What are the social sciences? What do they cover? And who’s involved – as students, teachers, scholars and professionals?
How do the social sciences contribute to society? How are they funded? What are their strengths and weaknesses, within disciplines and across sectors? What are the success stories? And what are the ‘grand societal challenges’ that will need social science research, training and expertise to overcome?
These are just some of the questions that the Academy set out to answer with its inaugural State of the Social Sciences report; consulting with hundreds of stakeholders from schools, vocational education and training, universities, government, not-for-profit and private sector organisations.
The landmark report was published in 2021, on the Academy’s 50th anniversary. It provided for the first time an estimate of the number of people involved in social science education, research and professional practice across different parts of society, it laid out key challenges for the sector, along with nine grand challenges that remain highly relevant today, and it provided reflective sector snapshots across schooling, VET, Higher Ed and research.
Importantly, the 2021 report took an honest look at the social sciences in relation to Australia’s First Nations, including the past and ongoing harms of colonial systems and research practices, disproportionate involvement, the need for genuine reconciliation and the importance of indigenous data governance and sovereignty.
This report served the Academy well: guiding our reconciliation journey, highlighting schooling needs that are being addressed by our Seriously Social school education program, and guiding the focus of symposia, lectures and policy work over the subsequent years.
Social Sciences for Australia’s Future
Five years on, in 2026, the world has continued to change, with AI, geopolitics, misinformation and challenges to democracy all having come to the fore. With a view to how the social sciences support Australia to respond to and prepare for immense change, the Academy is leading the development of the Social Sciences for Australia’s Future report. The report will explore the investment in education, research and capability-building to ensure Australia can meet the complex challenges of the decades ahead.
Steering Committee
- Professor Fred D’Agostino FAHA
- Professor Kate Darian-Smith FASSA (Chair)
- Professor Amanda Davies
- Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM FAA PresFTSE
- Associate Professor Elise Klein AO
- Professor Deborah Lupton FASSA FAHMS
- Professor Sarah Pink FASSA
- Professor Adam Possamai FASSA
- Professor Peter Shergold AC FASSA
- Professor Mark Western FASSA
Ethics
Consultation and research activities for the Social Sciences for Australia’s Future have been approved by the University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (2025/HE002214)
Timeframe
The Social Sciences for Australia’s Future report will be launched at Parliament House in Canberra on 11 August, 2026. More details will follow soon.
