Children and families research projects to receive grants from funding round

The fund aims to strengthen the evidence that supports the development of policies and initiatives that meet the needs of children and families in New Zealand today.

Five children and families research projects will each receive funding in round 3 of the Children and Families Research Fund. The fund aims to strengthen the evidence that supports the development of policies and initiatives that meet the needs of children and families in New Zealand today.

“Each year, through the Children and Families Research Fund, the Government awards $750,000 to research projects that explore and analyse data gathered from the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUINZ) longitudinal study that is providing contemporary information about growing up in New Zealand,” says Social Development Minister, Carmel Sepuloni. 

“This annual funding supports further investigation of the data gathered through the GUINZ study. Each research project enables us to learn more from the study children and families and about living in New Zealand today, which is of huge value to decision makers designing policies and initiatives to make New Zealand a great place to grow up.” 

The five funded research projects will each receive $150,000 from the 2018/2019 funding round and will be completed by May 2020. The five research projects will look at: 

The effect of household food-related hardship on preschool nutrition and health – led by Dr Sarah Gerritsen, University of Auckland.

Ethnic differences in the uptake of healthcare services; what gaps contribute to ethnic gaps in GP registration, immunisation and dental checks – led by Professor Gail Pacheco, Auckland University of Technology.

Identifying predictors of child injury in preschool years – led by Associate Professor Bridget Kool, University of Auckland.

What are the housing-related experiences of families with young children in New Zealand today, and how does this experience differ for families living in rental or social housing and/or on low incomes? – led by Dr Emma Marks, University of Auckland.

Mutable factors mediating the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on children’s readiness for school – led by Professor Rhema Vaithianathan, Auckland University of Technology.

“The Children and Families Research Fund supports policy-relevant research and increases the diversity of researchers using Growing Up in New Zealand data. The next round of funding will open on Tuesday 4 June 2019,” Carmel Sepuloni said. 

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)