The projects were chosen following a competitive selection process, and represent different areas of need across Australia. The funding will enable university-community partnerships on short-term collaborative research, with measurable impacts for the partners as well as the communities they serve.
ACU Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) Sandra Jones said that the SESU was striving to have impact through empathy by addressing key areas of need in the community.
“We are aware that 2020 and 2021 have been especially difficult for social service providers, who have pivoted to new forms of service delivery, and for their clients who are experiencing new challenges due to COVID-19,” Professor Jones said.
“We are pleased that ACU is able to provide opportunities for organisations to collaborate on projects that will inform and improve their programs and services, especially for communities experiencing disadvantage”, she said.
Some of the projects to be funded include:
- Catholic responses to family violence: Bringing together Caritas Australia, Catholic Social Services Australia and Catholic Health Australia, this project will map the unique work of Catholic agencies in responding to and preventing family violence.
- Domus Links – Modern anti-slavery training for the future workforce: Initiated by the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Anti-Slavery Taskforce, this project will produce training resources to enable future professionals to identify and respond to modern slavery in the workforce.
- Xavier School of Preaching for the Church of the 21st century: This Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese project will pilot and evaluate innovative face-to-face and online training for ministers, priests and laypeople to better support their ministry in parishes, communities and schools.
ACU awards funding for community research projects, CathNews