Communities across Aotearoa are being called on to play a stronger role in shaping how the country collects and uses data, as efforts continue to modernise New Zealand’s data system.

Stats NZ says community voices are essential to building trust and ensuring data systems reflect the realities of people’s lives, particularly as the country moves toward new approaches to gathering information such as future census models.

The push includes bringing together groups with both technical expertise and deep community connections, ensuring that data design and decision-making are informed by lived experience as well as statistical knowledge.

Officials say involving communities early in the process helps improve participation, understanding and confidence in how data is collected and used.

The move comes amid wider changes to how New Zealand produces and uses data, with increasing emphasis on relevance, accessibility and responsiveness to diverse communities.

There is also growing recognition of the importance of Māori data sovereignty, which centres on the right of Māori to control and govern data about their people, in line with principles of tino rangatiratanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Advocates say a more inclusive data system will lead to better policy decisions, improved services and stronger outcomes for communities across the motu.

The initiative highlights the role of communities not just as subjects of data collection, but as active partners in shaping how information is gathered, interpreted and used.

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