A signature program fostering community-engaged and coproductive research, the Community Fellows Program recognises that community organisations are often best placed to undertake the research most relevant to their organisation and the communities they serve.
The Community Fellows Program offers a respectful, supportive and focused space for practitioners to step outside the daily demands of their work and consider how they might document, evaluate, share and scale their work, working with experienced academic mentors in related fields.
The Community Fellows Program is the only program of its kind in Australia. It was developed in recognition that community organisations possess deep and extensive practice knowledge, but often lack the capacity, time and resources to test, codify and share this knowledge.
Engagement Australia
Excellence Awards 2023
Winner – Excellence in Community Engagement
The Engagement Australia Awards focus on outstanding nation-building initiatives, demonstrating far-reaching impact and innovation, in all sectors and aspects of the Australian economy and community.
The Excellence in Community Engagement category recognises outstanding collaborations between tertiary education and communities for societal benefit. Emphasis is placed on partnerships that engage rural, regional, urban, disadvantaged or marginalised groups within Australia and New Zealand.
Recent Fellowship Projects
Mentored by experienced University of Melbourne Academics, Community Fellows undertake their own original research projects of relevance to the communities they work with, and that will lead to direct positive outcomes.
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Don’t Settle For Less: The Settlement Justice Partnership and Fairer Outcomes for Refugees in Melbourne’s West
Tess Matthew's fellowship sought to explore ways to make consumer laws clearer and fairer for new migrants living in Australia.
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Bendigo Street and Occupation as Protest
The Bendigo Street occupation shows that housing activists and local governments can better work together to pursue housing justice
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Eradicating Modern Slavery in Australia
Alongside its review of the ‘Modern Slavery Act’, the Government must also address the risks of forced labour that are inherent in our visa system.
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Volunteering and New Arrivals: A Social Cohesion Opportunity
Emma Antonetti's fellowship explored how people with refugee and migrant backgrounds perceived volunteering and examined its impacts on settlement experiences.
The Community Fellows Program has given me, and a lot of other individuals and organisations, capacity that they otherwise would not have had, whether that’s financial, time or research skills.
It’s fantastic to have the space to work on projects that are really important to us and our organisations, because they will benefit the health of the community and society in general. Otherwise, these projects will stay unidentified or languish for lack of attention.
Giorgia Hall-Cook, Birth for Humankind
I’m so excited and relieved to have the time and support to explore a problem that has always been present in my work. It’s fantastic that I can do this and have access to a world-class research community without having to enrol in a PhD. It also makes me feel less like I am stuck in a ‘David and Goliath’ situation. It’s such a powerful thing, to be able to leverage the University of Melbourne’s reputation as a respected research institution. It really validates the problem I am investigating and will help get it in front of the people who can make significant change and ensure that they take it seriously. Rachna Madaan-Bowman, South East Community Links
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.
Overview
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 199 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.
Mentoring
Each Community Fellow is assigned an Academic Mentor with relevant expertise. The Melbourne Social Equity Institute and Academic Mentor will work with the Fellow to design a feasible project. The Mentor and Fellow will meet regularly over the course of the project and additional support will be provided by the Institute to assist Fellows to conduct and write up their research.
Research Training
During their placement, Fellows will have opportunities to participate in a range of academic and professional development activities. Community Fellows will be provided with hot-desking facilities, a temporary email address, access to Canvas (the University’s Learning Management System) and to library and internet facilities.
Funding
Grants of $7000 are made available to the community-based organisations to compensate them for the time that Fellows spend working on their research projects. A small research budget will be allocated to each Community Fellow to enable them to undertake their research. A Collaboration Agreement will be created specifying project details, levels of financial support and expected outcomes.
Expectations
Community Fellows are expected to actively participate in the research training provided which includes an intensive three-day orientation and training program. Fellows are also expected to engage with other Fellows as part of a cohort experience and to participate in a mid-term work-in-progress workshop with the rest of the cohort.
