Volunteer Management Activity (VMA) Council is seeking qualified researchers to undertake research projects which explore volunteering through different cultural and social lenses and how these interact with current volunteering structures.
Projects are being commissioned to explore how volunteering is defined with the context of three identified groups: First Nations Peoples, People with Disability and New Migrants to Australia, with one project per identified group.
The successful parties will investigate how differences in the understandings of volunteering impact on barriers and willingness of each group to volunteer as well as other systemic or structural barriers to volunteering identified by/for each group.
Projects are expected to include:
- Literature reviews exploring barriers to volunteering from one of the identified groups. These will address in depth issues surrounding discrimination, racism and exclusion which occurs due to Western-centric views on volunteering and organisation structures
- Recommendations on best practice in addressing and redesigning/co-designing systems to overcome the above exclusionary factors
- Identifying further gaps and exploring opportunities for future research
- Presentation of findings and recommendations to Volunteering Peak Body staff working in the VMA space
- Consultations with stakeholders from identified groups as relevant
