Strengthening Regional Economies Through Place-Based Investment

Researchers at the Centre for Social Impact UNSW have been awarded $523,000 in Australian Research Council Discovery funding to investigate how regional communities can attract investment that builds sustainable and inclusive economies.

Led by Centre Director Professor Danielle Logue, alongside Professor Hokyu Hwang, Dr Yi Zhao and Associate Professor Melissa Edwards, the project will examine how government, business and philanthropic capital can be strategically combined to generate long-term social and economic value.

Building Lasting Civic Wealth

The CSI UNSW research team will analyse real-world examples of place-based investment to identify the organisational structures and governance models that enable communities to build enduring civic wealth.  

“Place-based investment has enormous potential to strengthen regional economies. When local people have genuine influence over how capital is structured and deployed, they are better positioned to build lasting shared prosperity,” said Professor Logue.

“This project builds on CSI UNSW’s research into impact investing, which demonstrates how capital can deliver both financial performance and measurable social value. We are extending on that work to explore how place-based investment can strengthen communities over the long term.”

Learn more about impact investing: Benchmarking Impact: Australian Impact Investor Insights, Activity and Performance Report 2025