Paul Flatau

Professor Paul Flatau is the Chair in Social Investment and Impact and Director of the Centre for Social Impact at the UWA Business School. He commenced at the Centre for Social Impact at the UWA Business School (CSI UWA) in December 2010.

The CSI UWA is part of a national initiative under the CSI banner with affiliate centres at the University of New South Wales, and Swinburne University.

The CSI UWA is concerned with the design, financing, provision, and leadership of social programs and activities and with the assessment and evaluation of the social impact of programs and activities. Its key aim is to develop the research evidence base around actions that create beneficial social impact and developing policy and community dialogue around that impact. Social impact refers to all forms of significant change experienced by individuals and communities. This includes income and labour market impacts, education impacts, social inclusion and relationship changes, mental and physical health effects, and overall impact on quality of life and well-being.

The CSI UWA runs a very strong program of public lectures and workshops. It also runs two major public engagement programs, namely, the Social Impact Festival and the Indigenous Business, Enterprise and Corporations Conference (IBEC Conference). The 2016 Social Impact Festival ran for a week and involved 35 events including research seminars, daily breakfasts, dialogue sessions, a Social MarketPlace involving twenty odd social enterprises and a ethical fashion show, and an impact investing pitch event.

Paul has over 100 publications (70 refereed) in the fields of economics, social policy and social impact. Much of Paul’s work in recent years has involved close contact with the not-for-profit sector, social enterprises, with government partners and with industry and philanthropists. Paul has made significant contributions to the history of economic thought and labour economics and the analysis of social and economic outcomes. Much of his recent work examines the effectiveness of programs and interventions in Indigenous housing, poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and housing.