Ray Evans (10 September 1939 – 17 June 2014) was one of Australia’s leading public intellectuals.

Together with John Stone, Peter Costello and Barry Purvis, Ray founded The H.R. Nicholls Society in 1986. Ray then also co-founded and contributed to The Samuel Griffith Society (1992), The Galatians (1994), The Lavoisier Group (2000) and The Bennelong Society (2001).

After his death in 2014, Ray was described by the Australian Financial Review as having been “involved in, and [having] helped shape, the course of every major policy debate in Australia of the last 30 years,” and having “had more influence on politics and policy in Australia than 95 per cent of MPs who have been in the federal Parliament, and 99 per cent of MPs who have ever been in a state Parliament.”

The Ray Evans Institute seeks to honour and continue this tremendous legacy.