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Institute for Rural Futures - Mission

The Mission of the Institute for Rural Futures (IRF) is based on the words penned by retired Aboriginal drover and author, Herb Wharton, who wrote:

“...learn from the past, try to understand the present, and feel inspired to help plan a better future for all Australians.”

To Learn from the Past

Public policy making on rural issues often ignores the lessons of history in the need for immediate action. The Institute's research is informed by an understanding of the origins of today's rural issues in the history of rural Australia and in the policy decisions of the past. These manifest themselves in the interrelated resource and environmental, social and economic pressures rural Australia now faces.

To Understand the Present

The issues that face rural and regional Australia are complex and difficult to resolve. The processes of change that lead to the emergence of these issues are not well understood. The Institute aims, through its research work, to contribute to equitable and effective policy-making and program delivery through research that improves the understanding of these processes of change.

To Help Plan a Better Future

A better future for rural Australia can be achieved, not only through more effective and informed policy-making, but also through meaningful community participation and learning. The Institute aims, through the development of innovative participatory and ‘action-learning’ research processes, to assist rural communities in more satisfying and effective engagement with the issues that affect them.

Focus and Objectives

Focus - The Focus of the Institute is on:
Change – in identifying and documenting the social, economic and environmental impacts of change.

Aims - With collaborators, the Institute Aims to:
Build an integrated understanding of complex and interrelated social, economic and environmental issues, and seeks to build knowledge based policy and solutions for rural areas.

Objective - The decade long Objective for the Institute is to:
Contribute knowledge, policy analysis and adaptive capacity to meet identified and predictable pressures of change on rural Australia.
It is only through the understanding of these processes and impacts of change that rural and regional communities can plan for the future. The Institute’s work will assist rural communities to engage and adapt more satisfactorily with the issues that affect them.