UniSA aspires to be part of a globally competitive university system through delivering fundamental advances in knowledge which contribute to a strong knowledge based economy and a cohesive society and through the transfer of knowledge enabling innovation and the development of a skilled workforce.

To achieve this, UniSA aims to build a suite of research concentrations which support:

• the developmental trajectory of smaller research groups which may grow over time to form the next generation of UniSA research centres or institutes
• the capacity to build scale and focus around researchers making national or international contributions to their research field
• the aspirations of academic staff who are research productive at early, mid and later career stages
• environments where research students are supported by a critical mass of researchers, are stretched to address significant research questions, and can witness high calibre research 'leadership' in action
• environments in which there is evidence of a strong 'teaching-research nexus'
• active engagement between end user groups and researchers resulting in knowledge transfer and demonstrable outcomes for industry, government and the community
• a high national and international visibility and identity for the UniSA research 'brand'.