The Community Fellows Program jointly supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute and the Melbourne Social Equity Institute have opened the door to other ways of knowing and doing research that are changing ways of best practice within the University. Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Director of Research, Indigenous Knowledge Institute
Being a part of the program provided me with access to academic support and a wealth of resources that helped in building my knowledge and understanding of gender, masculinities, and the migration experience. It is an experience that brings community and university together in a mutually enriching encounter to learn from each other and helped in shining a light on what are often overlooked community issues. I found that it has helped me to think more profoundly about the issue I am researching and to reflect on the links to broader social factors and impacts. Dalal Smiley, CEO, Wellsprings for Women
(The fellowship) has given me depth and ways of thinking much more complexly about teaching and learning, which I think has changed me both professionally and personally. I’d like to pursue small research opportunities in the future and continue to deepen my knowledge of research practices. Hayley Black, English language teacher, Carringbush Adult Education
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! Denise Cauchi, Director, Diaspora Action Australia
One of the major strengths I see in the Program is its flexibility; its adaptability to the needs of the Fellows and the skills and expertise of mentors. This flexibility, alongside the minimal administrative burden placed upon Fellows and mentors, is a refreshing and highly valuable approach, ensuring that participants can focus solely on areas of capacity-building and uplift without the rigid constraints typical in many contexts. Nick Cooper, Monitoring and Evaluation Project Manager, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
I think the Community Fellows model is fantastic. This is what we should be doing as academics and as a public institution. It’s part of our role to do this public work, and this is a great model for everyone. Professor Jennifer Balint, Dean of the Faculty of Arts
Celebrating the 2023/24 Community Fellows
In July 2024 friends, colleagues and University of Melbourne staff gathered to celebrate the achievements of the fifth cohort of Community Fellows. We asked them to reflect on their experience of being a part of the program.
Videos
Learn more about some of our Community Fellows and the impact of their research.
Bosede Adetifa, Yoruba Heritage and Cultural Association of Victoria
Through the Community Fellows Program, Bosede Adetifa is using storytelling to bring together elders and young people within Victoria’s Yoruba community.
Emma Antonetti, Whittlesea Community Connections
Emma Antonetii discusses her fellowship project which examined volunteering and its impacts on the settlement experiences of people from migration and refugee backgrounds.
Freya Dinshaw, Human Rights Law Centre
Freya Dinshaw explains how the Community Fellows Program supported her research on modern-day slavery in Australia.
Profiles and Interviews
Read about the impact of the Community Fellows and their projects.
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Supporting Community-based Doula Programs
Giorgia Hall-Cook noticed a gap in data gathering soon after starting her role as Operations and Programs Officer at Birth for Humankind.
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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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Accessibility and Inclusion for Multicultural Australian Communities in the Financial Service Sector
Rachna Madaan Bowman's greatest concern is that most interactions with newly arrived individuals and communities do not inform them adequately about how Australian financial systems work and their consumer rights.
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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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Connecting African Youths and Elders: Positive Change through Storytelling
Bosede Adetifa is working to bring together elders and young people within Victoria’s Yoruba community.
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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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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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Trauma Informed Practice in Education
A 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.
Reports
Research and advocacy reports prepared by Community Fellows.
Media and Events
Articles and presentations by and about the Community Fellows.
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Bendigo Street and Occupation as Protest
The Bendigo Street occupation shows that housing activists and local governments can better work together to pursue housing justice
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Eradicating Modern Slavery in Australia
Alongside its review of the ‘Modern Slavery Act’, the Government must also address the risks of forced labour that are inherent in our visa system.
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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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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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Welcoming Diverse Consumer and Survivor Views and Voices into Mental Health
Indigo Daya's fellowship focused on consumer and survivor views and voices in mental health research.
Chapters and Journal Articles
Articles and academic publications by participants and mentors in the Community Fellows Program
David Nunan, Hayley Black, and Julie Choi. “Evaluating the Quality of Innovation in TESOL Teacher Education”. In Quality in TESOL and Teacher Education, edited by Juan de Dios Martínez Agudo, 1st ed., 242-251. Routledge, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429198243
Indigo Daya, Bridget Hamilton, and Cath Roper. “Authentic Engagement: A Conceptual Model for Welcoming Diverse and Challenging Consumer and Survivor Views in Mental Health Research, Policy, and Practice.” International Journal of Mental Health Nursing 29, no. 2 (2020): 299–311. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12653
Yvette Slaughter, Julie Choi, David Nunan, Hayley Black, Rebecca Grimaud, and Hân Trinh. “The Affordances and Limitations of Collaborative Research in the TESOL Classroom.” TESOL in Context 29, no. 1 (2020): 35–61. https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2020vol29no2art1433
Emma Wagg, Jane Hocking, and Jane Tomnay. “What Do Young Women Living in Regional and Rural Victoria Say about Chlamydia Testing? A Qualitative Study.” Sexual Health 17 (2020): 160–66. https://doi.org/10.1071/sh19182
Atem Atem, Jennifer Balint, Denise Cauchi, and Shyama Fuad. “Diaspora Peacebuilding Through Inter-Ethnic Harmony: The South Sudanese and Sri Lankan Diasporas in Australia.” In Understanding Diaspora Development: Lessons from Australia and the Pacific, edited by Melissa Phillips and Louise Olliff, 1st ed., 137–59. Springer, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97866-2
Tessa Hens, and Kim Frances Dunphy. “Developing Participants’ Capacity for Reflection and Self-Assessment in a Dance Movement Therapy Program for People with Intellectual Disability.” Disability and Society 37, no. 2 (2022): 271–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2020.1808445
Katrina McFerran, Alex Crooke, Zoe Kalenderidis, Helen Stokes, and Kate Teggelove. “What Young People Think About Music, Rhythm and Trauma: An Action Research Study.” Frontiers in Psychology 13 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.905418.
David Nunan, Hayley Black, and Julie Choi. “Call to Action... Research.” Fine Print 45, no. 2 (2022): 21–25.
Mike Collins, “Moving Beyond Politce Advocacy: Housing Activism in Australia.” HousingWORKS, 19, No. 2 (2024).
Book – Safe to Learn: Embedding Trauma-informed Student Wellbeing Practices
Safe to Learn by 2016 Community Fellow Rebecca Harris was recently published by Amba Press. We are delighted that Rebecca credits the Community Fellows Program as being an important stepping stone to this new publication.
The program provides access for community workers to an elite educational facility, and in doing so, allows us to move from being the researched, to being the researchers. I am so grateful that participating in the Community Fellowship program has supported me to develop the writer and academic in me.
Community Fellows 2025
Mary Reema Antony
Women’s Health Goulburn North East
Project: Mapping the Maze: Women’s Experience of Navigating Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare in Goulburn Valley and Northeast Victoria
Academic Mentors: Professor Jane Tomnay, Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health and Dr Teralynn Ludwick, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Goulburn Valley Fellow
Miriam Forte
Wongutha CAPS
Project: Creating a School-to-Work Employment Pathway Program for Remote Indigenous Young People: A Community and Stakeholder Consultation and Co-Design Project
Academic Mentor: Professor Barry Judd, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous)
Tori Haar
Reframing Autism
Project: Enhancing and Better Measuring the Impact of Lived Experience in Community Education about Autism
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Matthew Harrison, Faculty of Education / The Neurodiversity Project
Supported by Melbourne Disability Institute
Karryne Hearn
WRISC Family Violence Support
Project: Empowered to be Seen and Felt: Developing Outcome and Evaluation Frameworks for Young People Impacted by Family Violence in WRISC’s Feeling Visible Program
Academic Mentor: Dr Katitza Marinkovic Chavez, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Mish Kumar-Jonson
The Iceberg Foundation
Project: Can Dance Decolonise EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) Practices with Marginalised Communities Navigating Trauma and Displacement
Academic Mentor: Dr Derrick Brown-Appenzeller, Victorian College of the Arts
Geoffrey Lim
Cypher Culture
Project: Breaking Ground: The Case for Public Spaces for Creative Communities
Academic Mentor: Dr Sabina Andron, Melbourne Centre for Cities
Jimi Muirhead
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Project: Reintegration into the Community: The Lack of Evidence‐based Transitional Support for People Released from Immigration Detention and Learnings from the Criminal Justice System
Academic Mentor: Katie Robertson, Melbourne Law School / Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness
Sarah Pain
Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project
Project: A Connected Community – Understanding the Place-based Work of Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project
Academic Mentor: Dr Joanne Qian-Khoo, Melbourne Social Equity Institute
Goulburn Valley Fellow
Hayley Rowan
The Bridge Youth Service
Project: Activating the CALD Youth Voice in Universal Community Service Organisation Engagement Practices – A model of Culturally Safe CALD youth engagement for Regional Organisations
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Karen Block, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Goulburn Valley Fellow
Alana Starr
Disability Advocate
Project: Valuing Expertise: An Evaluation Tool to Support Lived Experience Consulting
Academic Mentor: Dr Lauren Kosta, Department of Social Work
Supported by Melbourne Disability Institute
Jane Templeton
Drummond Street Services
Project: How Can We Create Effective Pathways for the NDIS to Play an Integral Role in the Recovery of Woman Pre and Post Incarceration
Academic Mentor: Dr Aaron Hart, School of Social and Political Sciences
Preethi Vergis
Edusymphony Consortium
Project: Design and Implementation of an Accountability to Affected Persons Framework for Migrants and Refugees: Sustained Capacity Building and Participatory Evaluation as Tools for Empowerment
Academic Mentor: Dr Matthew Mabefam , School of Social and Political Sciences
In 2025, Melbourne Social Equity Institute is also partnering with Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation to pilot an Evaluation Fellows Program.
Inaugural Evaluation Fellows
Thanks to the generous support of the Percy Baxter Charitable Trust, Melbourne Social Equity Institute is partnering with Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation to pilot an initiative to support small and medium sized community organisations to develop their internal evaluation and outcomes measurement capabilities. The program is modelled on the Institute’s highly successful and multi-award winning Community Fellows Program.
The five Evaluation Fellows will form a small cohort that will receive group-based mentoring and support from Melbourne Social Equity Institute academics Professor Jo Barraket AM and Dr Joanne Qian-Khoo.
The program is structured in two parts. From February to December 2025 the Fellows will spend time learning about evaluation and outcomes measurement and developing their organisational system and capacity. From January to June 2026 the Fellows will put that learning into practice by leading their own organisational evaluation project.
The five participants in the 2025 Evaluation Fellowship Program Pilot are:
Jack Howes
HoMie
Jessica M'Baya
Cultivating Community
Ronella Gomez
The Community Grocer
Rosie Tran
YLab
Skye Gooch
Djirra
Project Partner
Commenced in 2023
- Bosede Adetifa
Yoruba Heritage and Cultural Association of Victoria
Connecting African Youths and Elders: Positive Change through Storytelling
- Hannah Figueroa
Good Cycles
Understanding Unemployment, Underemployment and Structural Inequality Experienced by Young People with Intersecting Barriers to Employment
- Meagan Gerrard
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation
First Nations Stolen Generations Intergenerational Trauma and Healing
- Giorgia Hall-Cook
Birth for Humankind
Effective Monitoring and Evaluation Approaches to Improve Community-based Doula Program Outcomes
- Virginia Kailom Manganawi
Many Coloured Sky
Understanding the Challenges of Securing Housing for LGBTQIA+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers
- Edmee Kenny
Centre for Multicultural Youth
How Can Open Data Be Harnessed by Small Community Organisations for Social Change?
- Claire Livingston
Project Respect
How Can Higher Education Institutions Support International Students Who Work in the Sex Industry?
- Rachna Madaan Bowman
South East Community Links
Accessibility and Inclusion for Multicultural Australian Communities in the Financial Service Sector
- Alex McWhirter
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation
First Nations Stolen Generations Intergenerational Trauma and Healing
- Kobra Moradi
Australian Centre for International Justice
Conceptions of “Justice” Among Afghan Diaspora in Australia
- Nandini Sengupta
Notting Hill Neighbourhood House
Neighbourhood Houses – Link Between Citizens and Local Governments?
- Penne Thornton
Platform Arts
Child Leadership: How to Embed Child and Youth Agency in Creative Programming and Performance Making
Commenced in 2021
Rei Alphonso, Flat Out
Co-organisation development and support: a framework for peer-based harm reduction and decarceration
Academic Mentors: Associate Professor John Fitzgerald and Dr Kath Sellick
Emma Antonetti, Whittlesea Community Connections
Volunteering and new arrivals: a social cohesion opportunity
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Karen Block
Loretta Asquini, North Melbourne Language and Learning
Digital inclusion of CALD communities
Academic Mentors: Dr Nicky Dulfer and Dr Catherine Smith
Morgan Cataldo, Berry Street
Lived experience reflective practice tool
Academic Mentor: Dr Eduardo Araujo Oliveira
Maya Ghassali, Road to Refuge
Refugee representation in the Australian media
Academic Mentor: Dr Denis Muller
Bronte Gosper, First Nations Media Australia
Amplifying and internationalising Australia’s First Nations media
Academic Mentors: Dr Sharon Huebner and Dr Lyndon Ormond-Parker
Supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute
James Houghton and Gabriele Rukas, Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria
Access to COVID-19 information and its influence on access to related services and supports for people with disabilities from migrant and refugee backgrounds
Academic Mentors: Dr Mediya Rangi and Dr Alexandra Devine
Supported by the Melbourne Disability Institute
Karen Jones, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
Academic Mentor: Dr Rachel Standfield
Supported by Melbourne Law School and the Indigenous Knowledge Institute
Ebony Lawson, First People of the Millewa-Mallee Aboriginal Corporation
Native plant protection
Academic Mentors: Associate Professor Kate Howell and John Delpratt
Supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute and the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute
Annelise Lecordier, It’s Not A Compliment
Capturing the voices of marginalised communities facing street harassment
Academic Mentor: Dr Megan Sharp
Supported by the African Research and Engagement in Australia initiative
Brenna McIntyre, Kevin Heinze Grow
Exploring the use of non-verbal movement based therapies for adults who experience a speech disability
Academic Mentor: Dr Jennifer Davidson
Supported by the Melbourne Disability Institute
Yohanna Mequwanint, Ethiopian Community Association in Victoria
Exploring the experiences of racism and discrimination for African Australian students in Victorian schools
Academic Mentor: Dr Gerald Onsando
Supported by the African Research and Engagement in Australia initiative
Elle Morrell, Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre
Striving for more colourful outcomes: creating space for People of Colour to lead community organisations
Academic Mentor: Dr Victor Sojo Monzon
Vivian Ying Hang Tong, Afri-Aus Care
Application of the positive change model with African Australians in facilitating posttraumatic growth
Academic Mentors: Professor Karen Farquharson and Dr Diana Johns
Supported by the African Research and Engagement in Australia initiative
Barathan Vidhyapathy, Tamil Refugee Council
Addressing Tamil refugees key concerns during COVID-19
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Bina Fernandez
Najeeba Wazefadost, Asia Pacific Network of Refugees
Empowering refugees through self-representation
Academic Mentors: Professor Adrian Little and Associate Professor Terry MacDonald
Commenced in 2018
Jessica Tran, 100 Story Building
Development of participatory evaluation toolkit
Academic Mentor: Professor Lisa Gibbs
Saba Alemayoh and Bigoa Chuol, AfroHub
Exploring traditional gender norms within Nuer and Tigrian communities living in Melbourne
Academic Mentors: Dr Ashley Barnwell and Dr Karen Block
Tessa Hens, Bayley House
Developing a participant self-assessment tool for people with an intellectual disability
Academic Mentor: Dr Kim Dunphy
Supported by the Melbourne Disability Institute
Hayley Black, Carringbush Adult Education
Accessing online government services: digital literacy teaching strategies
Academic Mentor: Dr Julie Choi
Kelly Whitworth, Homeless Persons Union Victoria
Improving institutional responses to housing and homelessness activism
Academic Mentor: Dr Crystal Legacy
Freya Dinshaw, Human Rights Law Centre
Modern-day slavery in Australia
Academic Mentor: Professor Susan Kneebone
Mike Collins, Moreland City Council
Improving institutional responses to housing and homelessness activism (Public Policy Fellowship)
Academic Mentor: Dr Crystal Legacy
Kate Teggelove, PaKT4change
Benefits and challenges in delivering rhythm based programs for children
Academic Mentor: Professor Katrina Skewes McFerran
Linked with the Exploring the Value of Rhythm-based Support Research Project
Indigo Daya, Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council
Equitable consumer advocacy in mental health
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Bridget Hamilton
Minh Nguyen, Vietnamese Community in Australia - Victorian Chapter
Learning how to support the children of Vietnamese immigrants to thrive in Australia
Academic Mentor: Dr Jane Dyson
Dalal Smiley, Wellsprings for Women
Engaging men in gender equity and the prevention of violence against women
Academic Mentor: Dr Mohajer Hameed
Tess Matthews, WEstjustice (Western Community Legal Centre)
Creating Clearer Contracts: Consumer Law and New Australian Residents
Academic Mentor: Professor Jeannie Paterson
Emma Wagg, Women's Health Goulburn North East
Understanding stigma and social barriers to testing and treatment for STDs
Academic Mentor: Associate Professor Jane Tomnay
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
Bosede Adetifa
Yoruba Heritage and Cultural Association of Victoria
Connecting African Youths and Elders: Positive Change through Storytelling
This project aims to help close a gap that has widened between young people and elders in Victoria’s Yoruba community, which is one of Victoria’s largest African groups. Storytelling has traditionally filled this gap through the communication of social and ethical values from those with long life experience to those who are beginning to independently engage society. As a Community Fellow, Bosede Adetifa will use interviews, consultations and workshops to research obstacles that prevent storytelling and implement an action plan for turning this around.
Academic Mentor
Professor Adrian Hearn
School of Languages and Linguistics
Hannah Figueroa
Good Cycles
Understanding Unemployment, Underemployment and Structural Inequality Experienced by Young People with Intersecting Barriers to Employment
This project aims to address the present dearth in publicly-available qualitative data on the experiences of unemployment, underemployment and of the structural barriers within the labour market on the part of young people with intersecting socio-cultural diverse backgrounds. It aims to understand - both theoretically and practically - the experience of young people with such intersecting barriers in accessing the labour market post-COVID, in particular understanding the cultural values, beliefs and the dominant social norms within which decision-making is made by these cohorts; the sets of factors – financial value and job factors; future perceived value and personal values, needs and concerns – that inform youth decision-making and aspiration around chosen employment and career pathways, and understanding the intersectional nature of disadvantage.
Academic Mentor
Professor Jo Barraket
Melbourne Social Equity Institute
Meagan Gerrard
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation
First Nations Stolen Generations Intergenerational Trauma and Healing
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporations has found that there is a lack of detailed data specific to intergenerational trauma for Stolen Generations descendants. To address this gap and support its work in healing for Stolen Generations descendants, the project aims to investigate the impacts of Intergenerational trauma and the healing journeys. This work will offer an in-depth analysis specific to the experience of descendants. CGAC is run by a Board of Coota Girls Survivors and descendants. It currently have a membership of over 300 Coota Girls Survivors and descendants, with diverse and interconnected stories of the impacts of intergenerational trauma and the path to healing. As such, the Corporation has a unique opportunity to look at descendants of former residents of the former Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls (1912-1969), and make a significant contribution to the existing knowledge of the impacts of intergenerational trauma and healing practices. The project aims to provide empirical evidence that the complex trauma of forcible removal does in fact continue to impact generation after generation if healing does not occur. It aims to measure the effectiveness of current healing practices, initiatives, and models, to determine what creates meaningful change and healing for Stolen Generations descendants.
Academic Mentor
Professor Shawana Andrews
Poche Centre for Indigenous Health
This project is supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute.
Giorgia Hall-Cook
Birth for Humankind
Effective Monitoring and Evaluation Approaches to Improve Community-based Doula Program Outcomes
Birth for Humankind is a community-based doula support program for people experiencing disadvantage. It provides women and birthing people with tailored, social-emotional pregnancy and early parenting support by volunteer doulas, which complements clinical care. This facilitates informed decision-making, positive birth outcomes and increased confidence and resources postnatally. Birth for Humankind requires an effective monitoring and evaluation framework to guide its current, and soon-to-be-expanded, community-based doula program. This research project will learn from existing academic research on monitoring and evaluation methods to inform the design (and later implementation) of a monitoring and evaluation framework appropriate to achieving our shared social equity goals, in consultation with Birth for Humankind stakeholders.
Academic Mentor
Professor Meghan Bohren
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Virginia Kailom Manganawi
Many Coloured Sky
Understanding the Challenges of Securing Housing for LGBTQIA+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Safe housing is fundamental to individual well-being, and a recognised human right. People on low or uncertain incomes can find it very difficult to access safe and secure housing. This is a pressing issue for people seeking asylum who face the additional challenge of not being eligible for public housing. Racism continues to deny some people from newly arrived-backgrounds access to the private rental market. At the same time, LGBTQI+ people requiring emergency or supported accommodation or seeking share housing report difficulties in finding housing that is welcoming, safe and inclusive. For LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum in Australia, all of these issues are compounded, and many are forced into inadequate or unsafe housing options or are homeless. By interviewing participants from Many Coloured Sky's Queer Refugee and Asylum Seeker Peers Program, this project aims to better understand some of the challenges they face when attempting to access emergency and supported accommodations as well as private rental accommodation.
Academic Mentors
Dr Nicholas Hill
School of Social and Political Sciences
Professor Karen Farquharson
School of Social and Political Sciences
Edmee Kenny
Centre for Multicultural Youth
How Can Open Data Be Harnessed by Small Community Organisations for Social Change?
In an increasingly young and multicultural society, Victoria must better understand its diverse youth cohort in order to ensure an equitable future. Data has been hyped as a means for greatly improving social and economic outcomes, however, the ability of many community organisations to leverage data for improved outcomes for their target communities remains unrealised. Available/accessible data and analyses often obscure/hide particular groups and individuals by collapsing them into larger, overarching cohorts. Without increased capability to leverage data, many community organisations are unable to realise the full potential benefits – which risks leaving already excluded and vulnerable groups further behind. Using ‘multicultural youth’ as a group made up of diverse and distinct cohorts, this project intends to explore freely available datasets in order to discover if/how this data can be leveraged by small community organisations to derive relevant knowledge by (a) investigating the data needs of community members and organisations to understand how they are served by current data, and (b) mapping the infrastructure to manage, curate and serve this data to communities in Victoria and testing its capacity to generate relevant knowledge.
Academic Mentor
Dr Quentin Maire
Melbourne Graduate School of Education
Claire Livingston
Project Respect
How Can Higher Education Institutions Support International Students Who Work in the Sex Industry?
