About the lab

The Sydney Policy Lab was created by the University of Sydney in 2018 to be a non-partisan space where people from all walks of life gather to set the agenda, experiment and make public policy that transforms lives.

The Lab’s prime focus is on and with the community. To kickstart a new ecosystem of public policy research and development, our projects build on deep relationships with civil society organisations, government and philanthropy. We prioritise working with people who have been excluded from decision-making, leadership and power.

Past collaborations include:

• addressing the crises in our care systems through People’s Assemblies and online Care Labs
• co-designing principles for a National Disability Data Asset with disability community organisations
• learning from the Refugee Youth Policy Initiative in partnership with Multicultural NSW
• convening civil society to rapidly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This work reflects our community-centred, multidisciplinary, exploratory and applied approach to public policy. That means:

• being led by the community in work on the issues that matter to them
• drawing on the broad academic and lived expertise of the University and our collaborators
• taking an experimental approach to complex challenges
• seeking tangible impact that transforms people’s lives.

We recognise we work on lands of the oldest continuous cultures in the world. We respect this cultural knowledge and custodianship, and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to embed Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing into how we research and relate to each other.