CAPPE
BACKGROUND
The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) is an Australian Research Council Special Research Centre. CAPPE commenced operations in 2000 and is the world’s largest concentration of applied philosophers. Spanning three of Australia’s most prestigious universities our purpose is to connect rigorous philosophical thinking with policy input, community discussion, and professional aims.
CAPPE aims to assist members of the community to make more ethically informed choices by making available the considerable resources of the rich tradition in philosophical theory, as well as other information, such as empirical research and the statement of fundamental human rights in international instruments of human rights.
CAPPE aims to combine frontier research in social and applied philosophy with close attention to the concrete problems and requirements of practitioners in the public sphere. It also draws on The Australian National University (www.anu.edu.au ), Charles Sturt University (www.csu.edu.au ) and University of Melbourne (www.unimelb.edu.au ) social and natural scientists, lawyers, economists and others to make up effective research teams. Our blend of depth in research and presence in the public sphere not only sets our work apart from otherwise comparable centres, but the interplay between these different elements improves the quality and relevance of the research and its impact on public life.
6 INTEGRATED RESEARCH AREAS
The Centre's work is organised around six integrated research areas
- Business and Professional Ethics
- Criminal Justice Ethics
- Ethical Issues in Biotechnology
- Ethical Issues in Political Violence and State Sovereignty
- IT and Nanotechnology: Ethics of Emergent Technology
- Justice and the human good
ADVISORY BOARD
The Centre's Advisory Board is made up of eminent people chosen to provide advice and guidance. It has the responsibility to promote the highest standards of research and research training and to advise the Director and the Vice-Chancellors on matters relating to the Centre. Specifically, it promotes the work of the Centre in the wider community in Australia and overseas, develops initiatives to attract funds and advises on and promotes collaborative research activities with other universities and organisations in the professions. More
REVIEW OF THE CENTRE BY
THE AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL
In 2005, the Centre underwent a major review by the Australian Research Council. The outcome of that review was extremely favourable. To quote from the Review Panel report –
The Review Panel concluded that CAPPE is expanding the scale and impact of its research and program development and is continuing to perform exceptionally well. The quality and quantity of its research is impressive and its operative model and process of public engagement have been receiving significant international recognition. It has a wide range of industry partners who are strongly supportive of its work and international partnerships that offer sustainable increasing potential. Its earned revenue is growing correspondingly.
As a result of the Review, the Centre received funding from the ARC for a further three years (2006-2008). Recently the Centre has received funding from the three universities for the triennium 2009 to 2011.
Download a copy of the ARC report (208KB PDF download)