About us

WIDI was established in 2016 as the “Future Social Service Institute (FSSI)” as a collaboration between RMIT University and the Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS). Supported by funding through Keeping our sector strong: Victoria’s workforce plan for the NDIS, the goal of FSSI/WIDI at that time was to “drive world-leading education, training and research for the disability and broader social services sector”. Initially, we focused on launching a small suite of initiatives and projects aimed at growing and strengthening the disability workforce and building leadership capability in the family violence sector.

Over time, WIDI has expanded our reach within the social service sector. From our initial partnerships within the disability and family violence sectors, we have broadened our focus into activities such as research and evaluation projects to understand the social service sector more broadly.

As WIDI continues to grow, so do our partnerships. WIDI is supporting the NSW Government to develop workforce strategies informed by the latest research and evidence and is providing expert advice on novel approaches to developing workforce datasets to inform workforce strategy and planning.

As part of RMIT, WIDI’s work supports the key pillars of Knowledge with Action: RMIT’s Strategy to 2031 with WIDI projects contributing to RMIT’s goals and activities related to social innovation, serving the community and lifelong learning. All of our work continues to be driven, first and foremost, by our desire to benefit the community through our partnership with employers, workers, Government and the training system.