Research and Policy

Our work focuses on the issues of greatest consequence for our communities. The research and policy work of Lab members forms a network of projects, collaborations and nodes.

We invite you to browse current and past work below, read our publications and get involved.

Get involved

Be part of community policymaking

Read our latest publications false

Collaborations

Our collaborations connect Lab researchers with other research groups, governments, civil society organisations and philanthropy.

The universities and communities international community of practice convenes organisations and individuals from around the world with a shared interest in the relationship between universities and communities.

Co-founded by the Sydney Policy Lab and Policy, Strategy and Impact at RMIT, the community of practice convenes focused discussions online each quarter which have evolved into a space for ongoing dialogue on community-led policy development, the responsibility of universities to communities, authentic partnership for impact and opportunities for collaboration.

The global network of this growing community of practice includes academics from the University of Sydney, RMIT University, University of London, University of Oxford, University of Glasgow and University of Copenhagen, as well as members from independent civil society organisations, the public service, philanthropic organisations and consultancies.

The community warmly welcomes new members working on these issues. To find out more, email policy.lab@sydney.edu.au.

The Sydney Policy Lab is working in partnership with the Centre for Anthropology and Mental Health Research in Action (SOAS, University of London) to explore issues of housing distress, migration and coloniality in Australia and the UK.

This qualitative research will focus on experiences of distress as a result of poor housing and how these issues affect different demographics uniquely, as well as the historical and cultural factors shaping housing outcomes. The collaboration is under development with local community partners. Research will commence in early 2025.

In 2024, the Lab has supported projects by members working toward policy impact. Supported projects include:

Professor Gaby Ramia: “International Education Policy in and for Australia: Stakeholder Perspectives.”
Professor Debra Jones, Head of Rural Clinical School (Broken Hill), and Ms Mariah Goldsworthy, First Nations lead: “Aboriginal cultural protocols in research.” Developing a suite of place-based cultural protocols and guidelines to clearly define First Nations People’s expectations around culturally appropriate and respectful research.
Professor Lee Wallace: “Queer Normal School: Building Queer Community and Research.”
Associate Professor Carmen Huckel Schneider: “Meso- and macro-level policy support for place-based work in Australian health settings.”

Policy Bites research seminars

Our lunchtime seminars – Policy Bites – are a forum for researchers and practitioners to present their exploratory and applied policy work in its early stages. Each public seminar gathers the Lab community in our collaborative space to hear and discuss new research as we exchange ideas across disciplines.

Policy Bites are organised by Dr Kate Harrison Brennan, Director, Sydney Policy Lab; Dr Assel Mussagulova, Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Administration, School of Social and Political Sciences; and Associate Professor Meru Sheel, Sydney School of Public Health.

23 June – The politics of health, the health of politics: Unraveling structural mechanisms – Associate Professor Javier Rodríguez, Claremont Graduate University

More Bites will be announced imminently.

4 Feb – Roma voice and policymaking in the European Union – Professor Aidan McGarry, Loughborough University London
19 March – Annual Lecture: Building trust in public institutions – David Thodey AO, University of Sydney Chancellor
1 April – The art and science of polling – Dr Rebecca Huntley and Dr Luke Mansillo
13 May – The foreign gaze and global health – Associate Professor Seye Abimbola, School of Public Health, University of Sydney
27 May – Towards a national primary preventative framework – Bernadette Black AM, Seed Futures CEO and founder
3 June - Global to local: Using humanities to activate and connect communities – Associate Professor Sophie Gee, Department of English, Princeton and Vice Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Sydney

10 September – Premature mortality of racial minorities and the poor, politics, and the perpetuation of inequality - Associate Professor Javier Rodriguez, Claremont Graduate University
24 September – Story Tech: Power, Storytelling & Social Change Advocacy – Professor Ariadne Vromen, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
15 October – A whole-systems approach to person-centred care – Professor Brendan McCormack, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Sydney
29 October – Is global childhood immunisation still a force for equity? – Professor Kim Mulholland, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
12 November – Co-governance: Communities and government working together better – Dr Frances Foster-Thorpe, NSW Cabinet Office; Professor Ilan Katz, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW; Dr Shona Bates, Centre for Future Health Systems, UNSW

Get in touch

Connect

sydney-policy-lab false
SydneyPolicyLab false

Contact us

Phone: +61 2 8627 5977
Email: policy.lab@sydney.edu.au

R.D.Watt Building
Science Road,
University of Sydney,
Camperdown, NSW 2006

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm