Ka Mua, Ka Muri Report | Whakapapa and procurement approaches

Ka Mua, Ka Muri is a practical guidance document for procuring for equity. We're excited to share this report and encourage you to share it with others.

Ka Mua, Ka Muri echoes the ancestral whakataukī which speaks to the importance of looking to the past to inform the future. In ‘walking backwards into the future’, it emphasises taking heed of the past as we venture toward the horizon. 

In preparing this report for Te Whatu Ora, the use of this whakataukī guides the overall motivation of Ka Mua. 

The Ka Mua, Ka Muri report focused on two things. Firstly, it documents the whakapapa of Nōku te Ao as a programme, in ‘telling the story’ of its emergence and origin within Te Hiringa Hauora (now part of Te Whatu Ora). Secondly, it explores an approach to procuring Māori expertise and ‘commissioning for equity’. 

It is hoped that insights from Ka Mua, Ka Muri will support innovation in commissioning across the health system and throughout government. By inspiring us to reconsider how we commission mahi, it acts as a practical guidance document for procuring for equity. 

About the report

Ka Mua, Ka Muri has been developed by Dr Pounamu Jade Aikman, on behalf of Te Whatu Ora (formerly Te Hiringa Hauora | Health Promotion Agency). 

Dr Aikman is an Independent Scholar and kaupapa Māori researcher and evaluator. Of Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Wairere, Tainui, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Tarāwhai descent, he is currently based at Harvard University as a Fulbright Scholar. His portfolio of work has broadly involved Māori health and wellbeing; equity, racism, and colonisation in the Aotearoa and United States’ contexts; te reo Māori; and Pacific development programmes.

Me mihi ka tika ki ngā tāngata i kohaina ā rātou kōrero hei raranga te pūrongo nei. We want to acknowledge everyone who provided time and energy into this report.

We're excited to share this report with you, and encourage you to share it with others. We hope this document will shed light on kaupapa Māori ways of working, and that it can inform decisions around commission for equity. It's designed to give practical guidance around the key ingredients when commissioning, especially for Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora.