Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences

What Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences does

Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences (QAAS) is a self-funded, non-profit learned society founded in 2004 and modeled on the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. It is headquartered at The University of Queensland in Indooroopilly, Queensland, and operates under the patronage of the Governor of Queensland with the support of all Queensland university Vice-Chancellors. Its purpose is to promote excellence in the arts and sciences, stimulate interdisciplinary activity across the arts-sciences boundary, and provide independent scholarship and advice on social and public policy.

QAAS runs a portfolio of intellectual programs rather than a software product. Core offerings include the Food for Thought publication series, the quarterly 'Data Science in the News' webinar series co-hosted with QUT's Data Science Centre, the Regional and Remote Queensland research feature, the LabNorth initiative at James Cook University, the annual John O'Hagan Lecture, and policy publications such as Voices from the Pandemic (2024). The underlying technology stack is light: a HarmonySite CMS website, RSS feeds for news and events, Zoom for webinars, and YouTube for recorded content. There is no proprietary software, app, or API product.

The Academy's revenue model is subscription-based membership (Fellow, Companion, Member, and Constituent organisation categories) supplemented by corporate sponsorship. Membership is gated by nomination and Council approval. With six employees and no external investors, QAAS operates as a small member-led organisation whose growth is governed by the volunteer capacity of its Council and the willingness of partners and sponsors to support its programming.

Name

Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences

Legal name

Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences

Website

https://qldacademy.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

QAAS is a self-funded, non-profit learned society headquartered at the University of Queensland that promotes interdisciplinary scholarship in the arts and sciences for Fellows, Members, and policymakers across Queensland, funded by membership fees and sponsorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Learned Society and Scholarly Membership Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Humanities & Creative Research Universities (EDAHABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities (EDAHABAD), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD), Cultural, Arts & Humanities Community Education (Museums/Arts Councils) (EDAAAFAD)

Keywords

• Learned society services
• Interdisciplinary academic programs
• Scholarly publications series
• Public policy advisory
• University research collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

Indooroopilly

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Revenue from membership subscriptions including Fellow, Companion, Member, and Constituent organisation categories. The Academy is self-funded with all revenue directed to running operations.
2. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorship for events and general operations. Contact: Treasurer Fred D'Agostino

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences is a self-funded non-profit learned society that promotes excellence in arts and sciences through membership tiers (Fellow, Companion, Member, Constituent organisation), publications (Food for Thought newsletter, Voices from the Pandemic report), educational events (webinars, Annual Dinner with John O'Hagan Lecture), and interdisciplinary initiatives (LabNorth, Regional and Remote Queensland feature). It also provides independent scholarship and advice for social and public policy, operating from its headquarters at The University of Queensland.

Product overview

Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences operates as a learned society offering a portfolio of intellectual programs including the Food for Thought publication series, the Data Science in the News webinar series (in partnership with QUT), the Regional and Remote Queensland research feature, and the LabNorth arts initiative. The Academy also produces publications including its Constitution, Annual Reports, and thematic reports like Voices from the Pandemic, and hosts the annual John O'Hagan Lecture. These offerings serve to promote excellence in arts and sciences and facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration across Queensland's academic community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food for Thought A periodic newsletter curated by Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino featuring current work by Fellows of the Academy across arts, sciences, and public policy. Intended for QAAS Fellows, Members, and the broader scholarly community.
• Data Science in the News Webinar Series A quarterly webinar series co-hosted with QUT's Data Science Centre featuring expert discussions on data science topics relevant to current events and policy. Open to QAAS Fellows and Members, with recordings uploaded to YouTube.
• Regional and Remote Queensland A regular feature highlighting the work of fellows and members in regional and remote Queensland, covering topics from drought resilience to arts in northern Australia.
• LabNorth A collaboration of arts experts, practitioners and supporters in northern Australia, based at the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing at James Cook University. Focused on creative futures and regional arts development in northern Australia.
• Annual Dinner with John O'Hagan Lecture The Academy's flagship annual event featuring distinguished guest speakers, including the John O'Hagan Lecture series delivered by eminent figures such as Peter Doherty AC (2016) and Dr Alan Finkel AO (2018).
• Voices from the Pandemic A 2024 report published following Round Tables organized by the QAAS President on the COVID-19 experience, documenting scholarly perspectives on the pandemic.
• QAAS Membership (Fellow, Companion, Member, Constituent Organisation) Tiered membership offering providing post-nominal designations (FQA, CQA, MQA), access to scholarly events, publications, webinars, and an interdisciplinary network. Fellows and Companions are nominated by existing members; Members may self-nominate and are approved by Council.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• QUT Data Science CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree times a year QAAS combines with QUT's Data Science Centre to host a Webinar series called 'Data Science in the News'. The webinars are held on a Friday for an hour starting at midday and are uploaded to YouTube. This is a regular collaborative educational program for QAAS Fellows and Members featuring expert panels on data science topics in the news.
• James Cook University (Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLabNorth is a collaboration of Arts experts, practitioners and supporters in northern Australia, based in the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing at James Cook University. The initiative 'Creative Futures in the North' aims to establish a working consortium of researchers, practitioners and local government authorities to develop research and practical collaboration in arts activities among regional communities in Northern Australia.
• TNQ Drought Hub (Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQAAS partnered with the TNQ Drought Hub at James Cook University to host the 'Rebalancing Regional & Remote Australia' Forum in December 2024. The forum addressed proposals to develop regional and remote Australia ecologically, socially and economically with the goal of capturing 10 gigatonnes of CO2 annually.
• University of QueenslandcoreOthersThe Academy is headquartered at The University of Queensland and maintains close working relationships with all Queensland universities. The patron is the Governor of Queensland and all university Vice-Chancellors support the Academy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• State Library of Queensland: Adjacent — a Queensland cultural/educational institution collaborating in similar civic-knowledge programming and serving as a potential programming partner.
• Australian Council of Learned Academies: Adjacent — the umbrella body for Australia's four learned academies, providing research synthesis and policy briefs to government that complement QAAS's convening role.
• Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre: Adjacent — hosts academic/scientific conferences in Queensland, a venue alternative if QAAS sought to scale its flagship annual dinner and lecture programming.

Broad incumbents

• Australian Academy of Science: Broader incumbent — the Australia's national science academy with Fellow membership and policy advisory functions, overlapping with QAAS's science and public policy remit.
• Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering: Broader incumbent — one of Australia's five learned academies, providing parallel fellowship, policy advice, and event programming across STEM domains intersecting with QAAS.
• Australian Academy of the Humanities: Broader incumbent — Australia's national humanities academy, paralleling QAAS's arts/humanities fellowship work at a national level.

Direct peers

• Royal Society of Victoria: Direct peer — state-level learned society delivering lectures, publications, and academic networking in a comparable member-based nonprofit model.
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Direct peer — QAAS explicitly models its mission, membership structure, and publications on this U.S. learned society spanning arts, sciences, and policy.
• Royal Society of New South Wales: Direct peer — Australia's oldest learned society, operating a similar state-level model of lectures, publications, fellowship, and policy engagement.
• Royal Society of Edinburgh: Direct peer — QAAS is explicitly modelled on the Royal Society of Edinburgh, sharing its role as a membership-based learned society fostering interdisciplinary knowledge and policy advice within a defined region/nation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/queensland-academy-of-arts-and-sciences

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences