RMIT PlaceLab uses research as a vehicle to champion community ideas and help shape RMIT’s new Social Innovation Precinct, north of Melbourne’s CBD.

We seek productive community and industry collaborations that inform the development of the precinct and contribute to bite-sized research projects that solve thorny urban problems and have real-world impact and application.

Our research topics are broad, but their outcomes focus on reimagining the precinct and building on RMIT’s social innovation remit for health, justice, social sciences, design, vocational education, urban planning, and global studies.

RMIT PlaceLab is working with the Melbourne Innovation Districts (MID) and City of Melbourne to engage with community, industry, and other government partners to deepen connections, expand networks, and explore possibilities.

Melbourne Innovation Districts (MID) is a partnership between the City of Melbourne, RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne to develop urban innovations in Melbourne for the benefit of the whole city.

MID is an opportunity to shape Melbourne’s future through open collaborations that deepen the city’s capacity for applied innovation. It is a foundation upon which a broad community of institutions, businesses, organisations, and people can collaborate to enhance Melbourne’s future.

City of Melbourne is the local government body responsible for the municipality of Melbourne and is a key RMIT partner.

Research developed as part of RMIT PlaceLab Melbourne is informed by deep community engagement that can be applied to projects, programs, or policies that align with the City of Melbourne Council Plan 2021-2025 and Community Vision 2021-2025. We see the city as a place of possibility, where the world meets and the extraordinary happens.