Community Fellows Program
Supporting research collaborations between community organisations and university-based researchers.
The Melbourne Social Equity Institute’s Community Fellows Program aims to meet the research needs of community organisations to conduct small research-related projects in collaboration with university-based researchers.
About the Program
Through the Community Fellows Program, we aim to support research that will lead to positive outcomes such as improved service delivery, the development of new services, improved ability to advocate effectively or the improved capacity to undertake future research projects.
Community Fellows are able to spend time at the University of Melbourne to develop research skills. Projects should be relevant to the work of community-based organisations and aim to promote social equity. Projects could involve conducting a scoping report, literature review, data analysis or a small research project.
The initiative is targeted at small to medium-sized community-based organisations (up to 200 employees) that currently have very limited capacity to conduct research. Projects should be small, tightly focused and address an issue of relevance to the organisation. Key objectives for the Community Fellows Program are to meet community-based needs for research and to foster community–academic collaborations.
The Community Fellows Program gives our small organisation an opportunity to do much-needed original research in our specialised field that would not have been otherwise possible. It gives me the space, time and resources to stop, think and investigate. Invaluable!
Fellowship Structure
Each Community Fellow is assigned an Academic Mentor with relevant expertise. The Melbourne Social Equity Institute and the Academic Mentor will work with the Fellow to design a feasible project and the supervisor will meet with the fellow regularly over the course of the project. Additional support will also be provided by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute to assist the Community Fellows while they conduct and write up their research.
During their placement, Community Fellows will have opportunities to participate in a range of academic and professional development activities. Community Fellows will also be provided with desk space at the University, a computer to work on, a temporary email address and access to library and internet facilities.
Grants of $5000 each are made available to the community-based organisations to compensate them for the time that Community Fellows spend working at the University. A Collaboration Agreement will be created specifying project details, levels of financial support and expected outcomes.
Current Fellows
COMMENCED IN 2021
Vivian Ying Hang Tong, Afri-Aus Care
Academic Mentors: Professor Karen Farquharson and Dr Diana Johns
Application of the Positive Change Model with African Australians in facilitating posttraumatic growth
Najeeba Wazefadost, Asia Pacific Network of Refugees
Academic Mentors: Professor Adrian Little and Dr Terry Macdonald
Empowering refugees through self-representation
Morgan Cataldo, Berry Street
Academic Mentor: Dr Eduardo Oliveira
Lived experience reflective practice tool
Elle Morrell, Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre
Academic Mentor: Dr Victor Sojo Monzon
Striving for more colourful outcomes: creating space for People of Colour to lead community organisations
Yohanna Mequwanint, Ethiopian Community Association in Victoria
Academic Mentor: Dr Gerald Onsando
Experiences of racism and discrimination for African Australian students in Victorian schools
Supported through the University of Melbourne’s emerging African Research and Engagement in Australia initiative
James Houghton and Gabriele Rukas, Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria
Academic Mentors: Dr Mediya Rangi and Alexandra Devine
Health literacy of people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds: Impact of the pandemic
Supported by the Melbourne Disability Institute
Bronte Gosper, First Nations Media Australia
Academic Mentors: Dr Sharon Huebner and Dr Lyndon Ormond-Parker
Amplifying and internationalising Australia’s First Nations media
Supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute
Ebony Lawson, First People of the Millewa-Mallee Aboriginal Corporation
Academic Mentors: Associate Professor Kate Howell and John Delpratt
Native plant protection
Supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute and the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute
Rei Alphonso, Flat Out
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor John Fitzgerald
Co-organisation development and support: a framework for peer-based harm reduction and decarceration
Brenna McIntyre, Kevin Heinze Grow
Academic Mentor: Jennifer Davidson
Exploring the use of non-verbal movement based therapies for adults who experience a speech disability
Supported by the Melbourne Disability Institute
Annelise Lecordier, It’s Not A Compliment
Academic Mentor: Dr Megan Sharp
Capturing the voices of marginalised communities facing street harassment
Supported through the University of Melbourne’s emerging African Research and Engagement in Australia initiative
Loretta Asquini, North Melbourne Language and Learning
Academic Mentors: Dr Nicky Dulfer and Catherine Smith
Digital inclusion of CALD communities
Maya Ghassali, Road to Refuge
Academic Mentor: Dr Denis Muller
Refugee representation in the Australian media
Barathan Vidhyapathy, Tamil Refugee Council
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Bina Fernandez
Addressing Tamil refugees key concerns during COVID19
Emma Antonetti, Whittlesea Community Connections
Academic Mentor: Dr Karen Block
Volunteering and new arrivals: a social cohesion opportunity
Karen Jones, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
Academic Mentors: Dr Julia Hurst and Dr Erin O’Donnell
Jacksons Creek (Sunbury) Cultural Values Study
Supported by the Melbourne Law School and the Indigenous Knowledge Institute
COMMENCED IN 2018
Saba Alemayoh and Bigoa Chuol, AfroHub
Academic Mentors: Dr Ashley Barnwell and Dr Karen Block
Exploring traditional gender norms within Nuer and Tigrian communities living in Melbourne
Freya Dinshaw, Human Rights Law Centre
Academic Mentor: Professor Susan Kneebone
Modern-day slavery in Australia
Minh Nguyen, Vietnamese Community in Australia - Victorian Chapter
Academic Mentor: Dr Jane Dyson
Learning how to support the children of Vietnamese immigrants to thrive in Australia
Tess Matthews, WEstjustice (Western Community Legal Centre)
Academic Mentor: Professor Jeannie Paterson
Creating Clearer Contracts: Consumer Law and New Australian Residents
Jessica Tran, 100 Story Building
Development of participatory evaluation toolkit
Academic Mentor: Professor Lisa Gibbs
Completed Fellows
COMMENCED IN 2018
Tessa Hens, Bayley House
Academic Mentor: Dr Kim Dunphy
Developing a participant self-assessment tool for people with an intellectual disability
Supported by Melbourne Disability Institute
Hayley Black, Carringbush Adult Education
Academic Mentor: Dr Julie Choi
Accessing online government services: digital literacy teaching strategies
Kelly Whitworth, Homeless Persons Union Victoria
Academic Mentor: Dr Crystal Legacy
Improving institutional responses to housing and homelessness activism
Mike Collins, Moreland City Council
Academic Mentor: Dr Crystal Legacy
Improving institutional responses to housing and homelessness activism (Public Policy Fellowship)
Kate Teggelove, PaKT4change
Academic Mentor: Professor Katrina Skewes McFerran
Benefits and challenges in delivering rhythm based programs for children
Linked with the Exploring the Value of Rhythm-based Support Research Project
Indigo Daya, Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Bridget Hamilton
Equitable consumer advocacy in mental health
Dalal Smiley, Wellsprings for Women
Academic Mentor: Dr Mohajer Hameed
Engaging men in gender equity and the prevention of violence against women
Emma Wagg, Women's Health Goulburn North East
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Jane Tomnay
Understanding stigma and social barriers to testing and treatment for STDs
COMMENCED IN 2017
Nick Cooper, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Measuring #RightTrack digital engagement and uptake
Academic Mentor: Colette Einfeld
André Dao and Michael Green, Behind the Wire
Behind the Wire: A case study of collaborative activism
Academic Mentors: Associate Professor Sara Wills and Dr Jordy Silverstein
Denise Cauchi, Diaspora Action Australia
Understanding how South Sudanese and Sri Lankan communities in Australia contribute to peace-building in their countries of origin through community harmony and reconciliation initiatives
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Jennifer Balint
Julian McDonald, Flemington & Kensington Community Legal Centre
Analysing police complaints data from community legal centres
Academic Mentor: Dr Diana Johns
Anna Dollard, Kids Own Publishing
South Sudanese Storytelling: Creative expression, cultural and intergenerational understandings
Academic Mentor: Dr Mary Tomsic
Helen Greig, Oakwood School: Caulfield Park Community Campus
Equipping young men to avoid becoming perpetrators of family violence
Academic Mentors: Professor Helen Cahill and Associate Professor Kylie Smith
Supported by Melbourne research Alliance to End Violence against women and their children (MAEVe)
Matt Addison, Not To Violence Incorporating Men's Referral Service
Better Lives: Applying Rehabilitative Principles to Family Violence Perpetrator Interventions
Academic Mentor: Professor Kelsey Hegarty
Supported by Melbourne research Alliance to End Violence against women and their children (MAEVe)
Jenny Chapman, Royal Women's Hospital
Older women’s experience of family violence
Academic Mentor: Professor Kelsey Hegarty
Supported by Melbourne research Alliance to End Violence against women and their children (MAEVE)
Dominic Golding, RISE
Overcoming impairment: disabled refugees and their perceptions of accessing disability support
Academic Mentors: Dr Cathy Vaughan and Dr Karen Block
Belinda Briggs, Shepparton Art Museum
Increasing the representation of Yorta Yorta and Southeast Indigenous art in the Shepparton Art Gallery
Academic Mentor: Genevieve Grieves
Katrina Cornwell, Women's Circus
Evaluating the effectiveness of Women’s Circus’ programs
Academic Mentor: Professor Katrina Skewes McFerran
COMMENCED IN 2016
Bec Harris, Carlton Primary School
A Trauma Informed Approach to Education Organisation
Academic Mentor: Greg Donoghue
Catherine Hemingway, Western Community Legal Centre
Final Project Report on Research into Issues of Migrant Employment
Academic Mentor: Professor Joo-Cheong Tham
Shawn Wilkey, Carlton Football Community Fund
