Staff at a Maori research organisation in Wanganui are excited and happy with a funding boost and new and larger office building.
Te Atawhai o te Ao Independent Maori Research Institute for Environment and Health officially moved into its new building on June 23, and hosted an opening celebration there on June 27.
Not long before that it received a big vote of confidence from the health establishment.
On June 16 the Health Research Council announced Te Atawhai o Te Ao (TAOTA) would be one of four independent research organisations to share $27 million funding over four years. TAOTA gets $3.8 million, and fellow Wanganui Maori research organisation Whakaue Research Services gets $2.8 million.
The other two recipients are the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand. All four were deemed to have "significant research capabilities supporting national outcomes in areas of government priority".