Apply for Community Fellows Program – Australia

Deadline: 21-Oct-2024

Apply now for the Community Fellows Program to support research collaborations between community organisations and university-based researchers.

Through the Community Fellows Program, The University of Melbourne aims 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.

Funding Information

• 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.

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.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to participate in the Community Fellows Program, please ensure that:
  • Your organisation was not awarded a Community Fellowship as part of the 2023/2024 cohort.
  • The head of your organisation/department is supportive of your application and your possible participation in this Program.
  • You are an employee with valid working rights in Australia (they are unable to support volunteers).
  • Your organisation is a small to medium-sized community organisation (up to 199 employees).
  • Your organisation is incorporated and holds insurance to the value of $10 million public liability and $2 million professional indemnity insurance (this is a fairly typical level of coverage for small organisations).
  • You are Victorian-based and able to spend time at the University’s Parkville campus, including a three-day orientation on 12, 13 and 14 February 2025, as well as other research training and work-in-progress events throughout the year.
  • You can commit 200 to 350 hours work on the project (depending on its complexity) including active participation in cohort-based activities.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Applicants with substantive research positions and/or PhDs will not be considered as suitable Community Fellows because the initiative is seeking to develop research capacities in organisations that do not currently have this in-house expertise.
• Organisations with in-house research and evaluation capacity will not usually be considered for this initiative.
• They are also not able to support fellows from local, state or federal government departments or units. However, they will consider projects by Victorian government schools that support or host community-focused projects.

For more information, visit The University of Melbourne.