gift delegated by the atua, man remains the agent, never the source of mana. This divine choice is confirmed by the elders, initiated by the tohunga under traditional consecratory rites (tohi). Mana gives a person the authority to lead, organise and regulate communal expeditions and activities, to make decisions regarding social and political matters. A person or tribe's mana can increase from successful ventures or decrease through the lack of success

Manaakitanga

hospitality, kindness, generosity, support - the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others

Māori

Māori, Indigenous New Zealander, Indigenous person of Aotearoa/New Zealand - a new use of the word resulting from Pākehā contact in order to distinguish between people of Māori descent and the colonisers

Marae

courtyard - the open area in front of the wharenui (meeting house), where formal greetings and discussions take place. Often also used to include the complex of buildings around the marae

Mātauranga

knowledge, wisdom, understanding, skill - sometimes used in the plural; education - an extension of the original meaning and commonly used in modern Māori with this meaning

Mauri

life principle, life force, vital essence, special nature, a material symbol of a life principle, source of emotions - the essential quality and vitality of a being or entity. Also used for a physical object, individual, ecosystem or social group in which this essence is located

Moana

sea, ocean, large lake

Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa

the Pacific Ocean

Pākehā

English, foreign, European, exotic - introduced from or originating in a foreign country; New Zealander of European descent - probably originally applied to English-speaking Europeans living in Aotearoa/ New Zealand

Pepeha

tribal saying, tribal motto, proverb (especially about a tribe), set form of words, formulaic expression, saying of the ancestors, figure of speech, motto, slogan - set sayings known for their economy of words and metaphor and encapsulating many Māori values and human characteristics

Pūrākau

myth, ancient legend, story

Rangatahi

younger generation, youth

Rangatira

chief (male or female), chieftain, chieftainess, master, mistress, boss, supervisor, employer, landlord, owner, proprietor - qualities of a leader is a concern for the integrity and prosperity of the people, the land, the language and other cultural treasures (for example, oratory and song poetry), and an aggressive and sustained response to outside forces that may threaten these

Rangatiratanga

chieftainship, right to exercise authority, chiefly autonomy, chiefly authority, ownership, leadership of a social group, domain of the rangatira, noble birth, attributes of a chief

Rohe

boundary, district, region, territory, area, border (of land)

Rūnanga

council, tribal council, assembly, board, boardroom, iwi authority - assemblies called to discuss issues of concern to iwi or the community

Tamariki

children - normally used only in the plural

Tāne

husband, male, man

Tangata whenua

local people, hosts, indigenous people - people born of the whenua, i.e. of the placenta and of the land where the people's ancestors have lived and where their placenta are buried

Taonga

treasure, anything prized - applied to anything considered to be of value including socially or culturally valuable objects, resources, phenomenon, ideas and techniques

Tapu

be sacred, prohibited, restricted, set apart, forbidden, under atua protection; restriction, prohibition - a supernatural condition. A person, place or thing is dedicated to an atua and is thus removed from the sphere of the profane and put into the sphere of the sacred. It is untouchable, no longer to be put to common use

Te reo Māori

Māori language

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi

Tikanga

correct procedure, custom, habit, lore, method, manner, rule, way, code, meaning, plan, practice, convention, protocol - the customary system of values and practices that have developed over time and are deeply embedded in the social context

Tino rangatiratanga

self-determination, sovereignty, autonomy, self-government, domination, rule, control, power

Tipuna

ancestor, grandparent, grandfather, grandmother - singular form of tīpuna and the eastern dialect variation of tupuna

Tohunga

skilled person, chosen expert, priest, healer - a person chosen by the agent of an atua and the tribe as a leader in a particular field because of signs indicating talent for a particular vocation

Tupuna

ancestor, grandparent – singular form of tūpuna and the western dialect variation of tipuna

Tūrangawaewae

domicile, standing, place where one has the right to stand - place where one has rights of residence and belonging through kinship and whakapapa

Wairua

spirit, soul - spirit of a person which exists beyond death. It is the non-physical spirit, distinct from the body and the mauri

Wahine/wāhine

wahine - woman, female, lady, wife; wāhine - women, females, ladies, wives – plural form of wahine; female, women, feminine

Wairuatanga

spirituality

Wānanga

seminar, conference, forum, educational seminar; tribal knowledge, lore, learning - important traditional cultural, religious, historical, genealogical and philosophical knowledge; tertiary institution that caters for Māori learning needs - established under the Education Act 1990

Whaikōrero

oratory, oration, formal speech-making, address, speech - formal speeches usually made by men during a pohiri/pōwhiri and other gatherings

Whakapapa

genealogy, genealogical table, lineage, descent - reciting whakapapa was, and is, an important skill and reflected the importance of genealogies in Māori society in terms of leadership, land and fishing rights, kinship and status. It is central to all Māori institutions. There are different terms for the types of whakapapa and the different ways of reciting them including: tāhū (recite a direct line of ancestry through only the senior line); whakamoe (recite a genealogy including males and their spouses); taotahi (recite genealogy in a single line of descent); hikohiko (recite genealogy in a selective way by not following a single line of descent); ure tārewa (male line of descent through the first-born male in each generation)

Whakataukī

proverb, significant saying, formulaic saying, cryptic saying, aphorism. Like whakatauākī and pepeha they are essential ingredients in whaikōrero

Whānau

extended family, family group, a familiar term of address to a number of people - the primary economic unit of traditional Māori society. In the modern context the term is sometimes used to include friends who may not have any kinship ties to other members

Whānaungatanga

relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations, which also serve to strengthen each member of the kin group. It also extends to others to whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship

Whenua

land - often used in the plural; territory, domain; country, land, nation, state