Institute for
Social Science Research

Message from our Director

PROFESSOR LISA McDAID
Director, ISSR

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since I was given the privilege to take over as the new Director of ISSR.

Stepping into the role has been a wonderful opportunity, albeit a little daunting given the large shoes that were left to fill by Professor Mark Western. As many of you know, Mark was the inaugural Director of ISSR, who, over 14 years, created and nurtured a strong legacy for the Institute. Since arriving in Australia in 2019, I was fortunate to work alongside and learn from Mark, and I want to publicly thank him for his support and guidance, and for creating an Institute with a renowned reputation built on strong foundations and values. There is nowhere quite like it.

How time flies. I commenced as Director in March 2022 with a remit to capitalise on ISSR’s existing strengths and to respond to the recommendations of the ISSR 2021 Review. My vision for the Institute therefore is designed as a roadmap – a theory of change – to build on the respected reputation of ISSR and to take the ISSR model to scale. It sets forth new directions to ensure that, as an Institute, we remain impactful and innovative to sustain the reputation of Australia’s leading social science research institution – especially now, when under such rapid change, the social sciences are needed more than ever to develop effective, practical, and inclusive solutions to current and future societal challenges.

ISSR’s strength is our people, and success will be solely based on the staff and students who are committed to making meaningful difference in people’s lives by working in a specialist research environment that seeks to produce rigorous research with impact in a largely non-traditional context. In addition, ISSR will continue to train and develop the next generation of social science research leaders who are dedicated to make an impact through partner-engaged research and who earn the trust of the communities affected by our work.

ISSR continues to build on our critical mass in education, health, and social disadvantage. Amongst the leadership change and external budgetary pressures, our highly skilled and agile workforce has continued to secure and maintain a diversified income portfolio in 2022. Our partnerships extend across Commonwealth and State Government, the not-for-profit sector, and across academia – delivering high quality, impactful research evidence that is highly cited and has substantial international reach, while being grounded in the real-world needs of our partners and funders.

Throughout the past year and moving into 2023, the higher education sector and society more broadly are still being impacted by the pandemic. These impacts continue to affect our staff and students both professionally and personally. I therefore want to express my sincere gratitude to ISSR’s staff and students, for not only their incredible efforts, but also their resilience and continued collegiality through 2022. It is a great pleasure to work alongside all of you.

This must inform the next steps for ISSR, and I look forward to working with the ISSR community – staff, students, stakeholders, partners, and funders – to continue to shape our future as a renowned and purposeful social science research institute that advances problem-orientated research to support a sustainable future for us all.

Professor Lisa McDaid
Director, ISSR