APO curates, archives and disseminates public policy and research published by organisations such as government, universities, think tanks and not-for profits. This collection of research reports, evaluations, policy and strategy documents, discussion papers and other resources is made openly accessible to support evidence-informed policy– and decision-making. APO began in 2002 at Swinburne University. The Susan McKinnon Foundation commenced funding and hosting APO in December 2023 to continue the work of this open access evidence platform.
What we’re working to achieve
APO’s mission is to become an indispensable tool for government policymakers tackling Australia’s pressing challenges.
APO believes one of the best ways to improve public policy is for the best available research evidence to be integrated into decision-making. And the best way to achieve evidence-informed decision-making is to make research and policy freely available through open access.
How we are doing it
Collect: APO’s searchable digital repository is a rich collection of material published by organisations on any public policy issue – covering Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Our resources are sourced from a wide range of organisations involved in policy such as government, agencies, universities, research institutes, not-for-profits, and think tanks. APO creates rigorous metadata for every resource so it is discoverable and searchable on APO and across internet search engines.
Connect: APO is an essential resource and we keep our audience informed and connected to the latest in policy and practice through our free newsletter service.
Collaborate: Working together is at the heart of what we do. As a not-for-profit collaborative knowledge infrastructure, APO works with partners and contributors from government, universities and other organisations to increase the use of research evidence by building engagement with curated collections and tracking impact.
With over 800,000 website users each year and 15,000 newsletter subscribers, APO is a leading public policy repository in Australasia and the world. This essential service provides a bridge between researchers and policymakers in government, not-for-profits and industry.
APO was founded in 2002 as ‘Australian Policy Online’ and hosted by Swinburne University of Technology for over 21 years. In December 2023, APO partnered with the Susan McKinnon Foundation to continue to provide open access to policy and research published by organisations.