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Business, Economics and LawResearch Profile 2019
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Message from Professor Andrew GriffithsResearch that will shape our world and tackle the significant challenges our society faces is only made possible by the structures and partnerships that support it.
In recognition of the many perspectives required to address major challenges, our research at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law is often conducted in collaboration with industry, government and community partners.
Our collaborative and innovative research approach has seen us shape business practices, legislation and policy in Australia and abroad.
We are continually advancing both practical and theoretical approaches to research across our schools and institutes, forming new and valuable partnerships to magnify the positive impact we can achieve together.
Professor Andrew GriffithsExecutive Dean Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
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Contents4 UQ research has impact
5 Message from the Associate Dean (Research)
6 Shining a light: how criminal law impacts the homeless
7 Bringing telehealth to BUSHkids
8 Improving health for children and young people in care
10 A new wave of technology: crossing cultural divides to save lives on Australian beaches
12 Fostering financial fortitude in drought-affected businesses
13 Income inequality in Australia: ensuring a ‘fair go’ for all
14 Food for thought: where industry ‘meats’ research
15 Building sustainability in the performing arts
16 The hotel of healing
17 Ensuring no-one is left behind: partnerships providing a safe place for foster kids and people living with a disability
18 A decade of serving the community
20 Beyond benevolence: understanding and preventing violations by the organisations we trust
22 Partnership promotes sustainable future for ecotourism
23 Partnering for impact
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UQ research has
Through our five research impact themes, UQ connects people and capabilities from across the university to develop solutions to major global challenges:
By building more environmentally sustainable, economically viable and community-supported biological production systems, UQ research is delivering bioeconomic impacts through partnerships with industry, government and the community.
Combating ecosystem change is essential to secure our environment and promote inclusive and sustainable livelihoods. Through changing technologies, economies and behaviours, UQ research is building a more sustainable future.
Building Better Bioeconomies
A peaceful and inclusive future demands justice and equality for all. Most of all, it requires us to give all children a great start through quality education and an end to poverty. UQ researchers are driving social change and informing policy agendas that support future generations.
Health and safety are fundamental rights. UQ’s medical and allied health research is developing solutions to promote wellbeing for us all, at all ages across the globe.
Transforming Societies
Leading Healthy Lives
Secure systems, clean energy and advanced manufacturing all require technology innovation. UQ experts are partnering with industry leaders to design technology solutions for tomorrow.
Designing Technology for Tomorrow
Achieving Resilient Environments and Livelihoods
From science and sustainability to health and humanities, UQ research has impact. Find out more, be inspired, and learn how we create change – right across the world, every day.
research.uq.edu.au/impact
IMPACT
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Message from the Associate Dean (Research)UQ researchers provide knowledge leadership for a better world.
In our context, research needs to generate knowledge and insights to enable industry, government and community-based organisations to improve society. Engagement and impact with end users are more than just buzzwords. There is nothing more rewarding for a researcher or a student than to see their work influence policies and practices and improve outcomes for society.
Universities are encouraging and supporting research engagement by thinking of pathways to impact. One pathway is for researchers to work closely with partners and beneficiaries to co-design research projects. This approach can help ground research in contemporary issues and improve the adoption of findings within an organisation. Another pathway is for universities to communicate research outcomes in a more accessible way based on the audience. This approach can include using the mass media, policy briefings, public lectures and research profile documents like this one.
This research profile provides a snapshot of research in partnership with, or of relevance to, non-profit or membership-based organisations. It showcases the quality and diversity of our research across our three Schools (UQ Business School, School of Economics, School of Law), the Australian Institute for Business and Economics (AIBE) and the Centre for the Business and Economics of Health (CBEH). Most importantly, it highlights the essential role of collaboration in creating change in our local and global community.
Our research partnerships are essential to solving the world’s most challenging problems. I would encourage you to reach out to the individual researchers in this profile, or to our Faculty research team and me. Working together, we can make even more of a difference to the world in which we live.
Professor Brent RitchieAssociate Dean (Research) Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Professor Tamara Walsh
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Chief investigator Professor Tamara Walsh said the project was a national comparison of how criminal law affects homeless and disadvantaged people occupying public spaces around Australia.