Skills For Life Community Program Review
Academic Mentor: Dr Karen Block
Kamarra Bell-Wykes, ILBIJERRI Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Company
Performing Arts Programs in Juvenile Justice in Victoria 2005–2015: Mapping Policy, Research and Programs
Academic Mentor: Dr Sophie Rudolph
Susan Timmins, Women’s Health West
Identifying Employment Barriers for Tertiary-educated Muslim Australian Women
Academic Mentor: Dr Richard Williams
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Men Speak out on Migration and Gender Roles
Dalal Smiley and Mohajer Hameed share their research experiences with engaging men to speak out on migration, gender roles, post-settlement adjustments and family violence.
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Trauma Informed Practice in Education
A new resource to support trauma informed practice in education has been published by Rebecca Harris, a Melbourne Social Equity Institute Community Fellow from Carlton Primary School.
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Developing New Research Partnerships to Support Adult Learners from Refugee and Migrant backgrounds
Community Fellow Hayley Black and Dr Julie Choi from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education are developing new methods for teachers and graduate educators, which they are keen to share and expand with both of their professions.
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Increasing Participant Voice in Creative Arts Therapy
The advent of the National Disability Insurance Scheme has increased the expectations of people with disability to have choice and control over the services they access and use. People with intellectual disability, however, are often excluded from and disenfranchised in planning and funding processes.
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Circus as a Tool for Social Change
“For people who have found that they don’t always have agency over their bodies – people across the gender spectrum – circus can be a really lovely space for them to learn how to reclaim it, surrounded by positive people and support.”
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Ending the Exploitation of Refugee and Migrant Workers
Getting work is the most important step to successful settlement in a new country, says lawyer Catherine Hemingway, but for people who have recently arrived in Australia it can also be the start of a lot of new problems.
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Understanding Diaspora Peacebuilding
Achieving lasting peace takes more than just the absence of war, says Denise Cauchi, and diaspora communities can make significant contributions toward it.
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Improving Institutional Responses to Housing and Homelessness Activism
How can our public officials, especially at local councils, become better allies with activists in the effort to ensure safe housing for all?
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Ex-detainees, Asylum Seekers and Refugees with Disabilities
RISE: Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees is the first and only refugee and asylum seeker welfare and advocacy organisation in Australia, entirely governed by refugees, asylum seekers, and ex-detainees.
Applications for the Community Fellows Program closed on 23 October 2020. The information below is for information purposes only.
A total of at least ten Community Fellowships are expected to be offered, to commence in early 2021.
In addition to a general pool of Fellowships which can align with any aspect of social equity research, this year the Institute is collaborating with a number of research groups at the University of Melbourne to provide specific Fellowship opportunities, which include:
- Two Fellowships for people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The Fellows should also be from an Indigenous community organisation or be focusing on an Indigenous topic. The Fellows will be jointly supported by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and the Indigenous Knowledge Institute.
- One Fellowship for a person with lived experience of disability – the Fellow will be jointly supported by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and the Melbourne Disability Institute.
- One Fellowship specifically in the area of environmental and social sustainability and resilience will be jointly supported by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute.
- Two Fellows from African backgrounds will be supported by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute through the University of Melbourne’s emerging African Research and Engagement in Australia initiative.
To learn more about the Program, please download the Information Kit and Application Form.
Download: Download the Information Kit
Download: Download the Application Form
Please email social-equity@unimelb.edu.au if you require this information in a different format or have any issues accessing these files.
Applications closed at 12pm on Friday 23 October.
Information Session
An information session about the Community Fellows Program was held on Thursday 3 September. The video from this session is available below.
If you have any questions about the Community Fellows Program or the application process please contact:
Charlene Edwards
charlene.edwards@unimelb.edu.au
+61 (3) 9035 4738