Our Research

NPM research solves real world challenges facing Māori. We do so in Māori-determined and inspired ways engendering sustainable relationships that grow the mana (respect and regard) and mauri (life essence) of the world we inhabit.

The excellence and expertise of the Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga researcher network is organised by four Te Ao Māori knowledge and excellence clusters or Pae. Pae are where our researchers rise with Te Ao Māori knowledge, tools and expertise to build a secure and prosperous future for Māori and Aotearoa New Zealand. Pae are purposefully expansive and inclusive, supporting transdisciplinary teams and approaches. Our 2021-2024 programme of work will look to the far future to assure flourishing Māori futures for generations to come. With Māori intended as the primary beneficiaries of our research, our programme will reinforce the firmly established foundations of mātauranga Māori through sound research attuned to the lived experience of Māori.

Four Pātai or critical systems-oriented questions generate transformative interventions and policy advice for stakeholders and next users. All of our research will contribute mātauranga-informed theories, models and evidenced solutions in response to our Pātai. Our Pātai serve to integrate and energise our programme and Pae to synthesize our research for next stage impact and outcomes.

We have identified a set of questions relating to Māori restorative justice in the Aotearoa Justice system and its effectiveness for Māori:

What are the barriers Māori face when they participate in restorative justice as it stands?

What can we learn from the traditional ways of resolving conflict that could minimise these barriers?

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What unique Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are offered in Aotearoa workplaces that directly engage in a positive way with Māori employees? 

What do these look like? How are the perceived (and received) by Maori and non-Māori employees? Do they positively shape attitudes as we might expect - and if not, why not? What are the barriers and drivers behind them? 

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This research report has been titled Rākau-nui as an acknowledgement to the full moon phase in the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). Rākau-nui also represents the collected journey to which this full report has been constructed from. The Maramataka is

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This report has been prepared for Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga as part of the summer internship programme 2018-2019. This project is titled Tangaroa Ara Rau: Whānau connections and Water Safety with a purpose to understand unique whānau connections to water and its benefit for water safety.

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PhD Candidate: Ashlea Gillon (Ngāti Awa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāiterangi)

Primary Supervisor(s): Professor Tracey McIntosh

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PhD Candidate: Kahurangi Rora Waititi (Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Ngai Tahu)

Primary Supervisor(s): Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith

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Kia ū ki tau kawai whakapapa, kia matau ai, ko wai koe, e anga atu koe ki hea – Take ahold of your ancestral stem, so that you might know, who you are, and what direction you're going in.

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What mātauranga exists that can support our flora for their continued existence as taonga and how can Māori build their response capability to biological threats on taonga plant species?

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What is the current state of knowledge on wairua, pregnancy and birthing, what are the key initia-tives and opportunities for collaborative research pro-jects, and who are the key stakeholders in this area?

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How do we collectivise what we have for greater gain?

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The research question for this platform project are:

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The theory of value research platform is concerned with considering:

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What current methods do Māori (particularly those on low incomes and/or living in conditions of poverty) use to manage money?

What financial products and services are likely to be effective for Māori and how might these be successfully implemented?

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How can local tangata whenua be empowered to make the best decisions for sustainable management of Northland’s brown kiwi, and how can the isolated kiwi populations from Ipipiri (Eastern Bay of Islands) be managed to maintain local whakapapa and reduce the negative impact of small population sizes and inbreeding?

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Is harakeke one key to a sustainable future for Aotearoa and, if it is, how do we utilise it to develop this sustainable future?

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In this platform research, our focus makes the distinction between ‘kai’ as a culturally defined Māori notion and western interpretations of ‘food’.

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This NPM Platform Project is building an understanding on how to build stronger, more connected iwi, through enhancing engagement with Māori governance entities.

In Phase 1 of the research, we are exploring the approaches used by Māori governance entities to ask: how do Māori governance entities engage members regardless of where they’re living?

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This project explores the role that enterprise plays in indigenous self-determination. In New Zealand, we have chosen to examine Māori business networks (MBNs), which we argue are a manifestation of this struggle, but suffer from the absence of a sustainable business model.

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