“We’re looking at the impact of criminal law and police powers in 10 Australian cities spanning every state and territory,” she said.
“It allows us to study the jurisdictions that do things well and compare them to the jurisdictions with high levels of criminalisation of these groups.
“Based on our findings, we’ll make recommendations around how our legal systems can better respond to the needs of homeless and disadvantaged people.”
Funded by the Australian Research Council, the three-year project is the culmination of a decade-long partnership between Professor Walsh and homelessness legal services across Australia.
Partners involved in the project are:
• LawRight,
• Public Interest Advocacy Centre Ltd,
• Justice Connect,
• Street Law Canberra,
• Hobart Community Legal Service,
• Street Law Centre WA Incorporated,
• Darwin Community Legal Service Inc,
• Townsville Community Legal Service Inc,
Shining a light: how criminal law impacts the homeless
A Law School-led research collaboration is exploring ways to reduce the criminalisation of homeless and disadvantaged people across the country.
• Welfare Rights Centre SA Inc and
• Illawarra Legal Centre Inc.
Academic collaborators Professor Luke McNamara (University of New South Wales), Associate Professor Thalia Anthony (University of Technology Sydney) and Associate Professor Julia Quilter (University of Wollongong) are also part of the research team led by Professor Walsh.
To date, the team has interviewed around 180 people experiencing homelessness across Australia, as well as lawyers and magistrates.
Legal services staff have been involved throughout, conducting the interviews with their homeless or at-risk clients and networking with their equivalents in other jurisdictions to share their experiences, concerns and wisdom.
Critically, the research team has already observed a strong link between mental health issues, homelessness and criminalisation.
Professor Walsh said limited mental health support often resulted in people struggling to maintain their tenancies, ultimately landing them in public spaces where they attracted police attention.
She said this outcome placed the police in an “unenviable position” where they felt pressured to act, and this often resulted in vulnerable people ending up behind bars.
“Not only is this punitive method expensive, but it doesn’t make sense from a moral, ethical or rights-based perspective,” she said.
“We believe it’s inappropriate to use the legal system to deal with these complex social, health and economic problems.
“Our partners hope that by shining a light on issues that affect their clients, more resources will be allocated to community legal centres who advocate for people experiencing disadvantage, and that effective legal responses will be developed.”
Telehealth services are now widely available to children and their families in rural and remote Queensland, thanks to an innovative research partnership between UQ and BUSHkids.
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BUSHkids is a not-for-profit organisation that provides free allied health and education services to rural and remote families across Queensland.
In 2016, the organisation partnered with UQ’s Centre of Research Excellence in Telehealth on a three-year project to develop, trial and evaluate a telehealth framework to improve access for clients.
BUSHkids CEO Carlton Meyn said telehealth is an exciting new frontier for the organisation.
“It provides us with the opportunity to use technology to supplement our face-to-face services and reach more geographically isolated children,” he said.
Jessica Campbell – a full-time UQ PhD student sponsored by BUSHkids – was the academic project lead, supported by her principal advisors Professor Deborah Theodoros and Professor Trevor Russell from UQ’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and associate advisors Professor Nicole Gillespie and Dr Nicole Hartley from UQ Business School.
The research project had three stages, the first being a scoping study to identify existing telehealth innovations used to deliver multidisciplinary care to children in rural and remote communities.
The next stage was stakeholder consultation and needs analysis. The team spoke to BUSHkids clients, staff and community referrers to learn about their perceptions of telehealth and to see if and how telehealth could fill the gaps in BUSHkids’ services.
Campbell said BUSHkids then identified three telehealth models to trial and evaluate – a psychology service, a speech therapy service and a parent education service.
Based on the trials, Campbell and team developed recommendations and guidelines to help BUSHkids scale up and implement telehealth more broadly.
For the duration of the research, Campbell was embedded one day per week at BUSHkids’ Brisbane offices, where she collaborated with staff on the research design, data collection and evaluation.
“We determined the potential concerns and stopping blocks for each service and addressed those together,” she said.
“We also collaborated on tailored guidelines and training modules for staff to ensure they could deliver these services with confidence.”
Professor Gillespie said each team member brought a different focus to the project, leveraging their expertise and experience in business or allied health to deliver improved outcomes.
“As a change management and organisational trust expert, my role was helping Jess pinpoint the organisational change and stakeholder management needed for telehealth implementation to succeed,” Professor Gillespie said.
“Working as part of a multidisciplinary team enabled us to publish high-impact and comprehensive research that will help BUSHkids and many other health service organisations to understand how to complement their services with virtual service delivery.”
According to BUSHkids CEO Carlton Meyn, the project was a resounding success.
“We went from providing six telehealth sessions across the organisation in 2016-17 to 487 sessions in 2018-19,” he said.
“All BUSHkids staff are now able to access training and facilities to provide telehealth sessions for children and families.”
Bringing telehealth to BUSHkids
Professor Nicole Gillespie, Dr Nicole Hartley, Professor Deborah Theodoros and Professor Trevor Russell
Improving health for children and young people in careMaking life healthier and happier for children and young people in care is the subject of the Navigate Your Health (NYH) initiative.
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Dr Tina Rampino
Professor Stephen Birch
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This two-year pilot program was designed and implemented through a collaborative partnership across the health and community sectors, by Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CHQ HHS), the Brisbane District of Department of Child Safety Youth and Women (DCSYW) and the Brisbane Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS). It provides services to children and young people in care and aims to impact on health disparities by focusing on health screening, referral coordination and health care coordination.
UQ experts are currently assessing the cost-effectiveness of the two-year pilot program, as part of a broader evaluation of the NYH pilot program.
Professor Stephen Birch, a health economist, explains how good health care can have wide-ranging impacts on those in uncertain circumstance.
“For many in this situation, general health can be a lower priority than things like finding security and a welcoming environment,” Professor Birch said.
“Things like ensuring the child has appropriate immunisations, and health checks for eyes and teeth might have fallen through the cracks.”
“Navigate Your Health provides a systematic approach where a ‘Health Navigator’ helps look after each individual’s health care and ensures they receive appropriate attention.”
“If a child is sick and cannot attend school, or is dealing with a toothache, vision or hearing issues that haven’t been addressed, it is going to impact their life in a lot of ways.”
“Being healthy provides a strong base to make progress in other areas of life like education and socialising.”
UQ’s involvement is via the Centre for the Business and Economics of Health (CBEH), a joint initiative of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences and the Mater Research Institute (UQ), with generous support from the Taylor Family. Funding for the Economic aspect of the broader NYH evaluation has been supported by a Health Services Research grant awarded through the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Professor Birch, Taylor Family Chair and director of CBEH, says the next step is to extract quality data from a similar population of children and young people in care to the one being supported by Navigate Your Health pilot program, thereby providing a comparative measure.
“A more comprehensive study would allow us to establish findings of greater scientific value and determine factors such as the economic impact and sustainable resourcing,” Professor Birch said.
“We could also seek to examine how Navigate Your Health might reduce the demands on the public health system down the track, such as emergency care and hospital admissions.”
CBEH Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Tina Rampino, who led the economic modelling for the program, said it had been rewarding working with such a diverse and dedicated program team.
“What’s exciting about this partnership is it’s not just about evaluating the program; it’s about going further and applying our learnings to shape and improve future iterations of the program, or related programs, before they’re implemented,” Dr Rampino said.
“This kind of early-stage consideration of research input and impact evaluation can be transformational for the program and its potential to change lives.”
For further detail regarding the NYH evaluation, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]
A new wave of technology: crossing cultural divides to save lives on Australian beachesOver the past 10 years, 41 per cent of the drownings recorded on Queensland beaches have involved international tourists, recent migrants or people from culturally or linguistically different backgrounds. Of the 5000+ rescues performed over the same period, over 80% involved people swimming outside of the red and yellow flags.
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To help change these alarming statistics, Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) and UQ researchers are working together to refine SLSQ’s world-first ‘Life-Fi’ – an innovative technology that breaks down communication barriers to assist in keeping all beachgoers safe.
First trialled in November 2018, Life-Fi provides free wi-fi between the red and yellow flags, providing positive reinforcement for beachgoers to put safety first and swim in patrolled locations. Once connected, Life-Fi automatically detects the language being used on the beachgoer’s mobile phone and provides culturally-specific surf safety information in the language detected – providing instant education as to beach safety practices. Importantly, Life-Fi also allows surf lifesavers and lifeguards to ‘push out’ valuable, real-time alerts, ensuring all connected beachgoers are alerted to current conditions, beach closures and dangers in their primary language.
UQ researchers Dr Nicole Hartley, Professor Brent Ritchie and Ms Yawei Jiang have been using evidence-based research to help SLSQ refine this valuable new tool and its engagement with beachgoers.
“We’ve been working closely with SLSQ for many years on a number of initiatives and they are continually trialling new technology and innovative ways to provide vital information to people to encourage them to swim between the flags,” Dr Hartley said
“After the initial trial of Life-Fi they engaged us to help them measure how effective it was and look at ways to improve its use and uptake on Australian beaches.”
“We are doing this through a variety of methods such as lab testing using eye tracking to look at how people are using and interacting with the app.”
Professor Brent Ritchie adds, “Life-Fi offers the very real opportunity to increase knowledge and awareness of beach safety practices for all beachgoers, be they international or domestic. Overcoming the challenge of language barriers, Life-Fi is technology that really makes a difference at a community level.”
Dr Nicole Hartley, Professor Brent Ritchie and Ms Yawei Jiang
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UQ Law School Senior Lecturer and chartered accountant Dr Thea Voogt said the three-year integrated pilot study was the first of its kind and would investigate how the law and accounting intersects in small business structures.
“We’ve been working with primary producers, small business owners and community leaders to determine how businesses in the region are structured, looking at whether they are sole traders, partnerships, companies, trusts, or a combination of these,” Dr Voogt said.
“These different structures impact each business in unique ways, and can influence cashflow or make it difficult to restructure or change ownership as part of succession planning without significant cost and a lot of red tape.”
Drawing from UQ Business School Deputy Head Professor Martie-Louise Verreynne’s world-leading research in innovation in small businesses, the team aims to investigate how the structure
Dr Thea Voogt
Fostering financial fortitude in drought-affected businesses
Supporting farming and family businesses in Central West Queensland’s drought-affected regions is the focus of a pioneering partnership co-led by The University of Queensland, the Remote Area Planning and Development Board (RAPAD) and the Rural Financial Counselling Service North Queensland.
of farm-based and town-based small businesses can make rural and remote business operations easier.
The insights and data generated by the study will allow the research team to develop best-practice ways for primary producers and small businesses to maximise cashflow to support their long-term viability, while also helping inform policy recommendations for government.
RAPAD Chief Executive Officer David Arnold said in a time of significant natural disasters, the need to support businesses and communities in the region has never been greater.
“Small businesses, whether agricultural or town-based, are the lifeblood of rural communities, and are vital to ensuring people stay in the regions,” Mr Arnold said.
“What we learn from Dr Voogt’s work will be instrumental in supporting individual graziers and whole communities.”
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Emeritus Professor Prasada Rao and Professor KK Tang
In just 14 days, the highest-earning households in Australia make more than the poorest households do in a year.
Emeritus Professor Prasada Rao and Professor KK Tang from UQ’s School of Economics are committed to finding solutions that will bridge this ‘disadvantage gap’.
“The way you start out in life can impact where you end up,” Emeritus Professor Rao said.
“In wider political discussion, people often view income as driven by choice – but parental income and access to health care and education play a huge part in earning capability.”
“We want to help politicians and policy-makers to make decisions that will help decrease disadvantage and provide equal opportunities for all Australians.”
“We are looking at what proportion of income is driven by choice - the effort individuals put into their work – and what proportion is determined by where, and in what, circumstances someone is born,” Emeritus Professor Rao said.
Income inequality in Australia:ensuring a ‘fair go’ for allInequality in Australia is above the average OECD level for developed nations. The income of the richest one per cent of Australians is 26 times the income of the poorest 20 per cent – with older Australians and those living in remote areas among the hardest hit.
Professors Rao and Tang are looking to address these challenges by generating solutions that focus on providing access to education and healthcare to vulnerable demographics, rather than relying on taxation to address inequality.
“Rather than equalising through taxation policy and taking from high earners – we are looking at doing it through providing education and healthcare to the most disadvantaged sections of our society,” Emeritus Professor Rao said.
Their research, which has been supported by an ARC research grant, has helped bring into focus what factors drive inequality in Australia to help provide solutions to close the gap.
“By looking at what drives inequality we are able to present recommendations on resourcing and services in certain areas which can help solve these issues to curb inequality,” Professor Tang said.
In partnership with other researchers across the University, they are now looking at providing further insights into the needs of rural and remote living Australians.
“We are extending our research to work with geography academics to look at inequality in access to healthcare services by geographical region to identify needs for Australians living in remote locations,” Professor Tang said.
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Food for thought: where industry ‘meats’ researchFeeding the world is an increasingly difficult task as populations grow.
As the world now faces a global protein shortage – meat is also on the chopping block.
To address the ethical and economic call for new protein sources, ‘lab grown’ artificial meats are being developed and a new wave of plant-based options are sprouting up in stores across the country.
But while the idea of creating meat artificially is no longer a thing of the future, what still needs to be determined is the amount of resources, such as water, land and energy that will be required to make artificial meats viable for mass consumption.
Dr Sue McAvoy and Dr Carl Smith are using systems modelling and life-cycle assessment to address this question.
“It’s not enough to just say we need to shift to more sustainable methods of protein production – we need to look at the implementation of such changes to understand how we do that so we don’t inadvertently have a negative impact,” Dr McAvoy said.
“Consider how much land and water may be needed to grow pea or soy protein for example, or how we will deal with the waste produced.
“We need to assess the resource impact and also look at how this compares to producing meat traditionally using livestock”.
In partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), Dr McAvoy and Dr Smith are looking at ways to facilitate a shift from traditional to artificial meat production.
Dr Smith said they were looking at the viability for options producing protein, whether they be traditional meat, artificial meat or traditional vegetarian options like chickpea-based burgers.
“But the research hasn’t really been done to assess the consequences, environmental or socio-economic, of a shift from one meat production system to another.”
The researchers are working closely with their industry partners to ensure the outcomes are practical and useful for both business and academia moving forward.
“There’s this disconnect between business and research – we don’t often speak each other’s language,” Dr McAvoy said.
“So we are trying to become a conduit between business and research – my background in industry prior to moving into research has enabled me to understand and address business needs when we undertake partnerships in research projects.”
Assessing these changes will help inform wider Australian policy and industry processes moving forward.
“MLA continues to seek out new opportunities and understanding from changing consumer trends. This also includes new technology platforms and value chain that are likely to be used in the coming years from plant proteins and cell-cultured meat production systems. UQ have been working on modelling these different systems against our traditional beef system on a number of criteria, including sustainability metrics” said Michael Lee, Manager, High Value Food Frontiers.
Dr Sue McAvoy and Dr Carl Smith
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Applied linguist Dr Kate Power is investigating what sustainability means to the performing arts sector, and how it can best articulate its value, priorities and needs to funding bodies and the public.
“About five years ago, the Australia Council for the Arts experienced significant Australian Government funding cuts,” Dr Power said.
“The performing arts ecosystem hasn’t fully recovered. So if you understand sustainability in terms of the industry’s capacity to endure and thrive financially, that’s not happening.”
But Dr Power said financial sustainability wasn’t the only consideration.
“Sustainability in the performing arts is conceptualised differently than it is in other industries,” Dr Power said.
“My industry partners hope this research will help key stakeholders commit to sustaining the performing arts’ cultural and artistic dimensions, as well as the work of Australian artists.
“Ultimately, I want to help companies and artists better communicate the value of what they do beyond money and numbers.”
To achieve this goal, Dr Power is interviewing and analysing written data from representatives of major, small-to-medium and independent performing arts companies.
She plans to develop case studies for business and performing arts students, focusing on best practice organisational communication around sustainability.
Dr Power said she had consulted with performing arts representatives on the research design, taking into consideration their biggest issues and concerns.
Her research is part of UQ Business School’s Business Sustainability Initiative. Final research findings will be presented to industry in collaboration with UQ’s Australian Institute for Business and Economics.
Building sustainability in the performing arts
Helping the Australian performing arts industry communicate its value to improve sustainability across the sector is the top priority for a UQ Business School researcher.
Dr Kate Power
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The report Transitions to employment at Pindari explored observations made by UQ Business School’s Associate Professor Richard Robinson and co-authors Associate Professor Richard Brown and Tyler Riordan.
The project started out as an investigation about how training in hospitality-related skills could impact people as they move into independent or community housing.
“We reimagined Pindari Homeless Service at Spring Hill in Brisbane as a boutique hotel in order to change perspective, morale and operating practices,” Dr Robinson said.
“Instead of maintenance officers we had an engineering department. Instead of a triage, we had a front desk. Instead of cleaners, we had a housekeeping department.
“The desire was to both elevate the level of service and enhance the enthusiasm of those transitioning from homelessness in parallel with undertaking work skills training.
“A key take-home to emerge was that cooking, cleaning, time management, and health and hygiene are not only useful work skills, but develop an individual’s ability to live independently.”
Moreover, the research found participating in training resulted in further unexpected positive changes to participants’ physical and mental health, motivation, sociability and self-esteem.
Dr Robinson is quick to add the other key observation was that there are no quick fixes to complex personal issues.
“We need to question the thinking that programs of three-to-six months can get people with a background of extreme trauma into the workforce,” he said.
“A lot of healing is needed and that doesn’t necessarily happen in a short time.”
His final take-home establishes a need to take a longer-term view to strategies for providing simultaneous exits from homelessness and deep disadvantage.
Aaron Pimlott, Homelessness State Manager for the Salvation Army in Queensland, said the collaboration with UQ was firmly aligned with the organisation’s vision for the future.
“The Salvation Army’s overriding objectives are to have greater impact, increased innovation, stronger partnerships, and better stewardship for the communities we serve,” Mr Pimlott said.
“We are united in vision, mission and values, and have a national strategy to bring that vision to life.
“One person rough sleeping on the streets is one person too many. The Salvation Army is committed to ending homelessness in a generation.
“Any initiative that sustains long-term tenancy outcomes for an individual, and supports diversion and prevention away from the homelessness service system, is greatly welcomed.”
The hotel of healingThree key messages about the difficult transition from homelessness to employment have been highlighted via an ongoing partnership between UQ and The Salvation Army.
Associate Professor Richard Robinson, Mr Tyler Riordan and Mr Aaron Pimlott
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In 2005 Australia was facing a crisis, the number of children in out-of-home care had risen to almost 24,000, up 70 per cent from a decade prior.
At the same time, the number of foster carers was declining, further decreasing the ability of foster care agencies to place children with people who could care for them.
It was then that marketing became the unlikely ally to tackle this problem.
Professor Sara Dolnicar and Professor Melanie Randle, with the support of an ARC Linkage grant and in partnership with CareSouth and CatholicCare Wollongong, used market segmentation to help uncover the characteristics of high quality foster carers and the strategies foster care agencies could use to attract them.
“Finding foster carers who can make long term commitment to children is of vital importance to children who have already faced adversity and improves their long-term outcomes,” Professor Dolnicar said.
“We have seen a real social benefit as a
result of our work with our not-for-profit and government partners.
“Our partnership with community and government foster care partners has changed the way foster carers are recruited and disability services are delivered.
“This research has been used across Australia, by foster care and child protection services in almost every state and territory and one of our foster care partners has increased carer numbers by almost 900 per cent,” she said.
Professor Melanie Randle, who is now the Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Business, at the University of Wollongong, said their research helped address complex challenges Australia was facing.
“We have been collaborating with our industry partners for over a decade and the outcomes we have achieved have produced significant benefits for some of society’s most vulnerable people,” Professor Randle said.
“Since 2015, our partners in disability services have effectively managed
to increase their client bases despite transitioning to the NDIS.”
The partnerships that were cultivated in these research projects were vital in ensuring its delivery and enabling the positive outcomes.
“We could not have conducted either of these projects without our partners,” Professor Dolnicar said.
“Our charitable and community stakeholders like CareSouth, CatholicCare Wollongong, William Campbell Foundation and the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, provided us with access to valuable data resources and have worked with us to develop this body of research.
“There is also no way we would have been able to carry out this long-term program of research without the support of the government through ARC Linkage grants,” she said.
“This investment in our research has funnelled right back into the community to facilitate positive change.”
