The Institute for Sustainable Futures offers an award winning postgraduate program for Masters and PhD students. 

We're tackling some of the most complex sustainability challenges facing our world, and this calls for innovative approaches. We take a holistic view that looks not just to technological solutions, but also the political, socio-cultural, organisational and individual factors that contribute to real change.

We welcome applications from students conducting research within the field of international development. For more information about ISF's postgraduate program, click here. 

The following topic areas within the field of development effectiveness are of interest to ISF:

  • Implementing the sustainable development goals – what will it take? What are the opportunities and challenges associated with the SDGs? 
  • What counts as evidence to inform policy and programming?
  • Integrating complexity concepts into the delivery and evaluation of aid
  • Innovative approaches to assessing aid effectiveness
  • Strengths-based approaches to development
  • The role of social accountability approaches and citizen voice in improving basic services

The following research topics within the field of water, sanitation and hygiene are also of interest to ISF

  • integrated approaches to urban sanitation planning and decision making (economics, public health and environment)
  • making rights real: approaches to translate the human rights to water and sanitation into on-the-ground action
  • monitoring and evaluating gender equality outcomes in the context of WASH
  • climate change and WASH: evolving theory and practice
  • new approaches to sector monitoring in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals
  • strategies to build the WASH sector workforce and meet capacity development needs
  • rural water supply: determinants and approaches for sustainable services

ISF’s international development work is focused in the Asia-Pacific. Our current country priorities in Asia include Indonesia, Vietnam, Timor-Leste as well as Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh. In the Pacific our country priorities include Vanuatu, Kiribati, Fiji and Solomon Islands.

We contribute to development practice, policy and theory across five key areas: Development effectiveness, Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Climate change adaptation, Urban planning and city development and Energy policy and planning