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iNZight is proud to announce we have been awarded a three-year Endeavour Fund research grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment' [MBIE], as part of the Ministry's Smart Ideas programme.
The research project, titled Pathways out of poverty: removing barriers to upward social mobility, is a longitudinal investigation of social mobility in Aotearoa New Zealand using the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure [IDI]. The project will be led by iNZight's Andrew Sporle and Nicole Satherley, in collaboration Barry Milne and Natalia Boven of the University of Auckland's COMPASS Research Group.
From the grant:
"It’s a common aspiration for our children to do better in life than we do. This upward social mobility between one generation and the next benefits not only the families but also the country as a whole. Increasing levels of education, skills and income contribute to a more prosperous economy and a wealthier society. Being able to identify the things that support increased education, skills and income is the first step towards investing in actions that will increase the country’s wealth within a single lifetime. This research uses New Zealand’s high-quality data resources to look at what things support upward social mobility and what things restrict that mobility. The quality of New Zealand’s data allows this research to look at the national picture as well as focus on specific populations such as Māori and rural communities. The results of this work will help guide investments in policies and programs that create pathways to better economic circumstances for New Zealanders and a more prosperous economy. This work will also support the development of an internationally important research industry based on New Zealand’s world leading data resources."
The project is due to begin on October 1st, 2025, and will run until September 30th, 2028. Keep an eye out for progress updates!