Check out comments from the BEATS Research Team members about their experiences of being a part of the BEATS Research journey which is described in Dr Sandra Mandic’s book “Secrets of Successful Cross-Sector Collaborations”:
Across my 30+ years of being involved with research, the BEATS project was by far the most rewarding in both the experiences and outputs. This was primarily due to Sandy’s leadership and the excellent team that she pulled together!
Professor John C Spence, PhD, FCAHS, Professor and Associate Dean International, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (BEATS Investigator, 2013-2023)
I was privileged to be part of the BEATS project Research Team for 10+ years. During this time, I witnessed the growth of the team from a small group of researchers to a large international group that worked collaboratively across disciplines and sectors to tackle the complexities of active transport to school behaviour among adolescents in Otago, New Zealand. The project was remarkably productive in terms of research outputs and scientific publications. More importantly, under the leadership of Dr Sandy Mandic, it was highly successful engaging with key school administrators and translating research findings into actionable knowledge for decision-makers. In the “Compass Guide: Secrets of Successful Cross-Sector Collaborations” you will find a wealth of information that will inspire and help you navigate through the often challenging but always rewarding world of cross-sectoral collaboration and stakeholder engagement, written with the clarity, insight, and practical focus that characterises Dr. Sandy Mandic’s books. Good reading!
Dr Enrique García Bengoechea, Senior Researcher, Physical Activity for Health Research Centre, Health Research Institute, Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland (BEATS Investigator, 2014–2023)
My involvement with the BEATS project and team commenced at the beginning and lasted right through the project for over 10 years.
I was in my role as Manager of the Dunedin Secondary Schools’ Partnership and also the Secretary of the Otago Secondary Principals’ Association.
The Dunedin Secondary Schools’ Partnership is a collaborative organisation set up to manage across school programmes for the 12 Dunedin Secondary Schools. This is a unique partnership in New Zealand and has now been successfully operating since 2000.
In 2013, I was approached by Sandy Mandic with a proposal to run the BEATS survey in some of our secondary schools. Sandy had previously done some work in some of our schools around student participation in sports. She has developed a great relationship with those schools and their staff. This is always a key element for research projects being successful in a school environment.
I agreed to support the project with two provisos: the first that the project would be done in all 12 Dunedin secondary schools and the second that the survey would include questions about School Choice which was an issue of concern for our schools at that time. Sandy agreed so it was full steam ahead.
The end result was two research projects for our schools – all schools participating – six years apart and a separate research project for the Otago rural schools – the schools located outside Dunedin.
Sandy and her team exceeded our expectations in their professionalism. The BEATS team’s relationship with schools was excellent and each school received an individual school data report alongside the full data report.The Dunedin Secondary Schools’ Partnership was seen as a key and respected partner in the project which went as far as input into the questions that would make up the survey.
BEATS is a great example of collaborative research led by an outstanding academic in Sandy Mandic. I enjoyed working with this group immensely.
Gordon Wilson, MNZM (Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit), Dunedin Secondary Schools’ Partnership, Dunedin, New Zealand (BEATS Advisory Board member, 2013–2023)
This book describes a radically different approach to leadership and shows what it can mean to those who are part of the team. I was part of the BEATS team for many years and the experience transformed how I looked at life and what I wanted from life.
I discovered huge amounts about research, teamwork, and project processes – all under the leadership of Sandy as she grew the project from a mere twinkle in the eye to an internationally lauded multi-country-and-sector research team. The project team not only achieved a remarkable number of outputs, including technical reports, journal articles, and conference presentations; it also developed lifelong friendships and long-lasting and fruitful relationships with our key stakeholders, the schools that were being studied.
Of course, the magic of the team under Sandy’s leadership added much to our social landscape too: learning, and laughing, and developing new aspects of ourselves in conjunction with the others kept us all as a cohesive unit over a ten-year period. And each new person who joined the team found themselves learning more than anticipated and enjoying it much more than they could ever have imagined. A tour de force. Congratulations!
