President's Message

I want to begin by noting that this newsletter comes to you part way through NAIDOC week. This is a time for all Australians to recognise the history and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as being an opportunity to learn about the world’s oldest, continuous living cultures. 
 
Several honours this past month recognised the work of Fellows, including two of our previous Presidents. Former Academy President Leon Mann received an honorary doctorate from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, while several of our Fellows were recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours. Notable among these was our former president Jane Hall who received an AO for ‘distinguished service to the social sciences and for academic leadership and mentoring in the field of health economics’. We also learned that Fellow Margaret Gardner will be the next Governor of Victoria. 
 
In June the Academy participated in a very successful Association of Asian Social Science Research Council (AASSREC) conference in South Korea, attended by Michelle Bruce, Fellows Fleur Johns and Hugh White. A special item in this issue covers their achievements and future directions for AASSREC below. 
 
I would also like to remind you that nominations for the Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research are now open. These awards recognise early career researchers in the social sciences and provide a great platform for future leaders in our disciplines to showcase their work. I encourage you to nominate deserving recipients of whom you are aware. 
 
The Academy continues to engage actively with government in the numerous policy processes, and we are gearing up for Social Sciences Week in September. 
 
As always, please feel free to reach out to me directly with any ideas you may have for our Academy. 

Richard Holden 

President 

Latest in socials and campaigns

Making a difference for Social Sciences Week 

Six leading social scientists will tackle how to make change happen and why the social sciences matter at the State Library in Perth, WA to celebrate #SSW2023. Find details here or register your own event at this link.  

Who is changing the world?

Take a moment to see the Cosmos Magazine feature on 52 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are changing the world. This feature includes several Academy Fellows and social science thought leaders. We were proud to contribute to this feature along with the five Learned Academies as part of celebrating NAIDOC Week.  

Policy updates

Academy on care and support economy

Thank you to the Fellows who contributed to the Academy’s submission to the Federal government’s Draft National Care and Support Economy Strategy. You can read the submission here and find more Academy submissions and reports at the Policy and Publications tab at www.socialsciences.org.au.

New aged care taskforce  

Congratulations to Academy Fellows Tom Calma and John McCallum appointed to the new Aged Care Taskforce, which will review funding arrangements and options for a fair and equitable system. In announcing the Taskforce Aged Care Minister, Anika Wells, recognised pressures on the system, with baby boomers to set new challenges. 

Attendees at 'Due process or due proceeds?' workshop convened by Fellow Arie Freiberg, Dr Radha Ivory and Dr Gregory Dale

‘Dirty money’ gets a workout 

Social scientists from law, criminology and politics joined government and civil society representatives to explore the future of confiscation and anti-money laundering laws in Queensland last week. An Academy-funded workshop—Due process or due proceeds? convened by Fellow Arie Freiberg, Dr Radha Ivory and Dr Gregory Dale—addressed persistent concerns about ‘dirty money’ in Australia and how to calibrate confiscation laws with punishment. Learn more about our Workshops Program at this link. Apply now! 

Want early career policy impact?

Discover insights from Fellow Adam Graycar in a thought-provoking piece featured in The Mandarin. He shares five valuable lessons for academics seeking to enhance their policy impact. Follow the link to read more.  

Congratulations

Leon Mann receiving honorary doctorate by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

International honour for Leon Mann

Past Academy President Leon Mann was awarded an honorary doctorate on 12 June by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, recognising his scholarly eminence, groundbreaking research in the field of decision-making and partnerships forged between universities in Australia and Israel. Read the full citation here. 

King's birthday honours

Six Fellows of the Academy were recognised for their contributions to academic leadership, the social sciences, research and education in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours list.  

Officers of the Order of Australia—Jane Hall and Louisa Degenhardt.  

Members of the Order of Australia—Mark Considine, Anthony Elliott, John Roberts and Carla Treloar. Find more details here. Warm congratulations to all! 

Six Fellows among laureate fellowships

Among the 17 new Australian Laureate Fellowships announced by the Australian Research Council (ARC), receiving a total of $53.9 million in ARC funding over 5 years, six Fellows are featured: Xuemei Bai, Janeen Baxter, Joshua Cinner, Matthew Hornsey, Jane McAdam and Sarah Pink. Find details here.  

More honours

For more than a decade, Fellow Sarah Wheeler has sought to change national water policy for the benefit of South Australia and the entire Murray-Darling Basin system. Her efforts and expertise have been recognised at the 2023 SA Environment Awards with Sarah receiving the Jill Hudson Award for Environmental Protection. Find details here.   

Congratulations also to Fellow Janet McColl-Kennedy, who’ll be leading the Innovation Pathways program for the newly launched Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) project. Her team will work with early-stage companies and established companies to deliver the innovation, ingredients, tastes, foods and beverages people need. Learn more. 

