From Complexity to Possibility: Complex Systems Research at Te Pūnaha Matatini

ABSTRACT
Te Pūnaha Matatini is a national Centre of Research Excellence for complex systems based in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this talk, we will share the vision and evolving approach that guide our transdisciplinary research community: A future where knowledge emerges through ethical collaboration across disciplines, cultures, and communities.
We will outline some of our research which addresses some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing Aotearoa. This includes a continued commitment to supporting the revitalisation of te reo Māori and fostering of mātauranga Māori, embedding and expanding the principles of the Kindness in Science initiative to reimagine a more equitable and compassionate research system, and the ambitious undertaking to explore what it might mean to model an entire country not just from a technical but even more so an ethical perspective. Underlying this work is a commitment to reshaping how we engage with society – not through top-down dissemination of knowledge, but through emergent engagement: relational, adaptive, reflexive and co-creative modes of working with diverse communities. Our approach aims to make complex systems research not just an analytical toolkit, but a pathway toward more inclusive, just, and resilient futures.