Charlotte Flaherty, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin, New Zealand (BEATS Advisory Board Member and Collaborator, 2013–2023)
Meeting Sandy, and becoming part of the BEATS team, was truly transformative for me – personally and professionally. It was somewhere around 2013, and I was just starting my postdoctoral position elsewhere at Otago on young adult’s driving practices. Sandy welcomed me into her project team, her boundless energy and scholarly intrigue creating the foundations for BEATS and inspiring us all. She singlehandedly enabled the most organic interdisciplinary team formation – attracting people from around the university to her. As a geographer concerned with environmental issues, Sandy’s physical activity and health perspectives were brand new to me – she patiently taught me new methods, analytical techniques.
I will always be in awe of how much Sandy achieved on such tight budgets, and her commitment to the communities we were working with and for. The BEATS team wasn’t just academics, working on an academic project, it was a truly collaborative effort – anyone who shared the vision and were willing to get stuck in were welcome. BEATS was a unique project, and an evolving research team. It achieved so much – not only large numbers of academic publications, reports and presentations, but also training new generations of scholars, and building a long-lasting community. And none of that could ever have happened without the generous, caring and supportive leadership Sandy provided. What a ride it was!
Dr Debbie Hopkins, Associate Professor in Human Geography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; 2025-26 US-UK Fulbright Scholar (BEATS Investigator, 2013–2023)
As an advisory board member for BEATS, it is fantastic to see this account of how the research was enabled by cross-sector collaboration. This book shows the hard work and careful thinking that lay behind the seemingly effortless relationships that BEATS developed with so many groups, institutions and organisations. Without those strong and enduring relationships there would have been no BEATS research findings; with them, the team produced a stellar amount of academic and policy-relevant findings. Other researchers can learn much from the guidance that Sandy offers from the BEATS team’s experiences.
Professor Janet Stephenson, Centre for Sustainability Research, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (BEATS Advisory Board Member, 2013-2023)
Joining the BEATS Research Programme in 2018 started with being in just the right place at just the right time. I found myself catapulted into an intricately, well-engineered research machine travelling around the Otago region visiting secondary school students and conducting exciting data collection with an incredibly passionate research programme leader. There were no silly questions, no limits to what could be achieved, and a cleverly structured process for research team training, communication and delivery. It was a whirlwind experience, with large amounts of hands on knowledge and skills gained but most importantly the gift of feeling part of such an remarkable team and having a whole lot of fun in the process!
Kim King, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (BEATS Project Coordinator, 2018–2023)
I worked on the BEATS study from 2019 to 2023. Those years included great memories, lots of laughs, and some challenges during COVID, but strong teamwork helped us get through everything and led to a very successful project and lifelong friendships.
One memorable moment was cleaning the BEATS office with Sandy a few months before finishing the study at the University of Otago in Dunedin. We had limited time and a lot of materials to sort out. After a long day, we still needed to send the remaining materials to Wellington. It was close to post office closing time, and after missing one post office, we luckily found another on the other side of town just in time and ended the day with high fives. This moment sums up the project well: where there’s a will, there’s a way. Even during the toughest moments, the team pushed through and achieved several goals.
Kaisa Kentala, Planner, City of Espoo, Finland (BEATS Coordinator and Research Assistant, 2019–2023)
Working with Adjunct Professor Sandy Mandic on BEATS research programme was an eye-opening experience. It was a fantastic example of active collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers at many institutions in New Zealand and internationally, local practitioners, civil society, teachers, parents, and policy-makers. There were no egos interfering with the multi-organisation, inter-disciplinary research. International academics were involved appropriately in a variety of ways, depending on their areas of expertise, time availability, and the stage of the programme.
Adjunct Professor Mandic’s enthusiasm, dynamism and can-do attitude spread to her entire team and collaborators. For example, the BEATS team were able to complete primary data collection despite few financial resources by involving post-graduate students – not in an exploitative way. They were motivated through awareness of importance of the study, relevance to their studies, and the way Adjunct Professor Mandic and the BEATS staff acknowledged and appreciated these volunteers, combined with real learning opportunities including opportunities to analyse the data, co-author publications and to present findings at a range of knowledge exchange events for diverse audiences, not just traditional scientific conferences. Those events were part of the BEATS programme’s determination to achieve policy relevance, not just ivory tower research.
