Here at The Australia Institute we’re a big fan of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Irvine Index. Each week, economist Jessica Irvine condenses topical issues into salient numbers. After such a busy year at the Institute we thought it might be fun to create our own index which reflects our achievements.

Here is The Australia Institute in numbers for 2011:

11, 554 e-bulletin subscribers – that’s you!

4, 500+ media hits – the equivalent of 86 a week.

2, 906 Facebook friends of the Institute or 3, 382 who get to read Richard’s rants – hopefully you’re a friend of one or both.

229 Twitter followers – and growing.

68 talks and presentations – on topics such as climate change, tax reform, population growth, food waste and the growing gap between the rich and poor.

50 op-eds – all available on our website.

23 regular donors – we’d love more!

17 research papers – that’s about one every three weeks.

14 Institute events – including our regular Canberra Politics in the Pub, as well as events in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

9 staff members – who have had a productive year.

1 nationally televised debate – between Richard and climate change sceptic Christopher Monckton.

It has been a rewarding year for the Institute but it is only through the support of people such as you that we are able to conduct ‘research that matters’ and have as much impact as we do.

We’re looking forward to another busy year in 2012, so please help us by:

• sharing our research
• giving us feedback via mail@tai.org.au
• coming to our events
• and supporting us financially if you’re in a position to do so. All donations of $2 and above are tax-deductible and every cent goes to our Research Fund so that we can conduct more ‘research that matters’.

Have a safe and happy Christmas.

The Australia Institute team