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OzProspect was founded in 2001 with the objective of developing new voices and new ideas in Australian public debate.  Employing funds from philanthropic foundations and individual donors, we support exceptionally promising individuals working in fields including journalism, economics, sociology, education, law, social work and environmental science.  OzProspect Fellows contribute to the most influential and widely read newspapers and journals in Australia, including The Australian, Australian Financial Review, BRW, The Bulletin, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Herald-Sun, and contribute commentary to AM, PM, Business Sunday and The 7.30 Report.

OzProspect is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation incorporated in Victoria. All donations to the OzProspect Research Fund over $2 are tax deductible.

Current Initiatives

For information on the OzProspect Fellowship program and other OzProspect initiatives follow this link

Our Philosophy

·         OzProspect is inspired by the principle that a healthy democratic society reverberates with a cacophony of different voices.  The most urgent issues facing Australians are best addressed in open public debate with numerous and diverse contributors.  We aim to reinvigorate political culture and offer imaginative alternatives to those frustrated with the pragmatic, partisan status quo. 

·         OzProspect has no fixed ideological agenda, other than a commitment to open, accountable government, sustainable economic development and a humane society.

·         OzProspect is a non-partisan, non-profit enterprise.

This essay by OzProspect Advisory Board member Mark Davis communicates forcefully the motivation behind our organisation.

Founding Director

Tim Watts  Tim is a Research Fellow with the Australia & New Zealand School of Government and Consultant with The Nous Group. He holds an MA in Political Economy from Northeastern University in Boston, where he spent several years as a US correspondent for BRW magazine.  He is the co-editor of Australia's Population Challenge which was published by Penguin in 2003.  Tim’s writing on the information economy and social policy has appeared in The Age, The Australian, BRW and Australian Financial Review.  He has been a guest commentator on The 7.30 Report and 774 ABC Radio in Melbourne, and was called to deliver expert testimony before the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into radiocommunications. Tim is also a co-founder and Director of Flo Carshare a revolutionary eco-friendly urban transport company.

Assistant Director

Emma Cahill  Emma is a graduate of RMIT’s journalism program and has worked as a media advisor to former Victoria MP and parliamentary secretary for the Arts, Lorraine Elliott. She is completing a law degree at Monash University and works on OzProspect’s fundraising activities and its lecture program in partnership with the State Library of Victoria.

Advisory Board

Mark Davis  Mark is the author of Gangland: Cultural Elites and the New Generationalism

Tim Flannery Tim is Director of the Museum of South Australia and author of The Future Eaters

Greg Barns  Greg is a columnist with The Hobart Mercury and author of What’s Wrong with the Liberal Party?

Kathy Bail  Kathy is Editor of The Bulletin and previously edited HQ and Rolling Stone

Lorraine Elliott Lorraine is a former Victorian Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts

Professor Cheryl Saunders AO Cheryl teaches at University of Melbourne Law School

Dr Fiona Stewart  Fiona lives in Darwin & is founder of consumer rights website NotGoodEnough.org

Hugh Martin Hugh is assistant editor, features at The Age and co-editor of Australia’s Population Challenge

Full Bios of Board

OzProspect and New America Foundation

OzProspect is modelled on the ground-breaking New America Foundation in Washington, DC.  OzProspect Director Tim Watts spent several years working alongside New America’s President, Ted Halstead, and founded OzProspect equipped with the benefit of that experience.

New America’s board includes Francis Fukuyama, author of Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity; Laura D’Andrea Tyson, Dean of the London Business School; James Fallows, National Correspondent at The Atlantic Monthly; and Eric Schmidt, Chairman of Google.  Founded in 1999, its annual budget in 2001 was $US2.5 million.  The largest donations to date have come from the Ford Foundation, the Markle Foundation and the Packard Foundation.  In 2002, it provided more contributions to the opinion pages of the Los Angeles Times and New York Times then any other research organisation.

OzProspect Supporters

The Myer Foundation

The Foundation for Young Australians

The Vizard Foundation

The Brencorp Foundation

State Library of Victoria

OzProspect is registered with the Australian Tax Office as a tax-deductible gift recipient.  All donations to the OzProspect research fund over $2 are tax deductible. For information on supporting OzProspect follow this link

Contact Information

Contact information for OzProspect is available here