Social auditing for positive change and indigenous life-world experiences in the resource rich Pilbara. Roebourne is an impoverished Indigenous community in the heart of the booming resource industries of the Pilbara. The town symbolises the challenges and opportunities for contemporary Australia. This project has been initiated by the Ngarluma and Yjindibarndi Peoples and will be co-funded and directed by these Peoples. The Project will adapt and extend approaches developed by Indigenous commun ....Social auditing for positive change and indigenous life-world experiences in the resource rich Pilbara. Roebourne is an impoverished Indigenous community in the heart of the booming resource industries of the Pilbara. The town symbolises the challenges and opportunities for contemporary Australia. This project has been initiated by the Ngarluma and Yjindibarndi Peoples and will be co-funded and directed by these Peoples. The Project will adapt and extend approaches developed by Indigenous communities in Canada to record the needs, hopes and ambitions of the people of the Roebourne region and in doing so document their solutions to real and significant problems. The project does not just enable consultation with an Indigenous community rather it helps create a platform for that community, if it chooses, to make decisions for the future.Read moreRead less
Community spirit, social transformation, sustainable partnership: community capacity building for community transformations. This partnership is at the forefront of developments in the provision of community services. The project will contribute to a growing international field of research focused on developing integrated frameworks for measuring community wellbeing. The community capacity building approach will serve as a best practice model for other Australian municipalities. The indicators a ....Community spirit, social transformation, sustainable partnership: community capacity building for community transformations. This partnership is at the forefront of developments in the provision of community services. The project will contribute to a growing international field of research focused on developing integrated frameworks for measuring community wellbeing. The community capacity building approach will serve as a best practice model for other Australian municipalities. The indicators are a tool for engaging communities in making informal decisions and developing shared goals; a policy tool for evidence based planning; and a reporting tool to track and communicate progress towards agreed goals and outcomes. The outcomes will be efficient use of available funding for community services and lower cost of provision of social welfare.Read moreRead less
Working from the Ground Up: A Participatory Approach to Community Regeneration in Public Housing Neighbourhoods. This research will discover approaches, strategies and interventions that contribute to sustainable changes in public housing estates. It will trial interventions and develop quantitative tools. The outcomes of the project will include stronger, more cohesive communities, opportunities for residents to actively participate in their communities, and the development of services through ....Working from the Ground Up: A Participatory Approach to Community Regeneration in Public Housing Neighbourhoods. This research will discover approaches, strategies and interventions that contribute to sustainable changes in public housing estates. It will trial interventions and develop quantitative tools. The outcomes of the project will include stronger, more cohesive communities, opportunities for residents to actively participate in their communities, and the development of services through partnerships between the communities and relevant government, non government and private organizations. This will enhance health and wellbeing and increase education and training opportunities for residents. Read moreRead less
Crimes, Places and Communities: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Collective Capacity with implications for community-based crime prevention. This project seeks to provide policy makers in Australia with better evidence on which to protect Australia from crime. Our project will provide insights as to how communities might more effectively insulate themselves from crime over time. Our research has the potential to lead the future direction in Australian approaches to community-based crime preven ....Crimes, Places and Communities: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Collective Capacity with implications for community-based crime prevention. This project seeks to provide policy makers in Australia with better evidence on which to protect Australia from crime. Our project will provide insights as to how communities might more effectively insulate themselves from crime over time. Our research has the potential to lead the future direction in Australian approaches to community-based crime prevention and crime control programs.
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Opportunity spaces - community engagement in the planning, use and governance of shared school facilities. This project will capitalise on investment across Australia in renewing schools and building community education precincts. The work will illuminate the role played by civic infrastructure in community building, the benefits of coordinating social and educational services, and the potential of schools as learning resources for the whole community.
Communities, trust, governance and partnerships: The role of Local Government in community management and development in areas of social disadvantage. This project is significant as much contemporary social policy is predicated on normative assumptions of 'community' 'trust' 'collective efficacy' 'social capital', which are contested, contextual concepts. Importantly there are differences in meaning and practice of 'community' between areas of advantage and disadvantage. In being based on thes ....Communities, trust, governance and partnerships: The role of Local Government in community management and development in areas of social disadvantage. This project is significant as much contemporary social policy is predicated on normative assumptions of 'community' 'trust' 'collective efficacy' 'social capital', which are contested, contextual concepts. Importantly there are differences in meaning and practice of 'community' between areas of advantage and disadvantage. In being based on these assumptions policy implementation, which increasingly relies on community capacity, infrastructure and human resources, may have the unintended outcome of exacerbating disadvantage. This project examines these contested concepts and explores Local Government's role in creating local partnership options and modes of governance to facilitate equitable outcomes for disadvantaged communitiesRead moreRead less
The social determinants of childhood injury. Child hood injury is a preventable problem of major importance. This project will provide a comprehensive, research-based policy solution that will minimise death and disability among children zero to three years of age.
Measuring and enhancing community capacity in outback NSW: the case of Broken Hill. The project will elucidate the necessary conditions for rural renewal through intensive analysis of social capital formation and mobilisation in one outback community in NSW. This entails a multidimensional analysis of social capital at the micro and macro levels in Broken Hill, in relation to cross-sector collaboration, interaction with economic, human and ecological factors, the role of community organisations ....Measuring and enhancing community capacity in outback NSW: the case of Broken Hill. The project will elucidate the necessary conditions for rural renewal through intensive analysis of social capital formation and mobilisation in one outback community in NSW. This entails a multidimensional analysis of social capital at the micro and macro levels in Broken Hill, in relation to cross-sector collaboration, interaction with economic, human and ecological factors, the role of community organisations and the social entrepreneur. The project directly addresses the widely acknowledged need to find effective pathways for sustainability of rural communities. The project will produce practical recommendations to policy makers and the community, and will contribute to social capital theory.Read moreRead less
Building connections: schools as community hubs. This project aims to support school systems and planning authorities enhance engagement between schools and local communities. The key objective is to advance the cost-effective development of the infrastructure required to deliver community programs and services from school sites, in addition to education programs for school-aged students. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how best to plan, design, govern and manage facilities a ....Building connections: schools as community hubs. This project aims to support school systems and planning authorities enhance engagement between schools and local communities. The key objective is to advance the cost-effective development of the infrastructure required to deliver community programs and services from school sites, in addition to education programs for school-aged students. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how best to plan, design, govern and manage facilities and infrastructure to enable schools to operate successfully as more than a school, encouraging the development of resilient and connected communities. The outcomes are expected to include a development framework for maximising schools as community hubs.Read moreRead less
Comparative dimensions of active citizenship: an analysis of indicators of inclusivity and exclusivity in civil society. Active citizenship is a key concept in debates around the nature of civil society and the changing forms of citizenship. To date, grounded studies of the concept have been few. The project's significance lies in its focus on developing indicators of active citizenship. This enables the empirical charting of active citizenship. The comparative aspect to the project will heighte ....Comparative dimensions of active citizenship: an analysis of indicators of inclusivity and exclusivity in civil society. Active citizenship is a key concept in debates around the nature of civil society and the changing forms of citizenship. To date, grounded studies of the concept have been few. The project's significance lies in its focus on developing indicators of active citizenship. This enables the empirical charting of active citizenship. The comparative aspect to the project will heighten our ability to understand these processes in Australia in relation to other countries.
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