Your impact: Using the best bits of action research

Come with your curiosities for an interactive workshop !

Lesley obtained her PhD from Deakin University in Melbourne and has had an impressive career leading to her current role as the Director of the AUT Sports Performance Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology. Her highly regarded research focuses mainly on sport leadership and governance. She is one of the leading experts on ACTION Research in sport management and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Sport Management and Sport Management Review (SMR). Lesley is also former Associate Editor of SMR.

In 2022, Lesley was the SMAANZ Distinguished Service Award winner for outstanding scholarly contribution to SMAANZ and within the field of sport management. Lesley is also heavily involved in many industry projects and has worked closely with the New Zealand Olympic Committee, and numerous National Sport Organisations in New Zealand and Australia. This workshop will begin with your curiosity about research impact within which Lesley will weave the best bits of action research philosophy and practice. Scholarly and practical approaches to sport leadership and governance will also be threaded into this workshop conversation with the intent of advancing your research impact.

Lesley Ferkins bio (from Auckland University of Technology)

Researching with sport organisations in order to grow potential and purpose is the essence of Lesley’s research endeavours in sport leadership and governance. A commitment to the organised sport sector has led to a programme of research centred on developing leadership and governance capability. The ultimate purpose of this is to realise the potential of sport to positively impact the lives of New Zealanders. It’s founded on a research approach of change and learning (action research) - working inside sport organisations - as they seek to understand their relevance and contribution to a changing world. Such collaborative efforts have so far led to advancement in: board strategic capability; stakeholder relationships in sport governance (‘stakeowners’); board strategic balance (theory established); collaborative sport governance; collective board leadership; and re-imagining traditional assumptions about sport leadership (by drawing on more diverse cultural approaches). Lesley has worked extensively with national sport organisations and government sport agencies in New Zealand and Australia.