Summary: Ian Shirley is Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, founder and member of the Policy Observatory and a former Pro Vice Chancellor at the Auckland University of Technology. Professor Shirley was New Zealand's first Professor of Social Policy and over the past three decades he has held foundation and personal chairs in public and social policy as well as visiting professorships and fellowships at a number of international academies. At AUT, Professor Shirley established the Institute of Public Policy and led the engagement of the institute with the formation of Auckland's Super-City, leading a research project reviewing Auckland's governance five years on from the establishment of the unitary council. Professor Shirley has led Ministerial Councils for both Labour and National administrations and participated as a member of research advisory boards and panels for the National Research Advisory Council, the Royal Society and the New Zealand Government's Bioethics Council. Professor Shirley's most recent initiative saw him establish a series of briefing papers and the building of a Policy Observatory based at AUT but engaging scholars from both New Zealand and overseas.
