SDSC team awarded $1 million grant

As Australia faces growing strategic uncertainty, preparing and educating the next generation of strategic leaders is an urgent necessity. Along with its internationally recognised research and teaching programs, the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) meets this need by creating innovative, world-class, research-based executive education.

SDSC’s ‘Strategic Policy for the Asia-Pacific in Transition’ Program has received a Department of Defence grant of $1,030,000 for 2022-25. The grant facilitates research into strategy and strategic policy in the Asia-Pacific; the further development of a suite of Professional Education Courses for Defence; and the creation of a new set of Senior Executive Working Seminars.

The 2022-25 program enables the project team to translate the results of their new academic research into policy training and co-creation of policy tools with practitioners using the new set of professional education courses and seminars. This process will help the Defence strategic policy workforce to improve strategic literacy and acquire new skills for shaping strategic thinking and policy.

The grant supports ongoing teamwork, led by the Shedden Professor of Strategic Policy Studies, Evelyn Goh, to help equip Australia to cope with the challenges of the rapidly changing regional and international strategic environments.

“I am delighted that we obtained this new tranche of funding after the stellar feedback the SDSC team received for the work we have undertaken so far. We are excited about taking this research-based policy engagement to new heights,” said Lead Chief Investigator Professor Evelyn Goh.

“This program is driven both by cutting-edge research into the fundamentals of 21st Century strategy and statecraft, and by deep policy engagement. It puts the Australian National University (ANU) in pole position to foster policy innovation through co-creation with key stakeholders in Australian strategic policy-making,” added Co-Chief Investigator Associate Professor Jochen Prantl.

Other members of the team are Professor Brendan Taylor, Associate Professor Amy King, and Dr Iain Henry. They will be joined by a new post-doctoral project associate in 2022.