She held research and policy analysis roles within the nonprofit sector, with responsibility for undertaking and commissioning research activities, policy analysis and strategy development before entering academia.

Tracey’s research focuses on organizing and managing work in nonprofit organizations and its linkages to wider societal arrangements, supplemented by a strong interest in research philosophy and methodology. Specifically, she conducts research on forms and processes of governance and accountability, public service innovation in nonprofit organizations, the role and power of nonprofits in institutional change and nonprofit-state relations.

She serves on the editorial board of Voluntary Sector Review and is Research-to-Practice Editor for Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ). Her research has featured in international journals such as NVSQ, Public Administration and Business & Society and she has contributed chapters to books such as Understanding Social Enterprise: Theory and Practice (2011; 2016) and the forthcoming Sage Handbook of Qualitative Business and Management Research Methods.

She has extensive experience of applied research on nonprofit organizations, governance, organization development, public service innovation, social policy and a passion for policy and practice relevant research. She has played major roles in research projects for central government, statutory health bodies and national and local nonprofit organizations.