Vani and Sara

Vani’s interests are in gender equality and social inclusion. She is experienced in impact assessment, particularly understanding the intended and unintended social consequences of policies and programs on communities. She believes that the idea of women’s leadership in the Pacific can be complex and hopes that her participation in the Women’s Leadership Initiative will help her to understand the contestation behind women’s roles in leadership positions and how she can navigate and manage the challenges of being a Pacific woman and a leader.

Sara works as the Vice Chancellor’s Futures Scheme Senior Fellow on The Next Generation Engagement Program, Australia’s largest study into community engagement in infrastructure to date. She is the President of the International Association for Impact Assessment, the world’s leading organisation for impact assessment practitioners, researchers and clients, representing almost 7,000 members in 120 different countries.

Sara is the Associate Professor (Special International Guest) at the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University in Beijing. She is also an award-writing academic and author, her latest co-edited book Public Policy in the Asian Century is available from Palgrave Macmillan.