The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

What The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences does

The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) is an Australian non-profit membership-based advocacy organization founded in 2004 to represent the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) sector. It serves approximately 20,000 HASS professionals indirectly through its member organizations, which span peak bodies, universities (including Group of Eight institutions), research centres, professional associations, museums and libraries, performing arts companies, and national collecting institutions. The organization is governed by an elected Board under President Frank Bongiorno AM and managed day-to-day by Executive Officer Sally Daly.

CHASS's core products and services center on advocacy and convening rather than technology. Its portfolio includes the biennial Congress of HASS, the annual Social Sciences Week, the CHASS National Forum, a weekly e-newsletter, a free Jobs & Scholarships Board, and several prize programs (the $2,000 Future Leaders Writing Prize, the $2,000 Prize for Distinctive Work in HASS, the $10,000 People Places Prize, and the FLASH Awards). Digital delivery is built on the ClubExpress website platform, with member authentication, event registration, newsletter distribution, and a membership directory.

The business model is a hybrid of recurring membership subscriptions (tiered by member organization category such as G8 University Partners, Professional Association Small/Medium, Research Centres, and Industry Partners), event ticket sales (with member discounts), and event sponsorships (e.g., Taylor & Francis sponsoring the 2025 Congress). Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: CHASS aggregates demand across HASS disciplines, conducts joint advocacy to government, and converts that membership base into biennial Congress attendance and ongoing newsletter engagement. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Legal name

The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Website

https://chass.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CHASS is an Australian non-profit founded in 2004 that provides advocacy, events, prizes, and publications for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences sector, representing approximately 20,000 professionals through member universities, peak bodies, research centres, and professional associations across Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Advocacy and Sector Representation

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Affairs & Government Relations (MPAAADAE)

Keywords

• Sector advocacy services
• Membership organization
• Academic conference events
• Scholarship prizes
• Humanities research support

Headquarters

HQ city

Preston South

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: CHASS generates revenue through organizational membership fees from universities, professional associations, peak bodies, and other HASS sector organizations. Member organizations pay fees based on category (e.g., University Partners G8, Professional Association Small/Medium, Research Centres, Industry Partners).
2. Event tickets: Revenue generated from ticket sales for CHASS events including Congress of HASS, with members offered discounted tickets.
3. Sponsorships: CHASS receives sponsorship support for events, such as the Academic Freedom Symposium sponsored by Taylor & Francis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CHASS is a membership-based advocacy organization representing Australia's Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) sector. It provides sector advocacy and government representation, hosts the biennial Congress of HASS conference and annual Social Sciences Week events, administers prize programs (Writing Prize, Distinctive Work Prize, FLASH Awards), publishes a weekly e-newsletter, and operates a Jobs & Scholarships Board for member organizations.

Product overview

The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) operates as a membership-based advocacy organization for the HASS sector in Australia, not as a unified software product. The organization provides a portfolio of membership services including the Jobs & Scholarships Board and weekly CHASS Newsletter. CHASS administers several prize programs including the CHASS Future Leaders Writing Prize ($2000), the CHASS Prize for Distinctive Work in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences ($2000), the Student Prize (currently not running), and FLASH Awards. The organization hosts major events including the biennial Congress of HASS and annual Social Sciences Week. CHASS also publishes research papers and occasional publications on topics relevant to the humanities, arts, and social sciences sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Services CHASS membership services providing access to job and scholarship listings, event listings, weekly newsletter, profiling opportunities, social media support, advocacy representation, and discounted event tickets for HASS sector professionals and organizations.
• Congress of HASS Biennial Congress of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences bringing together HASS researchers, academics, and practitioners for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and professional networking.
• CHASS Future Leaders Writing Prize $2000 prize awarded to future leaders for written work from the perspective of Humanities, Arts or Social Sciences. Open to Australian citizens or permanent residents under 35 years of age.
• CHASS Prize for Distinctive Work in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Prize recognizing performances, exhibitions, research projects, or advances in policy development in any HASS field. Winners receive $2000 and promotion through CHASS channels.
• Social Sciences Week Annual event celebrating and showcasing diverse social sciences disciplines and research in Australia with various activities and events.
• CHASS Newsletter Weekly e-newsletter capturing projects and developments undertaken by member organisations, featuring HASS awards, grants, scholarships, events, job opportunities, and publications.
• Jobs & Scholarships Board Publicly searchable board for posting HASS-related job and scholarship opportunities, free of charge for members.
• CHASS Publications Occasional papers, reports, and publications including works on HASS contributions to innovation policy, research quality, and cross-sectoral collaboration.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Australian Academy of the HumanitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CHASS partnered with the Australian Academy of Humanities to host a full-day Academic Freedom Symposium at the 2025 Congress of HASS, representing collaboration on shared advocacy goals.
• Taylor & FrancisminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Taylor & Francis provided generous sponsorship for the drinks reception at the Academic Freedom Symposium during the 2025 Congress of HASS.
• Various HASS organizations (20+)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Twenty participating organizations collaborated at the Fourth Congress of HASS, including TASA, CSAA, ANZAMEMS, and other discipline associations for the joint conference.
• University of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024University of Melbourne served as host for the Fourth Congress of HASS in 2024/2025, providing venue and organizational support for the biennial conference of HASS organizations.
• Creative AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative Australia provided grant funding to support the Poetic Portraits project (2024 Distinctive Works Prize winner), enabling community-based poetry workshops.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Australian Academy of the Humanities: Australia's peak body for humanities disciplines, paralleling CHASS's advocacy and convening role. The two organizations co-hosted the 2025 Academic Freedom Symposium at the Congress of HASS, demonstrating direct collaboration on shared HASS advocacy goals.
• Universities Australia: Peak body representing Australia's 42 universities, many of which are CHASS member organizations. Both organizations engage in policy advocacy on behalf of higher education, with Universities Australia focusing on the institutional level and CHASS on the HASS-disciplinary level.
• Australian Humanities Alliance: An emerging Australian advocacy organization focused specifically on humanities disciplines, overlapping significantly with CHASS's mission. Comparable in advocacy function but narrower in disciplinary scope and likely newer in institutional maturity.
• Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA): Peak body of Australian learned academies, including the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Provides cross-disciplinary convening and policy advice comparable to CHASS's HASS-specific convening role, and is positioned one level above individual academies in the Australian research advocacy ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Australian Academy of Science: Australia's peak body for the sciences, providing parallel advocacy, awards, and convening functions to CHASS but in the STEM domain. Strong structural parallel as a learned academy, with longer institutional history and likely larger membership base.

Others

• National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU): Australian union representing staff at universities and other higher education providers, including HASS researchers and academics. Adjacent advocacy role for the same constituency of HASS professionals CHASS represents, though focused on employment conditions rather than disciplinary advocacy.

Regional players

• American Academy of Arts and Sciences: US-based honorary society and policy research organization for arts and sciences disciplines, providing a structurally similar convening, membership, and advocacy function to CHASS but serving the United States rather than Australia.
• Social Science Research Council (SSRC): US-based nonprofit supporting social science research and education globally through fellowships, convening, and publications. Provides a structural parallel to CHASS for the social sciences specifically, though operating internationally and at larger scale.
• Royal Society of Arts (RSA): UK-based fellowship organization advancing arts, manufactures, and commerce through convening, advocacy, and policy programs. Comparable in combining membership, convening, advocacy, and prizes, though operating in the UK rather than Australia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CHASS_Aus
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CHASSAustralia
• Facebookfacebook.com/CHASSAustralia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences