PROJECTS
Experienced independent researchers and consultants:
Being a non-profit cooperative, Borderlands
has worked in the ‘third sector’ often in association with local or state
government, either directly through our consulting and research practices or
indirectly through our instigation of, participation in and running of
workshops.
We've worked with Volunteer Resource Centre networks, the Community Legal Services sector, Neighbourhood Houses and Community and Family Centres in the Eastern Metropolitan Region across:
An in-depth understanding of the complex
policy landscapes and their relevance for the project at-hand was applied
and further developed at the interface between expectations of the project
and the specific policy context.
The Borderlands’ team consist of consultants
and researchers with both practical and academic backgrounds; we have
experience-based and multi-disciplinary capabilities to craft practically
useful syntheses of foundational as well as newly emerging theoretical
frameworks and interpretations. We thus have a diverse range of transferable
skills, including:
Below is a list of past and present projects. Please contact us if you would like more information.
Project Categories
February – November 2007
Eastern Metropolitan Region Management Forum (City of Knox)
Strategic Plan for volunteering and civic participation region covering seven municipalities, and approx 1 million people
August 2005 – February 2007
Consortium: Doncare, Manningham Centre Association, Manningham Community Health Service, Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Region)
Development of coordinated volunteer management system, including website & database.
March – May 2004
Australian Volunteers International
Writing Vision Statement for AVI’s approach to development, with theoretical exposition of volunteering in international development field.
August – October 2003
Eastern Volunteer Recruitment Project (EVRP)
Borderlands’ recruited to take over and complete EVRP for Home & Community Care in Melbourne’s Eastern Region ( semi-rural). Quantitative & qualitative analysis of data & design of recruitment and retention strategies.
Frankston/Mornington Peninsula Volunteer Resource Group, a collective of nine community agencies & 2 local governments.
Feasibility study of resource centre for volunteers and design of locally relevant model. Qualitative & quantitative questionnaires, interviews & focus groups with over 100 stakeholders. Data analysis from over 220 NGO responses.
FAMILY/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECTS
July 2006 – June 2007, Inner South Community Health Service, Melbourne
The Listening To What Matters evaluated men’s responsibility family violence program by interviewing women partners (or ex-partners). The findings, extensive literature review, interviews with other family violence program staff, will inform the future developments.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
January – February 2007
Bushfire CRC (CIRCLE, RMIT)
Assistance for writing up (for publication) qualitative research data from 2005 Wangary (South Australian) bushfire. Research article highlights salience of local ties of primary sociality, local knowledge and experience for developing situated and contextualised community safety programs for successful partnerships with SES, ngos and government organisations.
October 2006 – January 2007
City of Boroondara, School Focussed Youth Services
Review of counselling and support needs of families with primary school age children to establish baseline data for future resource allocation by City Council and the SFYS. Semi-structured interviews with local state and private school staff and local family service providers.
Aug 2001 – September 2001
Holy Family Parish, Mt Waverley, Melbourne
Young people consulted about their involvement in the church, to recommend inclusive practices to parish.
ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
May 2006 – September 2006
Australian Association of Social Workers
Structural review of the Association.
June 2006
Chisholm TAFE
Seven focus groups with sessional staff to explore support strategies required for quality improvement.
September 2003 – June 2006
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation Victoria
Borderlands Cooperative was engaged to design and implement the evaluation of the Fanning the Flames of Reconciliation Project, a state-wide community education project, using participatory action research (PAR) principles. We provided support to project workers and others on evaluation techniques and PAR processes as well as provided support for the further development of reconciliation initiatives. The final evaluation report detailed the numerous projects that together made up the bigger project and suggested ways forward for future community developments.
March 2005 – March 2006
Geelong Food Relief Centre
Borderlands Cooperative contracted to evaluate a food relief centre in the state’s largest regional centre with the aim of establishing why there is an ongoing need for such a centre, how the centre is used and viewed by all stakeholders, and to give recommendations as to how to improve the operation of the centre.
Dec 2002 – November 2003
World Vision Australia
Borderlands was engaged to research and develop a framework as an organisational educational tool for understanding (and reducing) poverties and give recommendations as to the emphasis that should be given to the work of different organisational divisions within WVA. This constituted the second phase to the initial one that she worked on (see below).
May 2001 – November 2001
World Vision Australia
June 2003 – May 2004
Multicultural Services Unit, Mercy Women’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
BL advised and assisted the Coordinator of the Multicultural Services Unit as to how best to complete this research project, which examined Italian immigrant women’s experiences of health services from data collected in the 1990s.
COMMUNITY LEARNING/EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS
February 2007
Australian Association of Social Workers, Victoria
Borderlands has been contracted to examine how members of the AASW (and non-member social workers) view the need for and requirements of (and gaps in) the now mandatory Continuing Professional Education policy in providing an infrastructure for meeting the acknowledged requirements of continuing education.
July – September 2003
Community Learning Partners’ Critical Reference Group comprised of representatives of Gawith Villa, Deakin University, several disability groups & ANZ Trustees
Evaluation of the participatory processes of the project’s Critical Reference Group and their likelihood of achieving the project’s objectives entailing the production of adult learning materials designed for people with intellectual disabilities working collaboratively with people without disabilities in commercial, recreational and adult educational situations. The working group was comprised equally of people with intellectual disabilities and those without disabilities and included representatives from disability activist and advocate agencies, ANZ Trustees, Deakin University, and neighbourhood houses.
September – December 2001
City of Port Phillip, Melbourne
Borderlands was engaged to design and coordinate the initial community consultation process for the margins, memories and markers’ Project. Findings of the consultation process were documented for the purposes of providing input into the City’s project team that was responsible for overseeing the actual creation of the public art installations throughout the City of Port Phillip.