The Community Engaged Research Community of Practice (CER-CoP) is a student and early career researcher-led group auspiced by Melbourne Social Equity Institute.
Melbourne Social Equity Institute has recently launched a Community Engaged Research Network for University of Melbourne researchers from all career stages. The network will complement the activities of the CER-CoP which is led by graduate and early career researchers.
About
The CER-CoP aim is to help champion community-engaged research across the University of Melbourne, and provide opportunities for both established and emerging researchers to reflect on their practices and improve their engagement with communities throughout the research process.
The CER-CoP holds holds bi-monthly hybrid sessions on topics of interest to the group. Their first event was held in November 2023 and featured an informal panel of three experts in community-engaged and consumer-led research and practice reflecting on their experiences and guiding a discussion.
To contact the CER-CoP, or to join their email list, please email cercop.unimelb@gmail.com.
Governance
Currently, the CER-CoP is supported by a small Leadership Group and a broader Advisory Group.
The CER-CoP Leadership Group is responsible for facilitating and chairing sessions and workshops, media and communications, administration and planning of events, among other tasks.
The CER-CoP Leadership Group meets with the Advisory Group every second month. This ensures ample opportunity for consultation and input on how the CER-CoP is run.
Current Activities
Arts-based Research Methods Online Showcase
Arts-based methods provide new insights into research through contextually situated imagery or artistic approaches. Creative methodologies offer innovative meanings to research which can elevate the insider’s perspective when conducting Community Engaged Research.
The CER-CoP has put together an online exhibition to showcase the work of researchers who use creative or arts-based methods for CER. Our aim is to provide a platform for arts-based method researchers who use their approach in CER for social change.
The exhibition is a work-in-progress, and we welcome interest from those who would like to share their CER arts-based method projects on this website.
Past Seminars
Working with Communities: What I Wish I Knew Before I Began
10.30am – 12.00pm, Wednesday 21 February 2024
Room 920, Melbourne Law School Building
185 Pelham Street, Carlton
A get-together for members and any interested researchers from the wider University community to share experiences, get to know each other and workshop key main issues, challenges or passions from their projects.
The conversation will be kickstarted by Claire Zammit and Gemma Tarpey-Brown (Melbourne School of Population and Global Health), discussing their experiences conducting community engaged research.
The Community of Practice hopes to see you there. Bring your curly questions about your own work challenges for the group to discuss and ideas for future seminars. Everyone is welcome to stay longer if they wish to mingle some more.
For catering purposes please RSVP if you will be attending to cercop.unimelb@gmail.com.
Claire Zammit is an implementation scientist and her doctoral studies aim to co-design, implement and evaluate community-driven strategies to improve cervical screening participation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Gemma Tarpey-Brown has a background in migration support and her research focuses on the multifarious health impacts associated with forced migration and gender-based violence.