Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Unit invites scholarship projects from community organisations

ACU is increasing its capacity for collaboration with its Catholic and other partners to inform, evaluate and enhance the quality of their services in areas that are central to ACU’s mission and ethos.

Through the newly established Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Unit (SESU), ACU will provide scholarly expertise to community organisations supporting those experiencing disadvantage and marginalisation. Our researchers, in turn, will receive a new avenue to have impact in the wider community. 

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement), Professor Sandra Jones, said ACU was committed to working with its partners in ways that are mutually beneficial and that better the lives of those experiencing vulnerability in Australia and overseas.

“We are aware that many community organisations are under-resourced and find it difficult to undertake scholarship activities to inform, improve and grow their services,” Professor Jones said.

“Projects supported by the SESU will help to address this problem, and many of them will bring about more just and compassionate social policies and services.”

The SESU is guided by an Advisory Group that includes the Pro Vice-Chancellor Engagement (Chair), Pro Vice-Chancellor Arts and Academic Culture, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, and three external representatives: Father David Braithwaite, Society of Jesus; Roby Curtis, Director for the Emmanuel City Mission; and Netty Horton, Chief Executive Officer of CatholicCare Melbourne.

The SESU is asking community organisations to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for scholarship projects. These projects might address big issues that affect the not-for-profit sector, or might be smaller in scale and help shape, expand or evaluate an organisation’s programs or services. 

The first round of EOIs will open this month and will close on Wednesday, 1 July 2020. 

For more information on the SESU, please email: sesu@acu.edu.au.

Pictured below:  Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) Sandra Jones, Senior Community Engagement Officer Bree Seamer, and Research Engagement Manager Jeanine Parsons.