The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape Queensland’s future. Far beyond sport, the Games act as a powerful catalyst to advance sustainability, enhance visitor experiences and create shared economic and social value.
The Queensland Government’s Elevate 2042 Legacy Strategy and the 2032 Delivery Plan set a clear ambition: by 2042, Queensland will be inclusive, sustainable and globally connected, with thriving communities and a future-ready economy.
The Legacy, Innovation and Futures Research Hub, or LIF2032, supports that delivery through relevant research and expertise, mobilising interdisciplinary capability across UQ Business School and working alongside partners across government, industry and communities to translate legacy ambition into business-relevant evidence, practical tools and scalable solutions with clear pathways for implementation and adoption.
As an idea incubator and collaboration platform, LIF2032 aims to convert cross-disciplinary ideas into partner-ready projects — building researcher capability, accelerating collaboration and strengthening the School’s pipeline of impactful research.
Key focus areas include:
- visitor economy and experience innovation
- regional revitalisation
- sustainable operations
- entrepreneurship and venture ecosystems
- responsible AI-enabled services.
Purpose of the hub
LIF2032 exists to:
- Contribute to long-term impact for Queensland and beyond through evidence-based research that informs legacy planning and leveraging strategies aligned with UQ’s Queensland Commitment
- Strengthen interdisciplinary research capability within UQ Business School by fostering collaboration and advancing scholarly capacity in areas related to mega-event- and sport-driven transformation
- Facilitate engagement across academia, government, industry, and communities to support the translation of research into policy, practice, and societal outcomes.
Our research is organised under 3 pillars:
- Sustainability
- Innovation in the visitor economy
- Regional revitalisation.
Sustainability
LIF2032 examines sustainability through the lens of tourism and visitor services — exploring how events, destinations and service operations can reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining quality and competitiveness. Our research focuses on practical measurement, low-carbon service models and the conditions under which sustainability commitments translate into measurable outcomes.
Innovation in the visitor economy
LIF2032 applies experience design, service innovation and behavioural insights to improve visitor experiences and destination capability. Our research explores how tourism, events and sport services can better deliver inclusion, trust and service performance — with findings aimed at informing practice across Queensland's visitor economy.
Regional revitalisation
LIF2032 investigates how regions can build the entrepreneurial and innovation capacity needed to participate in and benefit from the Games. Our research focuses on SME readiness, place-based ecosystems and the practical conditions that enable regions to convert a major event into durable economic participation and skills.
Contact us
Get in touch to learn more about our research or to explore opportunities with LIF2032.