Professor Anika Gauja joined the ARC as Executive Director for the Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences in January 2023.
Prior to this, Anika was Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney, and previously Director of Research Development (Social Sciences).
An internationally renowned political scientist, Anika’s research has made significant contributions to our understanding of democracy, political participation, and representation in Australia and across the globe. Anika has expertise in elections, democratic decline and resilience, campaign finance and party politics, and a strong track record of interdisciplinary research and cross-sector collaboration.
She has worked extensively with multiple international research teams and has held visiting fellowships at the Australian National University, the Universities of Sheffield and Exeter (UK), University Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and Sciences Po, Paris.
Throughout her career, Anika has developed research partnerships with government agencies and non-government organisations. With a strong emphasis on public communication and social impact, her research has been utilised in parliamentary inquiries, policy reports, judicial decisions and the media.