International student sex workers are an underrepresented cohort who often fall between the gaps of service delivery due to, but not limited to, stigma, visa-related barriers, and lack of institutional awareness. This project explored the support services available within higher education for international students working in the sex industry. Interviews were conducted with higher education staff across the university and TAFE sector to assess the inclusivity of services for international student sex workers. Findings highlight limited recognition of this group and suggest an urgent need for institutions to support more inclusive and accessible service delivery and safe spaces on campus through both institutional policy and practice.
Academic Mentor
Professor Cathy Vaughan
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Rachna Madaan Bowman
South East Community Links
Accessibility and Inclusion for Multicultural Australian Communities in the Financial Service Sector
This project aims to test the effectiveness of the current accessibility and inclusion principles for multicultural communities within the Australian financial service system. One of the issues it will explore is the current design, purpose, and use of the “Easy English Guides”. At present, the industry’s response to engaging with the complexity of language is to use easy English guides. The guides are often used to engage with newly arrived refugees and migrants to educate and integrate them into the Australian financial service system. In conducting a desktop review of the major Australian banks, South East Community Links found that the guides are mainly designed to support people with intellectual disabilities. Whilst they acknowledge that there is a place for easy English guides, with this research Rachna wants to explore:
- The effectiveness of current resources for engaging with people from migrant backgrounds for varying lengths of time in Australia.
- How are these guides introduced to people and the appropriateness for the audience?
- Do people exercise their agency in making financial decisions with the assistance of these guides?
- How effective are the guides in ensuring people’s financial safety, such as financial abuse and scams?
Academic Mentor
Associate Professor Paul Ali
Melbourne Law School
Alex McWhirter
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation
First Nations Stolen Generations Intergenerational Trauma and Healing
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporations has found that there is a lack of detailed data specific to intergenerational trauma for Stolen Generations descendants. To address this gap and support its work in healing for Stolen Generations descendants, the project aims to investigate the impacts of Intergenerational trauma and the healing journeys. This work will offer an in-depth analysis specific to the experience of descendants. CGAC is run by a Board of Coota Girls Survivors and descendants. It currently have a membership of over 300 Coota Girls Survivors and descendants, with diverse and interconnected stories of the impacts of intergenerational trauma and the path to healing. As such, the Corporation has a unique opportunity to look at descendants of former residents of the former Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls (1912-1969), and make a significant contribution to the existing knowledge of the impacts of intergenerational trauma and healing practices. The project aims to provide empirical evidence that the complex trauma of forcible removal does in fact continue to impact generation after generation if healing does not occur. It aims to measure the effectiveness of current healing practices, initiatives, and models, to determine what creates meaningful change and healing for Stolen Generations descendants.
Academic Mentor
Professor Shawana Andrews
Poche Centre for Indigenous Health
This project is supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute.
Kobra Moradi
Australian Centre for International Justice
Conceptions of “Justice” Among Afghan Diaspora in Australia
The research seeks to understand how Afghan victims in the diaspora in Australia understand the notion of “justice” and what are their ideas or proposals for addressing the legacy of mass atrocities in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan have suffered from widespread human rights abuses. However, to date, Afghan victims have not seen justice. Victims’ needs, interests, and justice perceptions were de-prioritised and ignored both by the Governments of Afghanistan and the international community. During the UN-administered Bonn Agreement (2001), justice was sacrificed for peace. Later, an amnesty law was imposed, exonerating perpetrators of all wrongdoing. A transitional justice process under the Taliban is highly unlikely. Nonetheless, the search for justice must continue.
Academic Mentor
Professor Jennifer Balint
School of Social And Political Sciences
Nandini Sengupta
Notting Hill Neighbourhood House
Neighbourhood Houses – Link Between Citizens and Local Governments?
This project explores the hypothesis that community centres or neighbourhood houses add value to their neighbourhoods while also assisting local governments further their own health and well-being goals and creating empowered and active citizens. Through this research answer three questions: 1. Are neighbourhood houses a participatory space or allow for participatory practices? 2. How much information gathered at the neighbourhood house level informs policies in their respective local government. 3. Can neighbourhood houses be used as a spaces to create active citizenry who are empowered enough to advocate for the changes we want to see in our neighbourhoods It will examine the existing participatory practices in the industry and compare the neighbourhood houses to establish what level of participation each of them fall under and if the same rubric can be scaled and used by all neighbourhood houses. This research will help identify gaps in current practices and present alternatives for future managers.
