Research Strategy

We will identify and trial place-based ways to move towards more sustainable and equitable futures and, in the process, support achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We understand the strategic opportunity that the Commission has to commission, convene, and coordinate research across the Six Cities Region. We are collaborating closely with other parts of government, industry, local communities and research partners to deliver outcomes that will transform planning and development across the six cities.

Research position statement

The Commission invests in research to:

• extend the evidence-base to inform strategic city planning across the Six Cities Region
• enhance the growth and competitiveness of our innovation districts
• provide thought leadership and insights on key issues that impact our cities and region.

We do this by:

• taking a transdisciplinary, systemic approach to research leveraging our strengths to collaborate and connect research needs and impacts across government, industry and the community
• focusing on research impact, ensuring our research provides new insights and practical outcomes to inform investment, policy settings, and planning and development approaches
• valuing end-to-end engagement with our research partners, codeveloping research questions and approaches, and ensuring we involve those who will own and/or be impacted by the outcomes of our research
• placing ethics, inclusivity, and collaborative, cross-sectoral relationships at the core of our research approach. 

Our role

The Commission has a unique role as a connector and collaborator across the Six Cities Region. We recognise that sometimes we will be best placed to lead or convene research, and at others our efforts may be better directed to advise and influence research through our involvement in steering committees or advocating for change.

Find out more about our role in research (PDF, 1.93MB)launch.

Our approach

We will work closely with our partners who share common challenges, identifying opportunities for collaboration at different scales across our cities and region. The complex nature of city and regionally oriented research means we need to take a transdisciplinary approach that seeks input, collaboration and integration of diverse perspectives and knowledge to co-design research questions with those most impacted by the research.

Discover our approach (PDF, 1.93MB)launch.

Our partners

We will seek new and diverse partnerships to extend our thinking and leverage well developed research programs from our local and global partners to deliver impacts across the Six Cities Region.

• Government and industry - We will seek new and diverse partnerships to extend our thinking and leverage well developed research programs from our local and global.
• Community - We will seek new and diverse partnerships to extend our thinking and leverage well developed research programs from our local and global.
• Universities, research and learning institutes - We will seek new and diverse partnerships to extend our thinking and leverage well developed research programs from our local and global.
• Global partners - We will seek new and diverse partnerships to extend our thinking and leverage well developed research programs from our local and global.

Read more about our partners (PDF, 1.93MB)launch.

Find out more

The complete strategy, including our research priorities, approach, partners and information on our innovation districts, is available below.