Applications Now Open for Funding and Fellowships

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute supports collaborative, interdisciplinary research between academics, members of community organisations, policymakers and people with lived experiences of disadvantage or marginalisation in order to create fairer societies. 

Applications are now open for its funding and fellowship opportunities in 2020.

The Institute has created a suite of funding opportunities to enable and support collaborative, interdisciplinary social equity research:

  • Seed Funding to support medium-scale projects that create opportunities for researchers, policymakers, practitioners and people with lived experience of disadvantage or marginalisation to undertake research together.
  • Community Fellowships which aim to meet the research needs of community organisations to conduct small research-related projects in collaboration with university-based researchers.
  • Community Engagement Grants to enable University researchers to develop interdisciplinary and community-engaged networks (new in 2020).
  • Publication Support Grants for early career academics to write papers or books using information or data from previous or existing projects (new in 2020).
  • Research Translation and Impact Grants to enhance the ability of an existing Community Fellow or Melbourne Social Equity Institute seed fund award holder to share their work (new in 2020).

Underpinning all the Melbourne Social Equity Institute's research programs is a focus on community-based and community-engaged research. The key feature of community-engaged research is a high level of community decision-making about the purpose, design, conduct and use of research.

It moves beyond seeing members of communities as research ‘subjects’ to enabling them to drive the research agendas that concern them.  Events in 2020 have indicated the importance of this approach to research.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing health, economic and social inequities. Now, more than ever, our focus is on ensuring members of diverse communities lead and shape our research projects in order to bring about positive reforms. Professor Bernadette McSherry, Foundation Director, Melbourne Social Equity Institute

Information sessions for the Seed Funding Grants, Community Engagement Grants and the Community Fellows Program will be held in August and September.

Visit our Funding page to find out more about the opportunities.

Funding Page

More Information

social-equity@unimelb.edu.au