The Caring Futures Institute, Australia’s first research institute dedicated to the study of self-care and caring solutions, is celebrating its second anniversary.

Since it commenced in August 2019, the Institute has gone from strength to strength as it encourages change in how we care for ourselves and others throughout life.

Researchers at the Institute have been very successful in highly competitive funding pursuits, having been awarded $17.4 million in funding revenue in 2020. The leadership team and those working behind the scenes have developed a suite of support for the Institute’s 226 members – a number which is steadily growing. These members have contributed to 263 distinct publications through 2020 and capacity has been further boosted with recruitment of professorial, research-only and jointly funded positions.

Foundational Director and Knowledge Translation Lead Professor Alison Kitson says that while the Institute’s vision is ambitious, it on track to become the leading expert in this field of research.

“We have established valuable formal partnerships and progressed heavily towards our vision of becoming makers of impact and change. As the Foundational Director, I set out an ambitious yet exciting path for the Institute to drive evidence and end user-informed improvements across health and care systems,” says Professor Kitson.

Professor Kitson also welcomes the Institute’s new Director, Professor Raymond Chan, an internationally renowned cancer nurse leader and researcher who has a stellar track record in the area of cancer survivorship.

“I am confident Ray will help build our capacity and vision for change and he has all the qualities we are looking for in a transformational leader who will set the path towards excellence,” says Professor Kitson.

“Our vision is to change care in the world and to create better lives, better communities, better care and better systems. With Ray on board, as well as our passionate and high performing researchers and valued supporters, we’re one step closer to achieving this.”