Life and Seoul of AASSREC

More than 150 delegates from across the Asia Pacific social science community met in Seoul on 14 and 15 June for the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC) 25th Biennial Conference. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of AASSREC, Past, Present and Future of Social Sciences in Asia, the Academy was represented by International Secretary Professor Fleur Johns, along with Academy Fellow Hugh White and Michelle Bruce, Director of Fellowship, International and Awards. Professor White presented on the responsibilities of social sciences in an era of great power rivalry and participated in a panel discussion on the challenges and roles for think tanks in the Asia Pacific. Read more on the event, find program details or watch conference sessions at this link. 

New Executive

Members of AASSREC elected a new Executive Council during the conference with the Academy renewing its commitment to host the AASSREC Secretariat and welcoming the re-election of Michelle Bruce as Secretary-General. Along with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (President), the Korean Social Science Research Council (First Vice-President), and the National Research of Thailand (Second Vice-President) the new Executive Council will oversee AASSREC activities over the next two years. We welcome the appointment of the Academy’s Fleur Johns as Chair of AASSREC’s new Policy and Strategy Committee.  

Top priorities

Among AASSREC’s top priorities in coming years are ways to increase and diversify revenue for more sustainable support, both of the Association and for social science capacity building in the Asia Pacific. Other key projects are the AASSREC Mentoring Initiative, the development of the Asia Pacific Social Science Journal Directory and planning a program for the next general conference to be held in India in 2025. We hope to see you there!  

Be in it!

Nominate now: Paul Bourke Awards

Do you know an outstanding early career researcher who has achieved excellence in scholarship in the social sciences? Nominate them now! More info here.

The Academy’s Paul Bourke Awards are named in honour of former president, Paul Francis Bourke, and are awarded annually. Nominations close 31 July. 

Sharpen up for CHASS application

Sharpen your bio and refresh that CV to apply for 2023-2024 Cultivating the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grants. Coordinated by the Council for the Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (CHASS), applications close on 1 September. For details, click here.  

New statement on ethical conduct in research

The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2023issued on 29 June will take effect, and replace, the 2007 National Statement from 1 January 2024. Co-authored by NHMRC, the Australian Research Council (ARC) and Universities Australia (UA), the National Statement is Australia’s principal human research guideline setting out the requirements for the ethical design, review and conduct of human research in Australia. 

Early career at crossroads

We are out of SHAPE says a survey by the SHAPE Futures Network. Burnout, attrition and instability are creating a ‘system on the verge of a major collapse’ yet we need the voice of emerging social scientists, arts and humanities researchers more than ever. Read more here.  

PSST—protect your research!

ASIO’s ‘Protect your research, collaborate with care’ campaign for the higher education and research sector launched at the end of May. Aiming to raise awareness about espionage and foreign interference in the higher education and research sector it shows what this may look like in context, and provides simple steps individuals and institutions can take to protect themselves in Australia and overseas. Features include a campaign booklet (find at the link above) and a program of briefings across the country to key research institutes and universities. 

Watch, Read, Listen, Attend

Looking for some brain food this NAIDOC week? We have a round-up of some unmissable reading, listening and viewing from some of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Academy Fellows here.

Watch

Fellow Megan Davis discussing the life experiences that led her to fall in love with the Constitution and become the driving voice behind the Voice referendum on  Australian Story: A Voice from the Heart.

Uncover 65,000 years of Australian Aboriginal invention and innovation with  The First Inventors, directed by Fellow, Larissa Behrendt. 

Catch up on Fellow Andrew Leigh’s address, Achieving Social Connection & Community Resilience: Joining the dots between policy, practice, research and community. 

Read

Check the Academy site for latest publications by Fellows including a new edition of Fellow Carol Kulik and co-author Elissa Perry’s Human Resources for the Non-HR Manager with extra resources, activities and articles at www.NonHRManager.com.

Find Fellow Deborah Stevenson’s acclaimed new book, Cultural policy beyond the economy  or listen to her interview at the New books network or find more on Fellow Lisa Given’s latest edition Looking for Information here.

Listen

Hear Fellow Christine Parker discuss and explore the rise of imitation meat and dive into the ethics of accurate labelling claims on our latest Seriously Social podcast. 

Catch up with a recent episode of the BBC’s Thinking Allowed series featuring Fellow Anthony Elliot on algorithms, love and intimacy or listen to a panel featuring Fellow Fethi Mansouri—What's in a word? multiculturalism—now available on ABC Radio National.  

Attend

Internationally-acclaimed Professor Sheila Jasanoff (Harvard Kennedy School) will be guest presenter of the Annual Charles Perkins Centre lecture examining whether responses to COVID-19 tell us something about modernity and the shifting compacts between citizens, experts and state. Book your tickets and learn more here. 

Vale

The Academy strives to keep you informed, including sharing sad news of Fellows’ passing. Notices are posted on Twitter and in our monthly newsletter, though delays may occur if we receive information after publication. Please help by sharing the Vale section with your networks where appropriate and notifying us of any Fellow’s passing. We appreciate your understanding. 

The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia.

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which our national office is located, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, and

to their elders past, present and future.