Our Team
Dr Claire Mason | Senior Social Scientist
Claire has been exploring the social impacts associated with our increased reliance on digital technology across a range of contexts – in our homes and businesses, in our jobs, in vocational education and training, in regions and in later life. Her research explores how we ensure that people and organizations are digitally empowered – able to use technology to achieve that which is of value to them.
Together with other researchers working in this space, she delivers projects with public and private sector organisations on:
- Changing demand for skills in a more digital economy
- Regional workforce development
- Diversity of internet use and social inclusion
- Data integration and analytics to support future employment modelling
Dr Andrew Reeson | Research Team Leader, Data61
Dr Andrew Reeson is an applied economist in CSIRO’s Data61. His work combines behavioural economics with econometric modelling to address issues of national significance to Australia.
On joining CSIRO in 2004 he became an early practitioner of behavioural economics, applying it initially to the design and implementation of environmental policy tools, particularly market-based instruments (MBIs). This included applying experimental economic study to inform the design of the Commonwealth Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund (‘Direct Action’), and providing detailed advice for Commonwealth and state governments on major water buyback and irrigation modernisation programs.
More recently he has switched his focus to the digital economy and services sector. This has included modelling the impacts of information technology on Australian businesses, analysing the impacts of technology on the future of work, and exploring the future of vocational education and training. Other recent projects have involved large scale randomised controlled trials of behavioural economics interventions, one to promote engagement among 90,000 superannuation fund members, and another encouraging the use of online services by 78,000 Centrelink clients.
Past highlights include an invited review of behavioural economics and its implications for the Australian tax and transfer system for the Henry Tax Review, establishing an innovative prediction market for water forecasting, and novel modelling of Medicare cardiology claims. He currently leads CSIRO’s contribution to the CSIRO-Monash Superannuation Research Cluster, and has contributed to high profile research on superannuation drawdown behaviour among Australian retirees. He has a growing, and diverse range of academic publications (detailed on Google Scholar), but should probably get out more.
Current Roles
- Project leader, Behavioural economics and superannuation decision-making
- Project leader, Forecasting jobs and skills demand in the Australian economy
- Project leader, Vocational education and training in the digital economy
Dr Aysha Fleming | Research Scientist, Land & Water
Dr Aysha Fleming is a social scientist in CSIRO’s Land and Water based in Hobart, Tasmania. Aysha brings an academic background in adult education, social research, communication of climate change and rural communities with learning and change to a diverse range of multidisciplinary projects. Current projects include: Lifelong Participation, Digital Agriculture, the Sustainable Development Goals and other social issues of sustainability in the primary industries (agriculture, forestry and fisheries).
Aysha brings her skills in stakeholder engagement and discourse analysis as well as her experience in conducting and analysing qualitative research to these projects. Qualitative research is useful to understand social decision making processes and the values on which these are based.
Aysha conducted interviews for the Lifelong Participation project and performed a discourse analysis on the results. She also contributed to writing the report and to designing the stakeholder engagement strategies including the forum and workshops.
Elinor Bester | Coordinator, Decision Sciences
Elinor is the program coordinator for the Decision Sciences Program in Data61 in CSIRO. As well as providing input to the lifelong participation through digital technology research agenda, she provides broader support for Data61 projects in the fields of applied data analytics and decision optimisation. Elinor gained her experience in project management and organisational change through working in education, retail and employment services organisations across Australia and the United Kingdom. Elinor originally completed a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in psychology.