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.

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25-26INTB02

This project examined claims that the Waitangi Tribunal has exceeded its original mandate by engaging with contemporary issues. By analysing Tribunal reports across its full history, the research focused on how the Tribunal has operated in practice over time.

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25-26INTB01

This project involved listening to organisational submissions against the defeated Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill 2024 and analysing how submitters from different categories articulated what honourable kāwanatanga may look like, as opposed to focusing on what the Crown has done wrong.

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25-26INTS18

The internship project was about Māori understandings of neurodiversity and development of digital technologies.

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25-26INTS13

The focus of the project was to co-create and develop creative stories- pūrākau, that reflect the lived experiences of climate impacts from the perspective of rangatahi and whānau participants.

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25-26INTS17

This rapid review examined and contributed to the limited understanding of the economic benefits produced by kai sovereignty initiatives in Aotearoa through a te ao Māori lens and kaupapa Māori foundation.

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25-26INTS14

This internship involved supporting the work of Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora - the Māori Women’s Welfare League through research, transcription, and thematic analysis of interviews with wāhine Māori.

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25-26INTS07

The intern collaborated closely with leading technology providers and Dr Rory Clifford to explore how emerging digital tools—such as 3D modelling, carving simulations, and immersive environments—can deepen tamariki engagement with mātauraka Māori.

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25-26INTS08

This project is a Māori-led research project that explores wāhine Māori experiences of health, connection, and belonging through a framework grounded in mātauranga wāhine and relationships with te taiao.

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25-26INTS01

This project investigated how cultural concepts are incorporated into pharmacist preceptorship practices, with an emphasis on how these practices are explicitly demonstrated and communicated to pharmacy students during placements, identify knowledge gaps and challenges relevant to pharmacist precepting.

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25-26INTS16

The project forms part of the wider initiative Manaakitia Te Reo: How Do We Support Assessments in Te Reo Māori, which aims to improve how tertiary institutions support and mark work submitted in Māori.

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25-26INTS24

This project focussed on expanding the conceptual lens of ADHD, focusing on traditional Māori narratives such as pūrākau and whakataukī to understand the Māori experience of ADHD and create an accommodating framework.

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25-26INTS22

This internship was a literature review evaluating the available academic research pertaining to the role of wairua in whare tangata ora. It responds to the serious deficit of academic outputs in this area and contributes to the rationale on why it is needed.

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24-25INTS36

This internship developed a visual identity for Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Wellbeing Economies, bringing Māori wellbeing economies to life through design.
The work supports whānau aspirations by communicating key research in ways grounded in Te Ao Māori.

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24-25INTS67

This internship project, aimed to compile an extensive literature review on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with a focus on the Australasian and Pacific regions.

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24-25INTS11

Tangonge is a hugely significant taonga, historically referred to as the Kaitaia Lintel or Kaitaia Carving. It is now understood to have been a waharoa (gateway) and is considered the earliest surviving Māori carving in the world — a source of great mana and identity for the iwi of Te Hiku o te Ika.

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24-25INTS10

This internship focused on global efforts by First Nations and Indigenous peoples to decolonise and re-indigenise child protection systems.

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24-25INTS06

This internship contributed to a broader research project exploring how experiences of state welfare have contributed to historical trauma for Māori.

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24-25INTS40

This project served as an introduction to the ongoing study Honourable Kāwanatanga: A Prerequisite for Constitutional Transformation. The overall study was designed to answer the following key questions:
1. What is honourable kāwanatanga?
2. How can third sector (and other) organisations strengthen and deepen their engagement with Te Tiriti?

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24-25INTS57

The interns contributed to a research project exploring a new area of law, visual jurisprudence, which is a legal theory that considers how visual legal information affects people's perceptions of the law and its impact on them and their communities. The research focused on the aesthetic and moral implications of Indigenous peoples' visualisation of their law, legal culture, and experiences of coloniality and survivance.

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24-25INTS08

This internship project employed a tikanga-based and marae-based regenerative environmental approach, emphasising the reciprocal relationship between people and te taiao.

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