Plain Language Statement

Your details have been provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) for the purpose of conducting this study.

This survey encompasses alumni who received MFAT-funded scholarships under all previous programme names including but not limited to; the Colombo Plan, NZ Aid Scholarships, New Zealand ASEAN Scholarships, New Zealand Pacific Scholarships, New Zealand Development Scholarships, New Zealand Regional Development Scholarships, and the New Zealand China Doctoral Research Scholarships. All historical and current MFAT-funded scholarship programmes are now incorporated under the current name; the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme (MNZSP).

The purpose of this project is to collect information from alumni of MFAT-funded scholarships. The data collected in the Tracer Study will be used to understand what happens after people complete their scholarships. It will help show whether the programme is making a difference for alumni, their workplaces, communities and countries, and whether the scholarships are helping build strong, lasting connections with New Zealand.

You are being asked to complete an online survey. The survey will ask you about your scholarship experience, what you have done since completing your scholarship, how you are using the skills and knowledge you gained on scholarship, what connections you have built and maintained, and what personal, professional or community changes you link to your scholarship.

Some information already held by MFAT, such as scholarship type, country, year of completion and field of study, may be used to help understand and compare the results. The survey will also include open questions so you can share examples in your own words. You may skip questions, pause or stop the survey at any time.  The survey will take around 20-30 minutes to complete.

The study will benefit the programme by providing evidence about what is working well, where improvements could be made, and how future scholarship support and alumni engagement could be strengthened. It may also help MFAT understand whether the programme is contributing to development outcomes, stronger relationships with New Zealand, and longer-term benefits for alumni and their communities.

Participants’ responses will help build a clearer picture of alumni experiences and may inform future decisions about scholarship design, support for scholars and alumni, and communication about the value of the programme.

Some participants may feel uncomfortable if they are asked to reflect on challenges, barriers, or outcomes that have not been positive. They may also be concerned about how their information will be used, particularly if they provide comments about their scholarship experience, employer, community, or country context.

To reduce these risks, please remember that your participation is voluntary. You can choose not to answer any question you do not want to answer and can stop the survey at any time. Information will be stored securely, and findings will be reported in a way that does not identify individual participants.

No. Participation in the Tracer Study is completely voluntary. If you decide to complete this survey and later change your mind and you let us know before November 30, 2026, we can remove your data from the dataset and exclude your response from reports. After November 2026, we will combine your data with that of all participating alumni, and it will not be possible to remove your data from reports.

To withdraw from the project, please send an email to Rebecca.Taylor@acer.org. If you decide not to participate or if you participate and later change your mind, this will not affect your relationship with MFAT, Tetra Tech or ACER.

The information you provide will be used to help understand the experiences and outcomes of MNZSP alumni. Tetra Tech and ACER will prepare an evaluation report for MFAT. In this report, survey responses will be combined and reported in summary form, so individual people will not be named or identified. It is expected that this report will be made public.

During this pilot Tracer Study, your information, including your contact information, will be stored by ACER and Wallis on their secure servers in Australia. Your contact and employment information will be used by MFAT to update their alumni database, and by ACER and Wallis for the purposes of conducting this survey. ACER will ensure that our reporting from this survey preserves the confidentiality of your survey question responses. Results will be reported as combined survey findings, meaning responses cannot be linked to or identify any individual person.

At the end of this pilot project, all survey responses and data will be handed to Tetra Tech through secure transfer. Tetra Tech will manage future Tracer Studies (for at least the next 14 years). This data may include information that could identify you, such as your contact details or other personal information. Your information may also be used in the future to link your responses with future Tracer Studies, so MFAT and Tetra Tech can better understand alumni experiences and outcomes over time. All transfer of data in this current study will be undertaken using secure transfers.

If you would like more information about the project, please contact the researchers; Andrew Wilson, Director of the MNZSP Evaluation, Tetra Tech andrew.wilson1@tetratech.com or Dr Rebecca Taylor, Project Director Tracer Study, rebecca.taylor@acer.org.

This project has human research ethics approval from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) HREC-0380. If you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of this research project, which you do not wish to discuss with the research team, you should contact the Chair of the ACER HREC, Dr Neville Chiavaroli at hrec@acer.org. All complaints will be treated confidentially. In any correspondence, please provide the ethics project number of the research project.

If you would like to contact MFAT directly about this project, please email alumni@MFAT.govt.nz