Academic Mentor
Associate Professor Crystal Legacy
Melbourne School of Design
Penne Thornton
Platform Arts
Child Leadership: How to Embed Child and Youth Agency in Creative Programming and Performance Making
In regional settings, the cultural value of the arts is undermined by a lack of employment opportunities, emphasis on STEM in schools and ideas of art being linked to urban spaces. To enrich Geelong through a vibrant arts community it is essential to encourage interest and engagement from children and young artists, identifying and dismantling barriers that prevent accessibility.
This project seeks to explore how a small arts organisation can embed meaningful inclusion and amplification of diverse youth voices through its creative program and audiences, while building career pathways into the arts.
It will follow and document the development of infinity ensemble and the processes of child leadership to create a feasibility study for youth arts in the regional setting of Geelong. The findings will inform future creative programming and create a theoretical model for working with children to advocate for child-driven performance opportunities for young artists and for audiences of all ages.
Academic Mentor
Dr Sarah Austin
Victorian College of the Arts
Frequently Asked Questions
Please get in touch if you have any additional questions about the Community Fellows Program:
Charlene Edwards
Community Fellows Program Director
community-fellows@unimelb.edu.au
+61 (3) 9035 4738
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Applications for the 2025 Community Fellows Program opened on Tuesday 3 September 2024 and closed on Monday 21 October 2024. We do not yet know when applications for any future rounds will open.
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No prior research experience is required but applicants need to demonstrate the capacity to undertake the research work they are putting forward and also that their organisation supports their application. If selected for a Fellowship, the Melbourne Social Equity Institute provides a tailored package of research training and skills development to support you to undertake research. Given that this is a professional development opportunity, applicants who already hold a PhD or employed in a substantive research role will not be considered as the purpose of the program is to create research capacity within organisations who currently have limited research capacity.
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Unfortunately, no. Applicants should be a current part-time or full-time employee of a small to medium-sized community organisation (up to 199 employees), with the right to work in Australia.
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The program is intended to support Victorian-based Fellows; therefore, interstate and international applications will not be considered. The program is designed as a cohort experience, so there is an expectation that Fellows will spend some time on the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus to participate – at a minimum – in a three-day orientation program, mid-term work-in-progress workshop and a wrap-up celebration event. Participation in the research training provided can be facilitated online.
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The program supports small and medium sized community organisations with up to 199 full-time equivalent employees.
Community organisations will need to be incorporated* and hold insurance to the value of $10,000,000 public liability and $2,000,000 professional indemnity insurance.
* For information on what it means to be incorporated, see Justice Connect's Not-for-profit Law program guide.
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This largely depends on the scope of the research project you would like to undertake, but depending on the project's complexity, we expect Fellow's projects to require between 200 – 350 hours over 12 to 18 months.
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Yes – the program aims to not only benefit the Community Fellow, but to provide a structured engagement opportunity for our academic staff at the University of Melbourne.
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Organisations with a dedicated research and evaluation team will not be considered, as we presume you have the research capability (if not the capacity) to undertake research. Also, if your organisation was awarded a Community Fellowship as part of our last cohort (i.e. 2023/24 cohort) then your organisation will not be eligible to apply for the 2024/2025 but will be eligible the next round. Given the limits of the program – which is only run every second year with approximately 12 Fellows – we feel that it is important to share the opportunity as widely as possible across the community sector.
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Outputs are determined by your organisational and community needs. Examples from previous Fellows have included research and advocacy reports, online resources, monitoring and evaluation frameworks and internal capacity building, and academic publications. We do not expect academic outputs, but some of our previous Fellows have gone on to co-author papers for academic journals.
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We would love to discuss your interest in supporting the program and the impact your support can have. Read our Case for Support to learn more about the need to expand our reach, or please contact Joanna Watts, Executive Director Advancement Office, The University of Melbourne, joanna.watts@unimelb.edu.au.
To receive regular updates about the work of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute, please subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
The University of Melbourne is committed to sharing our knowledge and resources and one of the ways we do that is supporting the capacity of community organisations to develop their own research, and I think you are seeing that in this program. The Community Fellows Program exemplifies our aim of benefiting society through the transformative impact of research and a commitment to collaboration and the program provides an important opportunity to foster mutually enriching and reciprocal arrangements in collaborations with partners beyond the Academy.
Professor Mark Cassidy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
I really enjoyed and appreciated the network I built through the Community Fellows Program. It was incredibly inspiring to be surrounded by passionate capable people who are making a difference in the world. I also really appreciated how customisable, flexible and responsive the program was, so that we could make the most of it depending on what our needs and skill sets were. My mentor was excellent: she guided me towards research topics that were unfamiliar to me and I have come away with research findings that are super practical and applicable to my workplace. Giorgia Hall-Cook, Operations and Program Officer, Birth for Humankind