La Trobe University > Research > Research centres and institutes > Centre for the Study of the Inland (CSI) > About us

About the Centre for the Study of the Inland

We are a research centre enriched through our interdisciplinarity, collaboration, community-led studies, and celebration of lived experience.

At the Centre for the Study of the Inland (CSI) we conduct rural and regional place-based research that examines social transformations, environmental change and equitable resource sharing. Our strength comes from our interdisciplinarity, collaboration and established community-led partnerships.

Since its inception in 2016, CSI has been integrating the humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences to address complex challenges facing rural and regional communities. We locate place-based social and environmental change within historical, spatial and cultural contexts to address pressing issues such as social cohesion and wellbeing, the sustainability of land and water resources, and the future of biodiversity. These challenges are interlinked and interdependent; addressing them requires strategies that are sustainable, equitable and holistic.

Our focus on the inland recognises that while the majority of Australians live on the coast, the nation is sustained by the land, waters and communities of the inland. A thriving inland is core to a thriving future for us all.

Our leading principles

  • we collaborate
  • we are community-led
  • we foster global connections
  • we partner with First Nations people and communities
  • we create enduring impact.

How we work

  • we study the past and the present for the future
  • we locate local experiences within regional, national and international scales
  • we work across temporal and spatial scales
  • we match expertise to research needs
  • we are committed to respectful partnerships and processes
  • we are guided by rigorous academic research ethics.

In June 2021 the centre launched CSI Asia, an initiative which brings Asia’s diverse inlands into focus. Our research expertise in this area has particular strengths on inland cities, the impacts of environmental change on the Himalayas, and agricultural change. We have a strong research focus on contemporary population movement as a consequence and driver of change.

CSI recognises the complexity of challenges facing rural and regional communities. We draw on established collaborations and bring deeply informed research to identify pathways to shape more equitable, resilient futures.

Who we work with

We work with community, indigenous and environmental organisations and all levels of government, as well as galleries, libraries, archives, and museums, and La Trobe University internal partners: