Celebrating 20 years of AHURI

2019 marks 20 years of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Limited.

In 1999, joint funding commitments from the Australian and all state and territory governments established the National Housing Research Program and AHURI Limited – the independent, not-for-profit company at the centre of AHURI’s national network of policy makers, university and industry partners.

This commitment built upon the initial formation of AHURI as a partnership of institutions including RMIT, CSIRO, QUT and Monash University in 1993.

'Since 1999, AHURI’s mission has centred on the delivery of policy-relevant evidence that informs decision making and impacts better housing, homelessness, cities and urban outcomes,' says Executive Director, Dr Michael Fotheringham.

To celebrate the anniversary, AHURI is highlighting key milestones from the last twenty years: influential research, the establishment of key policy and practice frameworks, important PhD scholarships, significant conferences and events and substantial developments in housing, homelessness, cities and urban policy in Australia.

...this landmark is an opportunity to reflect on the broad range of services and communities AHURI has worked within.

'While the creation of influential, authoritative research is AHURI’s core priority, this landmark is an opportunity to reflect on the broad range of services and communities AHURI has worked within', says Adrian Harrington, Chair of AHURI’s Board.

In celebration of the organisation’s two decades, AHURI will interview leading housing researchers whose careers the organisation has aided as well as key policy leaders and practitioners who have utilised AHURI’s research in their decision-making and policy formation.

The commemoration will culminate in an interactive timeline on the AHURI website, highlighting case studies of research that have influenced the Australian housing and urban policy landscape and a special '20 years of AHURI' publication to be launched at the National Housing Conference in August.

This significant anniversary comes 12 months after the creation of AHURI’s new Strategic Plan, which guides the organisation until 2022. A robust Cities Research Program is the core of AHURI’s future plans to complement the successful and longstanding National Housing Research Program. AHURI’s new research priorities will be formulated in partnership with government and academic stakeholders along with vital input from specialists in community housing, finance, economics and the property sector.

'AHURI remains a proudly independent and national, wide-reaching network that has become an international role model for the delivery of policy relevant research,' says Dr Fotheringham. 'We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone and to continue to inform and influence policy for many more decades'.