Our research & collaborations
We are committed to partnering with people and organisations across sectors to build an evidence base that drives social innovation and impact at scale. We work with leaders and organisations from across corporate, government and community.
Our research priorities
Economic empowerment and inclusion – investigating and sharing the practices, organising models, and ecosystem infrastructure necessary to ensure women, migrants, people with disabilities are empowered and included in economic progress, providing inter-generational equality.
Civic wealth creation and place-based investment – investigating and sharing how communities, enterprises, investors, and their supporters come together and collaborate to improve their well-being and progress through cooperation, kinship, and commerce.
Social impact strategy, outcomes measurement, and evaluation – investigating and sharing how organizations of all forms can build capabilities to generate, measure, and connect positive social change to their activities.
Some of our current research collaborations include:
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The Civic Life of Cities Lab (CLCL) is a research project originating out of Stanford University that brings together academics from around the world to gain insights into what makes a vibrant civil society. Research is centred on a handful of ‘highly liveable’ cities (those ranking highly on quality of life) that include the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Shenzhen, Singapore, Vienna and Sydney, with a focus on not-for-profits and the communities they serve.
The Sydney project provides understandings of the city’s non-profit sector with a particular focus on cross-sector collaboration, impact investing and social enterprise and how government is influencing performance.
The team includes:
UNSW CSI
Professor Danielle Logue, Director of UNSW CSI; Dr DongJu LeeUNSW School of Management and Governance
Professor Hokyu Hwang (Chief Investigator)Stanford University
Dr Yi Zhao
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Researchers at the UNSW Centre for Social Impact are evaluating and comparing the ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives of ASX 100 companies using the Global Reporting Initiative framework (GRI) with a focus on performance on the ‘S’ or social dimension of the ESG paradigm.
This collaboration between UNSW CSI, led by Associate Professor Melissa Edwards, and the Digital Sustainability Hub, led by Professor Shan Pan, will use the Sustainability Intelligence Platform to collate and assess data.
The project aims to identify key challenges and opportunities confronting companies in implementing ESG initiatives, particular the social aspect of ESG. At a time where reporting requirements and corporate disclosures on ESG reporting are becoming mandatory for all large businesses and financial institutions in Australia, these insights across leading Australian corporations and across industries provide timely insights on corporate social impact strategies and initiatives.
The team includes:
UNSW CSI: Associate Professor Melissa Edwards (Chief Investigator), Dr Gillian McAllister, Michelle Cripps
UNSW School of Information Systems: Professor Shan Pan
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UNSW CSI has partnered with the UNSW Tax & Business Advisory Clinic on a research project to enhance the tax and transfer system for financially disadvantaged individuals and small businesses. Led by Associate Professor Ann Kayis-Kumar and Professor Michael Walpole, the Tax Clinic provides free tax and accounting advice to those in serious financial hardship, a critical service for this demographic.
By leveraging the Tax Clinic's expertise in tax support with CSI's research capabilities, this collaborative project seeks to explore and improve the tax experiences of financially disadvantaged groups. Beyond highlighting the practical impacts of current tax policies, it actively engages experts and the community to develop tangible recommendations. These efforts are focused on enhancing service delivery for marginalised and disadvantaged taxpayers, and ultimately moving towards a tax system that is more accessible, empathetic, and equitable.
The team includes:
UNSW CSI: Dr Rhiannon Parker
UNSW School of Tax and Accounting: Associate Professor Ann Kayis Kumar (Chief Investigator) and Professor Michael Walpole
Learn more about the UNSW Tax & Business Advisory Clinic here
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Associate Professor Carmen Leong researches the significant digital exclusion present in the Sydney Outer West and South-West regions, as highlighted by the Australian Digital Inclusion (ADII) Index (2020). Her current work with Campbelltown City Council focuses on gaining a comprehensive understanding of the extent and nuances of digital exclusion within the local government area (LGA), and subsequently enhance the design of the council's online services to ensure inclusivity for all residents. CSI supports Professor Leong in this work and its potential expansion to other councils and LGAs.
The team includes:
UNSW School of Information Systems and Technology Management: Associate Professor Carmen Leong (Chief Investigator)
UNSW CSI: Dr Ariella Meltzer and Dr Rhiannon Parker
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OzHarvest is a leading food rescue organisation that has fought against food waste by saving surplus food from ending up in landfill and delivering it to charities to help feed those in need. Along with its primary purpose of offering food relief, OzHarvest is involved in education and advocacy work to increase healthy eating, improve life skills, and raise awareness of food waste.
In line with UNSW CSI’s commitment to engaged scholarship, this collaboration with OzHarvest is designed to provide a detailed case study on the challenges and key issues for OzHarvest that could be addressed in a joint future research program or via participation in CSI’s Work Integrated Learning courses.
The team includes:
UNSW CSI: Dr Gillian McAllister (Chief Investigator), Associate Professor Melissa Edwards, Dr Rhiannon Parker.
OzHarvest: Gauri Bhalla
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Impact investments are made to organisations, projects or funds which are generating measurable, positive social and environment outcomes, in addition to financial returns. Impact investing is a growing field of investment that aims to finance solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges. This collaboration surveys and analyses the market for impact investing in Australia, tracks its growth and trajectory.
The team includes:
UNSW CSI: Professor Danielle Logue (Chief Investigator), Associate Professor Melissa Edwards, Michelle Cripps
Impact Investing Australia: David Hetherington, CEO
Want to research and partner with us?
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Got questions about studying social impact?
Scholarships:
Our Graduate Certificate in Social Impact is Commonwealth supported. If you receive an offer from UNSW Sydney as a domestic student, you’ll have a substantial proportion of your fees subsidised by the Australian government.
Centre for Social Impact:
We are also a member of a national collaboration of Centres for Social Impact across Australia:
