The National Centre for Indigenous Studies (NCIS) was established in January 2005. It is a stand-alone Centre within the ANU organisational structure and is directed by Professor Mick Dodson AM. The Centre's charter is for NCIS to be recognised as a leading academic institute for inter-disciplinary research in fields that are of relevance to Indigenous Australians, especially in relation to the enrichment of scholarly and public understandings of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories. NCIS works collaboratively with ANU research and teaching centres that are of relevance to Indigenous studies. These include the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), the Australian Centre for Indigenous History, the School of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the School of Music