About our research centre

A core driver of the centre is to build collaborative ventures in leadership and/or governance across the different faculties of the University but also with external leadership and governance stakeholders. While the core focus of the centre will be on research activity, it will also play a prominent role in supporting leadership and governance education (see information on the new Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Governance beginning in 2022), leadership development (in close relationship with the Executive Education Programmes), student leadership development, and external events and forums.  

• Creating and disseminating cutting-edge inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary research into leadership and/or governance.
• Connecting cross-department, cross-faculty and cross-university researchers in leadership and governance research.
• Seeking, crafting and assembling research and funding proposals for future leadership and governance research.
• Hosting, designing, delivering and evaluating leadership and governance research mini-conferences, events, panels, and seminars for internal and external audiences.
• Creating a home for student leadership development initiatives such as the Kupe Leadership Development Programme and the Dean’s Leadership Award.
• Creating a hub or focal point for internal and external leadership and governance researchers, stakeholders and practitioners to engage with to seek research, learning opportunities, relationships and networks and resources.
• Building faculty capacity for both leadership and governance research, education and development activity.  

1. Research into contemporary leadership and governance challenges, both global in scope (such as the leadership, environment and sustainability workstream outlined on our projects page) and local to New Zealand (such as the complex governance stream of work orientated at shared government agency, community and iwi configurations).
2. Research into leadership and governance development theory and practice, such as the leadership development and responsibility stream of work discussed on our projects page.
3. Research into leadership in governance and the intersection of leadership and governance building on Professor Watson’s Corporate Governance and Leadership: the Board as the Nexus of Leadership-in-Governance and her current work on a volume of case studies associated with this book.