Community-based research in Australian universities: Reflections on national policy, institutional strategy and research practice. Community-based research (CBR) is one important expression of university community engagement. It draws together the public good mission of the university with a scholarly intent. This presentation will provide a brief outline of the current policy, institutional and practice settings for CBR in Australia. The main focus will describe the underlying values, methodologies and methods employed by researchers in this area, and how genuine relationships between universities and communities can be fostered through CBR

1. Professor Michael Cuthill
Chair, Regional Community Development
University of Southern Queensland
michael.cuthill@usq.edu.au
UNIVERSITY ‘COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT’
IN AUSTRALIA

2. University community engagement:
Intro to CE
National policy
Institutional responses
Practice

3. Community engagement:
WHY?

4. The role of the university?
The ivory tower experts
or
Co-producers of knowledge

5. Dominant paradigm:
An ‘expert’ approach to scholarship
… detached experts
… define problems
… dispassionate ways
… conceptual/methodological
… academic disciplines
… people are subjects
… using value free methods
… reliable findings

6. A new paradigm for ‘engaged scholarship’
… action and reflection
… theory and practice
… participation with others
… practical solutions
… mutual benefits
… well-being

7. … informed engagement of citizens
and civil society on research and
innovation matters…
(European Union)

8. ‘Working together’
Analogy of migratory geese

9. What’s in a name?
‘science and society’
‘community engagement’
‘engaged scholarship’
‘knowledge exchange’
‘service learning’…

10. Four key elements … A focus on:
High quality scholarship
Stakeholder collaboration
Mutually beneficial outcomes
Public good intent

11. The challenge in
implementing a new
paradigm …

12. National
policy
University
responses
Practice

13. A solid policy foundation?
… how science and society
engage in collaborative
knowledge processes in
Australia

14. Institutional requirements:
Senior leadership
Clarity of conceptualisation
Institutionalisation
Quality assurance
Capacity building programmes
Rewards and recognition
Funding streams

15. Simon Fraser University has committed to a CE
approach….
… that informs every aspect of how a university
operates, educates and serves its students and its
communities
… not as an exercise in altruism, but in the belief that
this engagement also pays enormous dividends for
students, faculty and staff – and for the university
itself.

16. Can academics and external
stakeholders, all with diverse
timeframes, skill sets and
deliverables, just come together and
effectively collaborate?

17. In practice:
We see a lack of skills …
project management
collaboration
and
limited motivation

18. Priorities and
constraints
Research
producers
Research users
Knowledge Depth Breadth
Documents Long, prose Short, multiple
headings, dot points
Timeframes Medium–long Short–medium
Outputs Few and far between Regular
Responsibility Individuals and
freedom
External parties and
processes
Rigor versus
pragmatism
Rigor Pragmatism
Authorship Personal Usually anonymous

19. Working together
The Pacific Island community
and the UQ Boilerhouse

20. References:
Cuthill, O’Shea, Viljoen & Wilson, 2014 ‘Universities and the public good: A review of Knowledge Exchange
policy and related university practice in Australia’ Australian Universities’ Review (accepted).
Cuthill, M. 2014 ‘Community-based research in Australian universities: Reflections on national policy,
institutional strategy and research practice’ in Munck, R. McIlrath, L. & Hall, B. (eds) Community Based
Research: International Perspectives Palgrave Macmillan, New York(in print).
Cuthill, M. 2014 ‘The nexus between knowledge, engagement and higher education in Australia: Responding to
the complex challenges of our time’ in Global University Network for Innovation Higher Education in the World
5 Palgrave & Global University Network for Innovation, Basingstoke, pp.207-210.
Cuthill, M. 2012 ‘A civic mission for the university: Engaged scholarship and community based participatory
research’ pp.81-100 in McIlrath, L. Lyons, A. & Munck, R. (Eds.) Higher Education and Civic Engagement:
Comparative Perspectives Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Cuthill, M. 2011 ‘Embedding engagement in an Australian ‘sandstone’ university: From community service to
university engagement’ Metropolitan Universities 22:2, pp.21-44.
Cuthill, M. & Brown, A. 2010 ‘Sceptics, Utilitarians and Missionaries: Senior managers perceptions of
engagement in an Australian Research University’ The Australasian Journal of University-Community
Engagement 5:2, pp.126-146.
Cuthill, M. 2010 ‘Working together: A methodological case study of engaged scholarship’ Gateways:
International Journal of Community Research and Engagement 3, pp.20–37.
Scull, S. & Cuthill, M. 2010 ‘Engaged outreach: Using community engagement to facilitate access to higher
education for people from low socio-economic backgrounds’Higher Education Research and Development 29:1,
pp.59-74.
Cuthill, M. 2008 ‘A quality framework for university engagement in Australia’ International Journal for Public
Participation 2:2, pp.22-41.

21. Professor Michael Cuthill
Chair, Regional Community Development
University of Southern Queensland
UNIVERSITY ‘COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT’
IN AUSTRALIA