Genomics for Aotearoa New Zealand

Where society and genomics science meet!

Genomics for Aotearoa New Zealand is a charitable incorporated society focused on the benefits of genomics for everyone. Genomics is the study of all or most of the DNA of living things. This kind of science has broad reach including: human health, ecology, agriculture, horticulture, climate change monitoring, and more.

Our purposes:

1. To promote, research, develop, and apply genomics for the benefit of all society;
2. To promote and support Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi as innate to New Zealand genomics;
3. To promote and support collaboration on genomics within New Zealand and internationally, cognisant of the 61/295 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
4. To promote and support education and public engagement in the field of genomics;
5. To promote and support collaboration between genomics and a variety of disciplines;
6. To provide guidance to stakeholders in regards to genomics.

Our History:

The ideas behind GFANZ were put together in a concept business plan for MBIE's call for an Advanced Genomics Research Platform in 2016. The team expected MBIE to go with the big incumbents, so their aim was different. It was to put forth a modern, nimble, Aotearoa specific proposal with ideas that anyone could then use. With that in mind the team published it under a CC-BY license at their first web site. You can see that archived work here: https://web.archive.org/web/20170412194855/http://genomics.nz/publications/1/1

GFANZ founders recognised that many of the ideas in that concept business plan could be made real without funding. They then took the steps necessary to start the incorporated society as described in the document they wrote for MBIE. The society launched in late 2017 and became a charitable organisation in 2020.

GFANZ has been about addressing big challenges from the beginning. We often find that the things that really need doing have been put in the too hard basket. Things like suitable career pathways for early career researchers and opportunities for equitable participation in the review and renewal of the national research, science, and innovation system. The council's decision to put our name and effort into this community is one way we are working to affect positive, impactful change in Aotearoa.

We collaborate with other like minded organisations, such as the Indigenous Genomics Institute and the New Zealand Association of Scientists, knowing that we can do more together, and learn so much from one another.

To find our more about GFANZ or to become a member, visit our website at https://genomics.nz.