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The University of Sydney's Camperdown/Darlington Campus
Centres and institutes_

About the lab

Putting relationships first
We equip our researchers and partners to build deep and sustained connections, because we believe that is the only way they can discover new ideas and turn them into reality.

The Sydney Policy Lab brings people of different backgrounds together to create new knowledge and drive change for good.

We draw our strength from academia, civil society, business and government to generate new solutions to the challenges that we all face.

Working together, we develop:

  • Original and far-reaching research projects that unite the wisdom that comes from everyday experience and practical expertise with rigorous scholarship. Learn more about our research here.
  • Unique training programs that respond to gaps in civil society, business, government and research practice to enable more effective cross-sectoral collaboration, available to researchers and partner institutions alike. Learn more about our training here.
  • A stronger community of changemakers, who can share their challenges and their successes, supporting each other in truly inclusive coalitions.

How we work

Building trusting relationships across difference allows bold new ideas, essential for this time of complexity and uncertainty, to emerge. For this reason, all of our work is done in collaborative partnership with institutions who seek to put new ideas into practice.

Our unique way of working – which we call the relational method – strengthens the ability of our researchers and partners to effect change through generating new ideas, transforming how they work as leaders and in organisations, deeply collaborating and taking responsibility for making these ideas real in the world. Read more about the relational method here.

The Sydney Policy Lab is a multidisciplinary research initiative at The University of Sydney.