Eidos

Overview

Nikolas Rose in Powers of Freedom (1999) writes that "community emerged as a rather unexpected theme in debates about the governability of liberal, democratic and market-based societies in the closing decades of the end of the twentieth century." Community, as a site of analysis, of intervention, and of resistance, is what this research theme seeks to interrogate. The Community Cooperative is open to qualitative investigations, as well as theoretical discussions of the emergence of community for education and social research and policy.

The Community Cooperative examines the relationships between education, community and sustainability (social, cultural and environmental). In particular, this co-operative examines ways in which partnerships between schools, communities and universities can contribute to positive social and community outcomes.

Issues of community are also a component of State and National research priorities. Research Priorities for the Department of Education and the Arts include Educational Engagement and Outcomes, while the Department of Education and Training identifies "supporting regional development by taking into account the different needs of rural and regional communities" and "building the capacity of communities to respond to change and to achieve sustainable economic and social outcomes" among its future challenges.

The National Research Priority Promoting and Maintaining Good Health includes "strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric" as one of its key goals.

Key themes of the Community Co-operative draw on these research priorities, including, but not limited to, the following:

community engagement/capacity building, schools and learning outcomes;

pedagogies of active citizenship, in the classroom and beyond;

families, community and schooling;

community: the end of the social?;

universities and their communities;

techniques of community capacity building.

Completed projects include:

University, School and Community

Community Renewal Zone Workshops

Beyond Rhetoric

Current project underway or in development include:

What are universities good for? A National Conversation (with Swinburne University and University of New England).

Measuring Engagement: a pilot study of indicators of university-community engagement.

Developing Democracy: a study of undergraduate students' civic engagement.

Safe, Innovative and Smart Communities for Young Australia

Partnerships that Benefit

University-community assisted schools: a mapping of innovative family-school-university partnership models in order to document practical applications of successful, innovative partnership programmes/initiatives.

The Australian Consortium

Background
In early 2002, the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy invited the Australian Higher Education community to become a partner to the ICHE.

Rationale
The Australian Consortium develops the capacity of a national network of established academics and early career researchers (see below) in order to interrogate community engagement in theory and application; the Australian Consortium is a body that analyses national trends and practices of community engagement. The purpose of such a network is to provide a contribution to scholarly debates on community that supplements and supports practical work of community engagement and measurement in Australia, and provides expertise and analysis to public policy debate. Specifically, the Australian Consortium:

contributes to and develops a critical and rigorous scholarship of engagement by means of scholarly publications, conference presentations, competitive grant applications, and contribution to public and policy debates;

has conducted the Victorian Universities as Sites of Citizenship project which will provide a snapshot of policies and practices of community engagement in all Australian Universities;

cultivates a interdisciplinary debate and analysis of theories and practices of community engagement by supporting formal and informal collaborations between various stakeholders across institutional, organisational, and geographic boundaries;

facilitates the capacity for researchers, policy makers and other interested parties to coordinate, undertake and communicate their research and policy activities by means of Australian Consortium forums, newsletter, and website;

actively supports and mentors early career researchers by means of collaborative research projects and mentoring;

encourages and facilitates the sharing of information on strategies and practices of community engagement and disseminates research findings in order to promote best practice;

In short, the objective has been to facilitate a critical scholarship of community-university engagement by means of a network of committed researchers, and to build the capacity of such scholarship by drawing together established academic researchers and early career researchers.

The Australian Consortium Collaborating Researchers

University of Ballarat
Associate Professor John McDonald
Director, Centre for Health Research and Practice

University of Canberra
Professor Meredith Edwards
Director, National Institute for Governance

Central Queensland University
Associate Professor Stewart Lockie
Director, Centre for Social Science Research

Charles Sturt University
Professor Seumas Miller
Director, Special Research Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.

Curtin University of Technology
Professor Tom Stannage
Pro Vice Chancellor

Dr Ian Fairnie
Director, External and Community Relations

Associate Professor Tony A Cooke
Dept of Social Work and Social Policy

Professor Daniela Stehlik
Director, ALCOA Research Centre for Stronger Communities
Division of Humanities

Deakin University
Professor David Birch
Pro Vice Chancellor (Rural and Regional)

Griffith University
Professor Marilyn McMeniman
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Arts and Education)

Professor Ross Homel
Deputy Director, Key Centre for Ethics, Law Justice and Governance

James Cook University
Professor Paul Havemann
Professor of Law

La Trobe University
Mr David Ensor
Deputy Director (Programs), Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities

Macquarie University
Associate Professor Richard Braddock
Director of Internatonal Relations

The University of Melbourne
Professor Brian Galligan
Head, Department of Political Science.

Monash University
Professor Simon Marginson
Director, Monash Centre for Research in International Education

Murdoch University
Professor Kateryna Longley
Pro Vice Chancellor (Regional Development)

The University of New England
Director, Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy
School of Professional Development and Leadership

Northern Territory University
Professor Ian Falk
Chair in Rural and Remote Education

The University of Queensland
Professor Trevor Grigg
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International and Development)

Dr Michael Cuthill
Director, UQ Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre

Associate Professor Janelle Allison
Director, Centre for Rural & Regional Innovation QLD

Queensland University of Technology
Professor Ruth Matchett
Director, Northern Campuses

Wayne Delaforce
Assistant Director, Devleopment

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Professor Chris Duke
Director & PVC Organisational Capability Development

Professor Bruce Wilson
Head of School, School of Social Science & Planning

Professor Mike Berry
Professor of Urban Studies and Public Policy
Faculty of the Constructed Environment

Ms Anne Badenhorst
Associate Director, Community & Regional Partnerships

Ms Robyn Dale
Director, Union Research Centre on Organisation and Technology (URCOT)

Professor John Martin
Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Regional and Rural Development

University of South Australia
Professor Alison MacKinnon
Foundation Director, Hawke Institute

University of Southern Queensland
Professor William Lovegrove
Vice-Chancellor to nominate

Swinburne University of Technology
Anne Langworthy
Director, The Centre for Regional Development

The University of Sydney
Associate Professor Murray Print
Director, Centre for Research and Teaching in Civics

University of Tasmania
Dr Elaine Stratford
Deputy Head, School of Geography & Environmental Studies

University of Technology Sydney
Ms Pauline O'Loughlin
Co-Director, UTS Shopfront

Victoria University
Professor Elizabeth Harman
Vice Chancellor Elect

Professor Ron Adams
Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Community and International Engagement)

Professor John Wiseman
Professorial Fellow

University of Western Sydney
Professor Kevin Sproats
Director (Regional Development). Office of Regional Development

Ms Jan Temple
Senior Manager (Regional Development), Office of Regional Development