Bold Experiment: an historical evaluation of the Australian Assistance Plan. Australia and similar western democracies continue to wrestle with growing citizen disengagement with political processes and declining levels of active participation in society. This project is expected to provide the first historical examination of the Australian Assistance Plan (AAP), an innovative yet forgotten program from the 1970s. The AAP sought to reframe participation at a local level, stimulate voluntary orga ....Bold Experiment: an historical evaluation of the Australian Assistance Plan. Australia and similar western democracies continue to wrestle with growing citizen disengagement with political processes and declining levels of active participation in society. This project is expected to provide the first historical examination of the Australian Assistance Plan (AAP), an innovative yet forgotten program from the 1970s. The AAP sought to reframe participation at a local level, stimulate voluntary organisations and provide a framework that engaged with all levels of governments. Using archival sources and oral history methods, the project seeks to offer a new interpretation of an important initiative in Australian history and demonstrate how historical analysis can inform policy and shape debates in government and non-profit sectors in the future.Read moreRead less
Developing a national rural volunteering roadmap. This project aims to investigate the challenges affecting rural volunteering in Australia. Conducting a national analysis of volunteering demand and supply, this project expects to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge of the structural, demographic, organisational and personal factors affecting the sustainability of rural volunteering. Expected outcomes of this project include a world-first index of volunteering vulnerabilities and a spatial ....Developing a national rural volunteering roadmap. This project aims to investigate the challenges affecting rural volunteering in Australia. Conducting a national analysis of volunteering demand and supply, this project expects to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge of the structural, demographic, organisational and personal factors affecting the sustainability of rural volunteering. Expected outcomes of this project include a world-first index of volunteering vulnerabilities and a spatial map of volunteering unevenness, leading to the development of an evidence-based National Rural Volunteering Roadmap (2025-2035), which will guide our volunteering peak body partners, governments and rural communities to plan for and support rural volunteering over the longer-term.Read moreRead less
Who You Know or Where You Go? The Role of Formal and Informal Networks in Finding Employment and Maintaining Wellbeing. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated that informal social networks improve well-being and labour market outcomes for the unemployed in Europe. However, no comparable Australian study has been conducted and there is little research on the role of the 'formal' networks represented by employment services programs in Australia or overseas. This project aims to explore unemplo ....Who You Know or Where You Go? The Role of Formal and Informal Networks in Finding Employment and Maintaining Wellbeing. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated that informal social networks improve well-being and labour market outcomes for the unemployed in Europe. However, no comparable Australian study has been conducted and there is little research on the role of the 'formal' networks represented by employment services programs in Australia or overseas. This project aims to explore unemployed people's formal and informal networks and the impact of those networks on employment status and wellbeing. This project aims to inform unemployment policy design and service delivery by providing a greater understanding of the role that social networks play in finding jobs and surviving unemployment.Read moreRead less
Pro bono service: drivers, delight, dark side and downside for the professional. Pro bono work, common in the professions, is important to Australia's economy. This ground breaking research provides rich insights into why pro bono givers feel unappreciated, unacknowledged, unreciprocated, and often taken advantage of and, importantly, equips professionals with strategies for enhanced outcomes.