Ensuring no-one is left behind: partnerships providing a safe place for foster kids and people living with a disabilityResearchers who partnered with not-for-profits and government to help children find safe and nurturing homes are now working to help people living with a disability find inclusive employment.
Professor Melanie Randle and Professor Sara Dolnicar
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pro bonopublico
professional values
social responsibilty
social justice
education
legal impact
research
volunteers
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ethics
ethics
law reform
law reform
community
engagement
public interest
clinical legal education
partnerships
partnerships
pro bono
pro bono
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social responsibilty
social justice
education
legal impact
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public interestpublic interestclinical legal education
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| Research Profile LAW
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pro bonopublico
professional values
social responsibilty
social justice
education
legal impact
research
volunteers
volunteers
ethics
ethics
law reform
law reform
community
engagement
public interest
clinical legal education
partnerships
partnerships
pro bono
pro bono
publico
professional values
social responsibilty
social justice
education
legal impact
research
research
volunteers
ethicslaw reform
community
community
engagement
public interestpublic interestclinical legal education
partnerships
Dedicating time to providing pro bono services to the most disadvantaged and marginalised groups in our society such as asylum seekers and domestic violence survivors is a proud professional tradition and a pillar of legal education.
Yet even amidst this teaching practice, the UQ Pro Bono Centre — which celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year — is unique.
Of all the students who have spent week after week, hour after hour, night after night, of their spare time working to help deserving causes, culminating in thousands of combined volunteer hours, none have received any course credit or material benefit.
Their work has truly been done all Pro Bono Publico — 'for the public good’.
Centre Director, Monica Taylor said the last decade has seen hundreds of students partner with legal practitioners through the UQ Pro Bono Centre to help vulnerable individuals and populations.
“What many people don’t realise is our students receive no quantifiable benefit for what they give – they are doing it in their own time to help those in need.
“Though not a substitute for an adequately funded public legal system, pro bono legal services help bridge the justice gap and the students involved develop a greater social conscience and gain practical experience,” Taylor said.
Professor Tamara Walsh and Dr Paul O’Shea officially established the UQ Pro Bono Centre in early 2009 with the support of the then Head of School, Professor Ross Grantham.
Over the last decade their vision has grown into a centre that provides an invaluable resource to the local, state, federal and international community.
A decade of serving the community A cornerstone of the legal profession is that justice remains accessible to all regardless of socio-economic status.
“It's not easy work — clients are often caught in crisis and trying to help them can be demanding and difficult work,” Walsh said.
“The vision was always for the Centre to become cross-disciplinary, connecting law students with other emerging professionals like medicine and social work and we will continue to actively work towards facilitating more multidisciplinary pro bono projects.”
Students, like recent graduate Famin Ahmed, work on a variety of projects including international human rights initiatives.
“Coming from a migrant background, the ability to help people contribute to legislative changes to protect the rights of women was personally and professionally rewarding,” Ahmed said.
“If you’re fortunate enough to have the means and time to help others, you really have a duty to – your position is a privilege you should use it for the greater good.”
Visit law.uq.edu.au/pro-bono to learn more about the UQ Pro Bono Centre and its current projects.
UQ Pro Bono Centre Director, Monica Taylor with UQ law students
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Beyond benevolence: understanding and preventing violations by the organisations we trustWhen trust is breached by mission-based groups, like churches and charities, it negatively impacts some of Australia’s most vulnerable populations.
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It is therefore important not just to understand how the community reacts to fraud, neglect or other breaches by mission-based groups, but also how to reform organisational structures to prevent future violations.
A team of UQ researchers including Professor Matthew Hornsey, Professor Nicole Gillespie and Dr Cassandra Chapman is tackling this complex issue.
Their research looks at mission-based groups — those whose primary purpose is to serve the community rather than generate profit — and how the community reacts to breaches within their ranks.
“This is a delicate but important topic to explore,” Professor Hornsey said.
Dr Cassandra Chapman, Professor Nicole Gillespie and Professor Matthew Hornsey
“Trust is a necessary resource for these organisations to operate – integrity is a defining expectation and a non-negotiable resource.
“Their day-to-day functioning relies heavily on their image of being virtuous and this image facilitates community engagement and donations,” he said.
