This article describes the model and considers the policy and practice implications for biobanks seeking to address Māori ethical concerns. Although the model has focused on Māori aspirations in the New Zealand context, it provides a framework for considering cultural values in relation to other community or indigenous contexts.Genet Med 19 3, 345-351.

Te Mata Ira was a three-year research project (2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) that explored Mäori views on genomic research and biobanking for the development of culturally appropriate guidelines. A key component of this process has been to identify Mäori concepts that provide cultural reference points for engaging with biobanking and genomic research. These cultural cues provide the basis for describing the cultural logic that underpins engagement in this context in a culturally acceptable manner. This paper outlines the role of two wänanga (workshops) conducted as part of the larger project that were used to make sense of the Mäori concepts that emerged from other data-collection activities. The wänanga involved six experts who worked with the research team to make sense of the Mäori concepts. The wänanga process created the logic behind the cultural foundation for biobanking and genomic research, providing a basis for understanding Mäori concepts, Mäori ethical principles and their application to biobanking and genomic research.

Publically funded biobanking initiatives and genetic research should contribute towards reducing inequalities in health by reducing the prevalence and burden of disease. It is essential that Maori and other Indigenous populations share in health gains derived from these activities. The Health Research Council of New Zealand has funded a research project (2012-2015) to identify Maori perspectives on biobanking and genetic research, and to develop cultural guidelines for ethical biobanking and genetic research involving biospecimens. This review describes relevant values and ethics embedded in Maori indigenous knowledge, and how they may be applied to culturally safe interactions between biobanks, researchers, individual participants, and communities. Key issues of ownership, privacy, and consent are also considered within the legal and policy context that guides biobanking and genetic research practices within New Zealand. Areas of concern are highlighted and recommendations of international relevance are provided. To develop a productive environment for "next-generation" biobanking and genomic research,"‘next-generation" regulatory solutions will be required.

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