Dr Jennifer Mindell, Emerita Professor of Public Health, Health and Social Surveys Research Group, Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom (BEATS Collaborator)
I was involved with the BEATS Programme between 2015 and 2018 through two summer studentships, research assistant work, coordination of part of the BEATS Parental Survey, and completing my Master’s programme.
My time in this team reflects only a portion of the ten-year journey, but was an incredibly memorable time of my life – meaningful connections and friendships which have continued, exemplary team collaboration and culture, and skills that I carried through to my PhD research and beyond.
It was a great privilege to be part of the BEATS journey, and I count myself lucky for having the opportunity to be involved. Thank you, Sandy, for many wonderful years of memories.
Dr Tessa Madden, Ministry of Social Development, Office for Seniors, Wellington, New Zealand (BEATS Master’s student, summer research student, coordinator and research assistant, 2015–2018)
I joined the BEATS Research Team to be able to view a large cross-disciplinary study from the inside. I really enjoyed being able to bring along my expertise in education policy-making to contribute to the reach of the team’s findings and outputs. I am very proud of the BEATS work and my small part in it.
Professor Susan Sandretto, College of Education, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (BEATS Advisory Board Member, Investigator and Collaborator, 2013–2023)
One of my strongest memories from doing research with the BEATS Team was the strong collaboration and positive attitudes. I remember how the team navigated the challenge to conduct school visits and surveys amidst the postponement due to COVID-19 restrictions, three times! Despite the obstacles, the team members remained supportive, creative, and resilient. For me, the project highlighted passion for community impact and the importance of relationship building in collaborative works. Being part of the BEATS Team remains a meaningful chapter in my professional journey. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have contributed alongside such a dedicated team.
Dr Margaretha Situmorang, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (BEATS PhD student, 2020–2023)
I have been a witness of a full life of the BEATS Research Programme, that, actually, will keep going for longer. It is incredible how an excellent and useful idea created over a decade ago, and in a country and local area (the city of Dunedin, New Zealand) has had such an international impact. The key point for it has been the strategic and high demanding work performed by the Principal Investigator Dr. Sandy Mandic to keep team members working on different aspects of the BEATS Research well informed about every step and decision, which was not an easy task. I have learnt a lot and enjoyed working as part of the BEATS Team and it allowed me to connect people and keep learning.
Professor Palma Chillón, Department of Physical Education and Sports, University of Granada, Granada, Spain (BEATS Collaborator, 2016–2023)
From my first day working alongside Dr. Sandra Mandic at Stanford University, I was impressed by her work ethic and organizational skills. The development of the BEATS Research Program was a natural progression for her and, over the course of ten years, further demonstrated her excellence in managing an award-winning program recognized in New Zealand and internationally. Her leadership, creativity, and abilities in information and personnel management are exceptional. Having the opportunity to be part of the BEATS Team was an immensely valuable experience for me, making immeasurable contributions to my development as a researcher and project leader in Brazil.
Ricardo Brandao de Oliveira, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Rio de Janeiro State, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (BEATS Collaborator, 2017–2023)
It has been a great joy being involved in the BEATS Research Programme. This is a world-class programme, unique due to its vision and the way it brought together schools, councils, universities, and community partners to better understand how adolescents travel to school and how we can create environments that support their wellbeing. Watching BEATS grow into a decade long, internationally recognised body of work – producing more than 47 scientific articles, 162 conference abstracts, and extensive technical reports, was inspiring. Sandra Mandic was essential to the programme’s success, providing dedicated and persistent leadership.
Importantly, BEATS generated evidence that directly shaped practice and policy, from improving discussions around safe cycling and walking routes to providing timely insights during COVID 19, when adolescent walking rates declined sharply and required renewed attention from policymakers and communities. I appreciated the opportunity to work with the multidisciplinary team to help generate meaningful insights to support adolescent health. In my own research programme, I have also used BEATS data in global benchmarking studies, systematic literature reviews, and national prevalence studies, helping to identify areas of need and inform programme development for youth health. The BEATS study has also been integral to my team developing new knowledge on environmental associates of adolescent physical activity and wellbeing.
Professor Melody Smith, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand (BEATS Collaborator, 2017–2023)