Media
Podcasts
2026 | Produced by Red Nine Podcast | Featuring Dr Catherine Leonard
What the Evidence Says About Fixing Society’s Problems
Dr Catherine Leonard, co-founder of Ihi Research, joins Recorded at Red Nine to discuss what the evidence really says about some of New Zealand’s hardest social challenges—youth crime, drug harm, family violence, mental health, and poverty—and why simple solutions to complex problems so often fail.
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articleWhānau Ora 2.0: the real problem isn’t the who, it’s the what.
Authors: Sascha McMeeking, Catherine Leonard, Helen Leahy
Journal: Policy Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2026), pp. 54 –60
DOI: 10.26686/pq.v22i1.10503A peer-reviewed article in Policy Quarterly(Victoria University of Wellington) examining the evolution of Whānau Ora. The authors argue the deeper issue is not a contest between providers but the erosion of Whānau Ora’s original institutional logic—and that its foundation in self-determination and relational practice offers valuable lessons for contemporary social investment, if applied with fidelity.
Journal articleManaged iwi investment schemes: an exploratory study on retirement
Authors: Anne Hynds and Catherine Leonard
Journal: Policy Quarterly – Volume 21, Issue 3 – August 2025 53-58This is a published paper drawn from the Iwi Managed Investment/Savings Schemes project.
Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission commissioned Ihi Research to conduct an exploratory study aimed at understanding the current landscape of iwi savings schemes. Key learnings emerged from the data that can inform the establishment and strengthening of future schemes.
In the news
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The grim picture of homelessness for women
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Four in five homeless women in Aotearoa are Māori, new report finds
2024
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Homeless women ‘avoid the streets’ by couch-surfing and trading sex for shelter, report finds
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Researchers collaborate with Police, groundbreaking in criminology
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Criminology Conference: Ihi Research unveils groundbreaking policing insights
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Why New Zealand police officers should remain unarmed
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New gang law may deepen trauma, erode trust, miss crime goals - researchers
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Police’s own research adds to evidence against gang patch ban
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Gang members report humiliating police tactics in study
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Communities most at risk see police as threat, report finds
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Photos leaked of police officer posing in gang patch
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Study finds Pasifika more likely to be tasered by NZ police
2024
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Tā Kim Workman on a major new report into bias in policing
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World leading research into systemic bias points the way for policing in community + media advisory
2024
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Māori men more likely to be stopped, tasered, prosecuted by police due to 'bias' and 'structural racism'
2024
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Māori more likely to be prosecuted by Police, unprecedented research proves
2024
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Police bias report calls for long-term, meaningful change
2024
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A deep dive into police bias
2024
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Sir Kim Workman’s major police investigation released: What the seven reports reveal
2024
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Police bias report: Research finds 'systemic' inequity for Māori
2024
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‘I have to have faith’ ‒ Māori survivors react to abuse in care report
2024
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A whānau-centred commissioning approach is ‘turning the dial’ for Māori in Te Waipounamu
2023
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Whānau Ora investment in South Island Māori more than doubles cost-benefit
2023
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New panel researching racism in the police head to Wellington to meet with top brass
2022
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State racism caused historical Māori overrepresentation in state care, report finds
2021
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Māori feel positive about Asians, but not if they're immigrating - study
2019
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Uplifting whanau wellbeing the focus
2019
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Research shows “profound” impact of creativity on mental wellbeing
2018
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The value of a Whānau Ora Approach
2017
