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

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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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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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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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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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This internship contributed to a larger postdoctoral research fellowship project: a kaupapa Māori analysis of Māori experiences of cannabis and methamphetamine use.

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This internship aimed to address the critical shortage of literature in this field by providing insight into the ways climate change has impacted the mental health of Indigenous Peoples.

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This project aimed to redress the lack of culturally safe, gender-affirming, and inclusive support services available for rangatahi takatāpui and their whānau within the Te Ranga Tupua rohe.

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This research project is creating a Digital Data Dashboard that links land blocks and sites with tūpuna and hapū names for the uri of Turora.

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Kapa haka provides a space for cultural expression, physical movement, and identity development. But how can technology be used to develop accessible kapa haka-informed physical movement resources that promote cultural identity development and overall wellbeing for rangatahi and whānau Māori?

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This project uses Kaupapa Māori theory to challenge the current dominant Western explanations for suicide, which fail to consider socio-cultural-political pressures and historical processes such as colonisation as core to Indigenous suicide.

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Kauora is a whānau-derived theory and practice of swimming, developed through Raureti’s doctoral research, that redefines how whānau engage in kaupapa wai. This project supports its implementation by developing a data sovereignty policy for Ngāti Kapu to guide the protection and long-term sustainability of mātauranga, reo and whānau data gathered through this kaupapa in Ōtaki.

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LiDAR technology offers unprecedented access to the whenua—capturing the contours of the landscape at fine detail and revealing wāhi tapu and heritage sites often lost under forest canopies or inaccessible locations. This research explores how hapū and iwi can utilise geospatial technologies like LiDAR to identify, connect-with, and enrich the management of, culturally significant sites.

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Ebony’s PhD research will explore the contribution of Māori nurse practitioners and opportunities to transform Primary Healthcare services within Aotearoa.

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Underpinned by a Kaupapa Māori methodological stance, this project seeks to undertake research at the interface of mātauranga Māori and surgery to produce resources that will practically improve care for whānau who have an apronectomy.

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This research supports iwi-led, tikanga-informed innovation, grounded in Kaupapa Māori methodology. Through wānanga and co-design with Ngāti Tukorehe, the team is developing safe, solvent-free dye processes that respect tikanga and are reproducible in community settings.

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This project explores how digital narratives of tohunga can be curated to support and enrich the multiliteracies of ākonga, particularly in Te Tai Tokerau. At its heart, Tohunga Talks is a collaborative digital storytelling initiative grounded in Te Tai Tokerau mātauranga tuku iho, Kaupapa Māori research approaches, and the Mana Model.

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In collaboration with Te Weu Charitable Trust, this research seeks to address critical gaps in our understanding of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies specific to Māori communities in Te Tairāwhiti.

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