Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA)

The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) promotes excellence in the social sciences in Australia and in their contribution to public policy.

The social sciences are a group of like-minded academic disciplines that work on systematic development of logic and evidence to understand human behaviour in its social setting, including the nature of economic, political, and community activity and institutions.

ASSA coordinates the promotion of research, teaching and advice in the social sciences, promotes national and international scholarly cooperation across disciplines and sectors, comments on national needs and priorities in the social sciences, and provides advice to government on issues of national importance.

Established in 1971, replacing its parent body the Social Science Research Council of Australia (founded in 1942), the Academy is an independent, interdisciplinary body of elected Fellows. Fellows are elected by their peers for their distinguished achievements and exceptional contributions made to the social sciences across 18 disciplines.

The Academy is an autonomous, non-governmental organisation, devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the various social sciences.

The Academy is composed of four Panels of Fellows, each including several disciplines:

• Panel A:  Anthropology, Demography, Geography, Linguistics, Sociology, Management.
• Panel B:  Accounting, Economics, Economic History, Marketing, Statistics.
• Panel C:  History, Law, Philosophy, Political Science.
• Panel D: Education, Psychology, Social Medicine.