ATANZ offers funding grants to members seeking to develop their professional knowledge or conduct research that will benefit those who use assistive technology.

Value of up to $500

Criteria:

• Applicants must be a current member of ATANZ and have been a member for a minimum of two years.
• Applicants must be New Zealand Citizens or Permanent Residents.
• Applicants must be currently practicing in roles that involve assistive technology service provision.

Applications should be made using the online form. The successful applicant(s) of the ATANZ Professional Development Grant will be determined by the ATANZ Board of Trustees during a monthly Board of Trustees meeting and then contacted by the Chair or Secretary. If an ATANZ BOT member applies for the funding grant they will not be a part of the team who make this decision.

Factors Considered in Decision Making:

• Quality of proposed activities.
• Relevance of proposed activities to ATANZ vision/purpose.
• Plan for disseminating knowledge to ATANZ members.

Only one grant per person, per financial year is available. More than one applicant may receive funding.

The successful applicant(s) must provide a report to ATANZ Board of Trustees, and share knowledge gained with ATANZ members through a forum mutually agreed upon between the successful applicant(s) and the ATANZ Board of Trustees.

The grant money will be either (a) reimbursed to the grant holder following proof of expenses being presented to the Chair or Financial Controller within 6 months of attending the event, or (2) be paid to service providers directly (e.g. airfares or conference registration will be purchased by ATANZ).

The grant may be held concurrently with another award provided that award does not disallow this.

Failure to complete the proposed professional development opportunity will require a full refund of the full value of the funding grant.

To apply for this grant, complete the application on the google form here: https://forms.gle/Q2Kf5cLmqpojwU7r7 

Closing date: Applications will be reviewed 1^st April, 1^st July and 1^st October annually.

Please send any questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

This grant is a one off grant for people who reside in New Zealand and would like to attend the Literacy for All Intensive in Auckland on 26-30th June 2023. 

Applications should be made using the online form. The successful applicant will be determined by the ATANZ Board of Trustees during a monthly Board of Trustees meeting and then contacted by the Chair or Secretary. If an ATANZ BOT member applies for the funding grant they will not be a part of the team who make this decision.

You do not need to be a member of ATANZ to apply for this one off grant.

You can apply by completeing the online form here: https://forms.gle/CPyQ7S2j17Yi33EP6 

Or, you can email a written submission or send a video to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

APPLICATIONS CLOSE- 21st April 2023

ATANZ offers funding grants to members seeking to conduct research that will benefit those who use assistive technology.

Value of up to $1000

Criteria:

• Applicants must be a current member of ATANZ and have been a member for a minimum of two years.
• Applicants must be New Zealand Citizens or Permanent Residents.
• Applicants must be enrolled in a postgraduate qualification and be completing a research project or thesis.

Applications should be made using the online form. The successful applicant(s) of the ATANZ Post Graduate Research Grant will be determined by the ATANZ Board of Trustees during a monthly Board of Trustees meeting and then contacted by the Chair or Secretary. If an ATANZ BOT member applies for the funding grant they will not be a part of the team who make this decision.

Factors Considered in Decision Making:

• Quality of proposed activities.
• Relevance of proposed activities to ATANZ vision/purpose.
• Plan for disseminating knowledge to ATANZ members.

Only one grant per person, per financial year is available. More than one applicant may receive funding.

Successful applicant(s) must provide a report to ATANZ Board of Trustees, and share knowledge gained with ATANZ members through a forum mutually agreed upon between the successful applicant(s) and the ATANZ Board of Trustees.

The grant money will be either (a) reimbursed to the grant holder following proof of expenses being presented to the Chair or Financial Controller, or (2) be paid to service providers directly (e.g. course fees).

The grant may be held concurrently with another award provided that award does not disallow this.

If funding is for a research project that requires ethical approval, this grant is awarded conditional to gaining ethical approval. Failure to complete the proposed research will require a full refund of the full value of the funding grant.

To apply for this grant, complete the application form here: https://forms.gle/YLQguqng78ydwHH18 

Closing date: the 1^st of November each year

We have $1500 in grant funding to support local projects working towards AAC that reflects Te Ao Māori and supports access to spoken and written Te Reo Māori for people who rely on assistive technology.

The grant may be issues to one applicant or split between applications. You do not need to be a member of ATANZ to apply for this one off grant.

 DEADLINE - 1 June yearly

The goal of this grant is to help existing projects go further or to support ongoing efforts to address these inequalities between the available assistive technology to support disabled people when they communicate in English versus when people want to read, write, talk, sing, and listen to Te Reo Māori.

You do not need to be a member of ATANZ to apply for this one off grant.

You can apply by completeing the online form here: https://forms.gle/VJ9MYNsxuVb1YM9k6 

Or, you can email a written submission or send a video to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

 DEADLINE - 1 June 2023

In 2020 we ran a webinar Ko tōku reo tōku ohooho: Towards culturally located te reo Māori AAC based on Brynlea Collin Stone’s qualitative research. Her research was based on kōrero with three Māori AAC users and their whānau. She also spoke with four Māori speech-language therapists who support tamariki in Māori medium education settings and three tertiary level te reo teachers.

A key finding from her thesis is that  “Te reo Māori AAC is required to grant communication access justice to a multiply marginalised group; it must allow users to express the language as it emerges from a Māori worldview; and it must be created by people of various roles working together in mutually responsive relationships”  For more information, you can see access her thesis here  https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/16961 

When we hosted this webinar, we felt it was important that all proceeds go towards supporting local efforts to address the ongoing issue that assistive technology currently does not reflect a Te Ao Māori worldview nor does existing technology effectively support the use of Te Reo Māori for learning and communication.  

The voices, vocabulary, language software, communication symbols and training resources all have singificant limitations and this results in a lack of communication access inequities. 

AAC and assistive technology options in Te Reo Māori continue to be extremely limited.  Many assistive technology options also do not reflect Te Ao Māori. The voices used in communication, writing, and reading software and technology also do not reflect the the language, accents, and vocabulary of te reo Māori. The symbols and organisational systems are typically borrowed from or based on other cultures and locations.

The goal of this grant is to help existing projects go further or to support ongoing efforts to address these inequalities between the available assistive technology to support disabled people when they communicate in English versus when people want to read, write, talk, sing, and listen to Te Reo Māori.

In the webinar, we started a conversation about how existing AAC systems are heavily based on English and currently limits their ability to communicate and learn in Te Reo. This conversation included kōrero around the importance of language for story telling, passing on knowledge, identity, and keeping the language alive and passing the language on from generation to generation. 

Our hope is to keep the conversation going, support those who are working in this space, and do our small bit to ensure that assistive technology is able to empower and respect everyone’s right to communicate in the language of their whānau and community.  

We dream of a day that everyone can participate in supporting the use of Te Reo Māori throughout Aotearoa and that everyone has a voice that reflects their identity.