The Research Institute
The Research Institute was established in 1997 to publish and disseminate literature and promote educational material in matters of human reproduction. The institute uses its limited budget to seek out and promote already successful research ‘outputs’, rather than funding processes that may never come to fruition.
In the current reform of the welfare state, charities are being called upon to supplement and/or replace government funding to support the provision of social services. The institute sees its initial role as providing direct funding for suitable research projects and in the longer term developing sponsorship arrangements with commercial enterprises seeking involvement in philanthropic activities.
The Institute is currently researching the contestable nature of knowledge, especially about human reproduction, and its inter-relationship with the cyber-revolution in science and technology. A mini-conference was held a few years ago to explore some of the issues surrounding bioethics in relation to human reproduction.
Postgraduate Scholarship
The institute has established a postgraduate scholarship in this area, with the inaugural award conferred on a PhD student in 2005, and several students supported in the successful completion of their doctoral studies since that time. The scholarship is managed by Universities New Zealand – Te Pokai Tara, with applications invited as funds are available. AMAT is currently funding supporting two PhD scholarships and is currently funding two other projects – a post-doctoral research study on the psycho-social implications and effects of maternal egg freezing, and a post-doctoral fellowship focussed on Māori decision-making in reproduction, parenting, sexuality education, maternities and abortion.
AMAT has a procedure for ethics committee approval for research proposals involving empirical research. View our Ethics Committee procedure, or download PDF (125kb). Check the research promotion ideas for a possible development focus for the future.
