Matauranga Maori has real world value 07 Jul 2021 14:45 PM More Related Stories HASH(0x3094348) Māori academics have forced the chief executive of Universities New Zealand to back down on his inference that Māori produced lower quality research than their peers. Chris Whelan has walked back comments in a radio interview that increasing the weighting for Māori and Pacific research would dilute the effectiveness of the Performance Based Research Fund. Sarah Jane Tiakiwai, the deputy vice chancellor Māori at the University of Waikato, says the recommended changes are a way to recognise the importance of Māori and Pacific researchers and the contribution mātauranga makes.