Director and principal research consultant - Dr Gianni Zappalà

Gianni is an experienced research consultant with a balance of academic expertise and a practical working knowledge of the corporate, not-for-profit and government sectors. He has a First Class Honours degree in Economics & Industrial Relations from the University of Sydney, a Masters (with Distinction) in Political Science from the University of London and a Doctorate from the Faculty of Economics & Politics at the University of Cambridge. In 2004 he was appointed Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Economics & Business at the University of Sydney.

Prior to establishing Orfeus Research, Gianni was Research Manager at The Smith Family and responsible for program design, evaluation and social policy research. Gianni has held teaching and research appointments at the Universities of Sydney, Cambridge (Fellow of Emmanuel College & Judge Institute of Management Studies), Wollongong (Migration & Multicultural Studies Program), and the Australian National University (Political Science Division in the Research School of Social Sciences). He has worked in policy roles at Parliament House, Canberra (Australian Parliamentary Fellow during 1996) and the NSW Department of Industrial Relations and consulted to several organizations, including the Korea Labor Institute, the Economic Planning and Advisory Council, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C.

Gianni has published widely in Australian and international journals in social and economic policy, labour market analysis, immigration and citizenship, political representation and participation, education, community development, volunteering and corporate citizenship.

Gianni is also:

• On the Management Committee of the Australia New Zealand Third Sector Research Association (ANZTSR)
• An Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management
• An Honorary Research Associate at ACIRRT, University of Sydney
• An Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Sydney
• An expert member of The Independent Hearing & Assessment Panel, Sutherland Shire Council
• A member of the Australian Institute for Social and Ethical Accountability
• A member of the Australasian Evaluation Society

Other staff

Orfeus Research also works with a network of other experienced consultants and researchers with complementary skills depending on the nature and size of projects.