After some restructuring, the new Melbourne Institute based its operation around Dixon's ORANI model of the Australian economy.
In the early 1990s Peter Dixon and a number of his senior colleagues left the institute to join Monash University.
This necessitated a second period of adjustment and restructuring initiated by Professor Richard Blandy who was director from 1992 to 1994.
In that year, the director and his senior management team, in association with the staff and the advisory board, developed a strategic plan with the unifying theme being the link between economic performance and social outcomes.
Stephen Sedgwick, former board member of the Asian Development Bank was director from August 2007 until July 2009.