By highlighting the factors that lead to inaction in the face of allegations, the research has the potential to defeat organisational cultures of corruption, abuse and neglect.
“Our research employs a multi-method approach that involves interviews, archival data and experimental data, to try and get a 360-degree view of this issue,” Professor Gillespie said.
“By providing insight into these breaches we can help organisations identify how they happen and ensure they have checks and measures in place to help prevent them from occurring in the first place,” she said.
The project will also help shed light on the path to redemption and how organisations can regain the faith of the public once a violation has occurred.
“This research plays an important role in contributing to a fairer society — it has the potential to benefit many Australians, particularly those most in need of help by mission-based organisations,” Professor Hornsey said.
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UQ Business, Economics and Law Associate Dean (Research) Professor Brent Ritchie said the partnership would deliver insights that would add value for the tourism sector, locally and globally.
“For many years, UQ has been fortunate to tap into the industry expertise and experience within the Ecotourism Australia network to teach, inspire and connect with our students,” Professor Ritchie said.
“This partnership will extend how we work together, and pair Ecotourism Australia’s insights into industry trends and challenges with UQ’s advanced research capabilities.
“Through a series of research projects, student scholarships, and industry work placement opportunities, we aim to deliver practical outcomes and insights that add value to local tourism providers, helping them to make informed, evidence-based business decisions.”
Partnership promotes sustainable future for ecotourism After a decade of working together, UQ and Ecotourism Australia have formalised a comprehensive partnership that aims to build a more sustainable future for ecotourism providers and the communities in which they operate.
One of the new initiatives of the partnership will provide four scholarships to UQ higher degree by research students to explore key issues in ecotourism such as over-tourism, carbon reduction and social license to operate.
Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive Officer Rod Hillman said this was a vital step towards creating a more sustainable future.
“This is an extraordinary partnership that will allow us to access research that will create impact for our members, community and the environment,” Mr Hillman said.
“The PhD students will be doing work that is relevant, real world, and which will ultimately shape a better industry.”
Mr Hillman said research conducted by UQ students had helped Ecotourism Australia find answers to critical questions such as understanding the value of eco-certification.
“One UQ student who recently completed a placement with us was able to translate data into meaningful insights showing that, in an industry where one third of businesses fail within the first five years, ECO certified businesses are succeeding,” Mr Hillman said.
Professor Ritchie said the partnership will deliver impacts for Ecotourism Australia, their members and UQ.
Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive Officer Rod Hillman
| Research Profile BEL
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BEL Research Team: Dr Meredith Downes, Professor Brent Ritchie, Andrea Martin and Dr Sharon Hinton
Partnering for impact
Recently appointed to the role of Research Partnership Manager (RPM) for UQ’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, Dr Sharon Hinton brings substantial experience acting as a conduit between researchers and industry.
“Over the past 15 years, I’ve represented both sides of the industry-researcher partnership on a variety of research projects,” Dr Hinton said.
“The experience of seeing these collaborations from both perspectives is invaluable when considering and exploring new opportunities.”
Dr Hinton said research impact was a vital driver for leading universities, including UQ.
“The goal is the effective transfer of research ideas into meaningful services and innovations that impact positively on industry, business and communities all around the world,” she said.
“My aim as RPM is to support both sides to find the most effective way to translate research knowledge into practical application.”
According to Dr Hinton, one reward of her role is the almost daily exposure to innovative research ideas.
“However, effectively engaging industry partners requires more than just a good idea – it also requires identifying clear industry needs,” she said.
“Novel research findings are always exciting, but if the innovation is not needed or wanted by our external partners, the positive impacts of that research may be delayed or compromised.
“Put simply, the key to maximising our impact in both our local and global communities is to listen carefully to the needs of our partners and stakeholders and respond quickly and effectively.”
To contact the BEL Research Team, please email [email protected]
With a strong history of engaging with industry, government and the community, the BEL Research Team offers a primary point of contact between faculty researchers and industry partners.
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For more information, please contactT: +61 7 3346 9250
W: bel.uq.edu.au/research
A: Level 5 Reception
Sir Llew Edwards Building (#14)
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The University of Queensland
St Lucia 4072
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