Our Values

We are driven primarily by the need to make a difference for individuals, institutions and society. Our motto, “making a difference” provides a challenge for us in all our work.

We believe that high quality research, and especially effective qualitative work, can illuminate and provide potential solutions to social and economic problems and issues.

We are interested in producing research that has implications for policy and for practice. In particular, our focus is on reducing social inequalities and especially poverty in Aotearoa.

We are strong believers that evaluation is a powerful tool, when well applied. Formative studies can guide the development of services and programmes, while summative work can inform what difference has been made.

Our ethical values are driven by a need to respect and understand the needs and situations of individuals, groups and organisations, to maintain privacy and confidentiality . We support the bicultural ethical guidelines of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education, teh Royal Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Law Society.

We see ourselves as a partnership organisation: working co-operatively with other teams of researchers, with contracting agencies and with the government and community sector.

Our Staff

The Managing Director of Pūkeko Research is Dr Liz Gordon. Liz has a background as a community worker, academic, Member of Parliament and as Manager of Network Research. Her background is in education policy, but she has had a growing interest in justice research, as a result of completing a law degree in 2007. She is also an experienced social analyst, community researcher, columnist and writer.

Other staff are engaged on a contract basis to work on specific projects. We have a commitment to work with experienced researchers and also to train and mentor young staff.