Category Dr Lisa Stafford   Show all

  • Inclusive Futures: Welcoming Dr. Lisa Stafford, ARC Future Fellow

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    A montage of three photos of Dr Lisa Stafford, a wheelchair user and middle age white woman with long blonde hair.Dr. Lisa Stafford, ARC Future Fellow

    Griffith University researchers have secured over $8.5 million in funding for eight out of 22 projects announced in the latest Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship round. With eight fellowships granted, totalling $8,587,849, Griffith achieved an 36.4% success rate—one of the highest in the country.

    Among these outstanding researchers, we’re excited to welcome Dr. Lisa Stafford to the Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability team. Dr. Stafford has been awarded $1,052,822 for her project, "Transport Equity for All".

    This project builds on Lisa’s existing body of work and aims to enhance how transport equity is understood, included, and applied in transport planning. Through a collaborative approach with people with disability and transport planners, the project will co-design a practice framework and tools to guide more inclusive decision-making. By co-creating this knowledge and developing practical methods, the project seeks to significantly advance transport equity for people with disability across Australia.

    About Dr. Lisa Stafford

    Lisa is passionate about inclusive sustainable communities and transport equity. With over 25 years of experience as a researcher, educator, and planner across government, non-government, and university sectors, Lisa continues to lead change at the intersection of disability participation, urban planning and transport. Her work also champions inclusive participatory and co-creation methods to ensure the ‘voices’ of all people, particularly children and people with complex communication needs are heard in research and public planning.

    Lisa has lead research, practice and strategic transformation in inclusive community planning and mobility/transport equity to improve social-economic participation of people with disabilities. Her recent work has included:

    Lisa brings valuable insights from her lived experience as a woman with disability. Lisa lives with multiple autoimmune diseases and uses a walking stick and power wheelchair for daily mobility. Additionally, her leadership experience across various boards and committees continues to be instrumental in advancing inclusive communities and cities, systems, transport, and disability rights for all Australians. Currently Lisa serves as an Australian Human Rights Commission Includeability Ambassador and recent appointment as Chair of Disability-Informed Ethical Oversight Panel for National Disability Data Asset. Lisa is also a member of the Transport Australia Society (TAs), Disability Leadership Institute, and the Planning Institute of Australia (MPIA).

    She will join us in 2025 to begin the next chapter of her important work on transport equity.

    A group of attendees and panellists at the Transport Conference 2024 including Dr Lisa Stafford, a wheelchair user who is seated front right. This image is courtesy of Justin Cooper Photography.Photo credit: Justin Cooper Photography, Transport Conference 2024.


    How Lisa’s project will benefit Australians

    Better ways of planning transport to ensure its fair and accessible for all Australians is a significant need.

    Transport is essential to everyday life yet remains one of the most reported forms of discrimination experienced by Australian with disabilities.

    Every Australian will have an experience of disability in their lifetime, and transport equity is a way of ensuring access needs are met for the most disadvantage to ensure same level of services as everyone.

    Problems persist due to little knowledge and practice know how, and gaps in existing national standards. Without fit-for-purpose knowledge to guide planners, applying equity in transport will remain makeshift.

    This research will work directly with Australian transport planners and people with disabilities to co-create new knowledge and practice tools, and will be freely available on public website, public information hubs, professional bodies magazines, and through free professional seminars. Applying the new knowledge will inform better planning of transport for everyone, removal of barriers to social-economic participation, and creating fairer access and increased opportunities to work, education, health, recreation, and family/friends critical to everyday life.

    An inclusive fit-for-purpose transport systems will reduce spending on expensive disability transport support for some due to improved access to public and active transport, as well as lowering emissions with mode shift and increase usage.

    Transport Equity for All – Project Summary
    Read more: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/Web/Grant/Grant/FT240100262

    More information

    inclusivefutures@griffith.edu.au

    lisa.stafford@griffith.edu.au