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 Helen & Geoff Handbury Fellowship Program
About the Handbury Fellowships
How To Apply
Awarded Grants
Fellowships Calendar
Gallery
The 2008 round will open on Monday 28 April. Applications should be submitted by close of business Friday 25 July 2008.
About the Handbury Fellowships
The Helen & Geoff Handbury Fellowship Program is a community-university partnership scholarship fund that provides financial support to the Western Victoria community region in partnership with RMIT University staff or students to undertake projects that provide a direct and tangible benefit towards the sustainability of the region and surrounds. Sustainable development may include any one or a combination of economic, social, cultural, educational or environmental benefits. Projects that develop an ongoing partnership between RMIT University staff and/or student(s) and the region community are particularly encouraged. For the purposes of our definition, “community” is not defined exclusively by geographic region, but also includes communities of interest, occupation, history, language, and others. The Helen & Geoff Handbury Fellowship Program was officially launched in May 2002, as a three-year pilot program. The founding members of the RMIT University-Southern Grampians played an important role in supporting the development of this innovative scholarship program.
Geoff Handbury and his (late) wife Helen Handbury are well-loved community members in the Hamilton region. They are champions of innovative change and ideas that would make a difference to communities in their region and beyond, and well-known for their generous philanthropy. Both Helen and Geoff believed in the capacity of people working together for the betterment of not just the region, but also the world. In 2000, the Handburys made a significant donation to RMIT University to further develop the region-university partnership. In 2002, an amount of this donation was allocated to the development of a community-university fellowship program, to invite and strengthen new research opportunities in the region, with the focus of the research emerging from the region. A grant of $250,000 in late 2005 matching the initial contribution to set up the Fellowship (2002-2005) was awarded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) under the Collaboration and Structural Reform Fund (CASR). This funding has enabled this program to continue for another three years (2005-2007). The CASR funding was an acknowledgement of the Handbury’s generous contribution to community as well as a recognition of the innovativeness, capacity and success of the Program.
The Handbury Fellowship Program is particularly interested in the ideas and work of people who might fall outside of other grant processes, or who would not see themselves as capable of applying for a grant. The amount of funding available for any one Fellowship varies according to need and project scope, and is in the range of $10,000 to $40,000. A selection committee is made up of members of the community and the university.
The Fellowship Program is co-ordinated from the Globalism Institute, RMIT University.
The Fellowships are guided by the following principles:
• That all people can shape and guide their lives according to the highest ideal of wellbeing
• That personal change and the ability to bring about social change are linked, and it begins in small and piecemeal ways through relationships and seeking knowledge
• That any community-university partnership project must adhere to the fundamental project principles of methodological soundness and ethical review, shared worldview, goals and strategies, and mutual trust and respect
• That both partners of the project are involved in all stages of project development, implementation and evaluation and the degree of involvement may vary depending on community and university expertise and interest
• That the focus of the project emerges from the community and therefore, the results of the project must flow back to the community
The Fellowship processes are as follows:
There is a call for applications once a year. These are advertised through identified media (including local radio stations) and community forums in the Western Victoria region and surrounds as well as through the global email at RMIT University (Melbourne). Information sessions are also held to provide opportunities for interested community applicants to know more about the Fellowship, to find out what possibilities there were for partnerships with University staff and to discuss what was involved in applying for a Fellowship. Partnerships with other universities in the region with particular expertise in the area of research identified by the application are also supported.
There is a selection panel consisting of two community representatives (Local Council representative and sponsor representative) and three senior RMIT members including fellowship coordinator. Applications are processed and short listed. Short listed candidates are interviewed before final results are announced.
Announcements of successful candidates are made through local newspapers, radio stations and university global email.
The projects are usually undertaken within a twelve month period and may be part-time or full-time. Projects of longer duration are considered if accompanied with an appropriate justification.
Recipients of the Fellowship are required to provide a written report on the project outcomes within one month of the agreed completion date, as well as present their findings at any appropriate public forums or as related to the outcomes of the project
Fellowship community presentations are advertised in local papers and newsletters. For 2008, please refer to the Fellowships Calendar or the Local-Global Community Forums at http://www.rmit.edu.au/globalism/news/forums or contact Victoria Finch at victoria.finch@rmit.edu.au., Cicely Fenton at cicely.fenton@rmit.edu.au or Terrie Nicholson at terrie.nicholson@rmit.edu.au.
The Fellowships support time release for people from their normal employment role or provide a stipend for a person without a regular income together with additional support (travel, accommodation, project assistance, publicity, community workshops, and reports) to complete the project.
Research themes and future areas of interest in the region
The following research themes were nominated as future areas of interest for the region by the Fellowship holders. In descending order, these include:
• place and environment,
• technology and resources,
• learning and education,
• health care and medicine,
• arts and symbolism,
• conflict and violence.
For a background to the Fellowship program: Announcement and Launch of Helen and Geoff Handbury Fellowship Program
How to apply
The sixth round of applications will open on Monday 28 April 2008. Applications should be submitted by COB Friday 25 July 2008.
Application Forms
We include the application forms from the previous round as a guide only to what is required in making an application. When the next round opens revised application forms will be provided.
Helen & Geoff Handbury Fellowship Program Prospectus for 2008 Round
Helen & Geoff Handbury Fellowship Program Application Form for 2008 Round
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Yaso Nadarajah (Handbury Fellowship Coordinator)
Research Fellow
Globalism Institute
School of Global Studies, Social Science & Planning
RMIT University
Building 37, Level 5, Room 28
411 Swanston Street, MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Tel: 613 9925 3542
Fax: 613 9925 3049
Email: yaso.nadarajah@rmit.edu.au
Victoria Finch, Cicely Fenton, Terrie Nicholson
Community Project Facilitators
Globalism Institute
RMIT University (Hamilton)
200 Ballarat Road
Hamilton VIC 3300
Tel: (03) 5572 0513
Fax: (03) 5572 0553
Email: victoria.finch@rmit.edu.au
Gallery
Images are regularly loaded to our photogallery.
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