Iain Butterworth

Trained in community psychology, I connect the disciplines of public health, urban development, community psychology and community development. I am the founder of Iain Butterworth and Associates, a specialist Healthy Cities and Liveability consultancy. I am an Honorary Associate Professor with RMIT University’s School of Global, Urban and Social Studies.

I hold a PhD in community psychology (Victoria University), A Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (Deakin University), a Graduate Diploma in Community/Organisational Psychology (Curtin University) and a Bachelor of Applied Science [Psychology] (Curtin University). In 2001, my doctoral research on environmental adult education received the American Psychological Association’s 'Emory L Cowan Dissertation Award for the Promotion of Wellness'.

Throughout my career, I have worked across Australia in state government, local government, universities, NGOs and private practice. As a policy entrepreneur, I provide an interface between citizens, the knowledge community, and the policy community.

I helped establish HIV support services in the Northern Territory from 1990-1991. From 1992-1995 I led a community capacity building portfolio with the Brain Injury Association of NSW. Following my doctoral studies, from 2000-2003 I helped develop and implement the Victorian Government’s municipal public health planning framework, Environments for Health. During 2003-4 I was a Fulbright Scholar at the School of Public Health University of California at Berkeley, where I investigated the WHO Healthy Cities Program under the mentorship of its co-founder, Prof Leonard Duhl. In 2017 I received the Australian Fulbright Alumni Initiative Grant to return to Berkeley’s Institute for Urban and Regional Development. For this second visit, I represented the UN Global Compact – Cities Programme, as an Urban Scholar.

Whilst leading a population health portfolio at DHHS from 2010-2018, I led the establishment of the Place Health and Liveability research partnership between the University of Melbourne and DHHS. This team has since become the Healthy Liveable Cities Group at RMIT. The Victorian Liveability policy research program has been built iteratively through deep engagement with local Councils, which I helped to facilitate from within DHHS.

Work from the Healthy Liveable Cities Group has informed Plan Melbourne, the Victorian Public Health & Wellbeing Plan, and municipal public health and wellbeing planning across Victoria. Research findings also informed a special edition of the Lancet on urban design, transport and health, which was launched at the UN in 2016.

Working as a consultant, I have continued my close engagement with the Healthy Liveable Cities Group. Recently we have been working closely with the Bangkok Municipal Administration, to explore and document the application of liveability indicators in low-to-middle-income countries. During 2020 I have been supporting interface Councils to use the Liveability framework, and RMIT’s new Australian Urban Observatory, to gain a deeper understanding of how to ensure adequate provision of social infrastructure across Melbourne’s growth areas.