Impact Research Grants

Aboriginal Australian dietary practices and place-making in public health equity

Victoria University

Academic team: Dr Kristina Vingrys, Karen Jackson, Prof. Christopher Sonn, Rowena Price, Assoc Prof. Alison Baker, Dr Megan O’Shea 

Building on past investigations by Victoria University’s Moondani Balluk Indigenous academic unit, this project will progress research on  the importance of ancestral Aboriginal dietary practices, place-making and self-determination for Aboriginal people. By supporting Aboriginal cultural identity and self-determination linked to “deadly tucker” and cultural food practices, this project aims to strengthen sustainable, healthy food systems and reduce health inequities experienced by Aboriginal people living on Kulin Nation lands.

Policy and practice partners: Western Health Public Health Unit, Nutrition Australia (Victorian Division), The Cairnlea Conservation Reserves Committee of Management, Community Identity Displacement Research Network, Koling wada-ngal Aboriginal Corporation Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Centre

Co-designing healthier climate policies

University of Melbourne

Academic team : Prof. Kathryn Bowen, Dr Annabelle Workman

Working with the Department of Health, this project aims to support policymakers to access Victorian-specific data and tools as they seek to develop healthier climate policies. Collaborating with partners across sectors, sectors and levels of government, this project will result in a co-designed healthy climate ‘toolkit’ that can support and enable policymakers to adequately account for health in the climate policy process.

Policy and practice partner: Department of Health Victoria

Developing tools for knowledge translation in transport and health modelling

RMIT University

Academic team: Dr Belen Zapata-Diomedi, Dr Afshin Jafari, Prof. James Woodcock (University of Cambridge), Prof. Rolf Moeckel (Technical University of Munich), Dr Alan Both 

RMIT’s Healthy Liveable Cities Lab’s city-wide transport and health simulation model aims to support equitable access to walking and cycling across Greater Melbourne. This project will enable policymakers, practitioners and health advocates to understand, visualise and apply this complex modelling. The visualisation tool will provide policy-relevant evidence for built environment change scenarios to maximise active transport outcomes and redress health inequities.

Policy and practice partners: Department of Transport and Planning Victoria, Bicycle Network

TransformUs Wellbeing

Deakin University

Academic team: Dr Claudia Strugnell, Prof. Jo Salmon, Dr Natalie Lander, Dr Kristy Bolton, Assoc Prof. Serene Yoong, Dr Caderyn Gaskin, Andrew Brown, Dr Michelle Jackson, Prof. Steve Allender 

Building on over 10 years of research and testing, this project will work with primary schools in the Victorian Great South Coast region toco-design and integrate meaningful opportunities for physical activity within all parts of the school environment – from lessons and curriculum, to breaks and recreation spaces. School communities will join participatory workshops to build common understandings of barriers and opportunities for meaningful movement in schools, before putting evidence-based solutions into practice together.

Policy and practice partners: Barwon South West Public Health Unit, The Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER; Victorian Branch)

It takes a village: A neighbourhood approach to improve health and wellbeing

Deakin University

Academic team: Dr Kristy Bolton, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Dr Rebecca Lindberg, Dr Victoria Brown, Eloise Litterbach

Expanding on the work of Norlane Community Initiatives, this community-led project aims to create healthy, sustainable, inclusive and resilient neighbourhoods. Taking a whole-of-neighbourhood and whole-of-person approach, this project will enable Norlane residents to address their interests in equitable and sustainable eating, food literacy, social connectedness, and community wellbeing. Knowledge generated about NCI’s approach will be used to inform  community health and wellbeing practices, at scale and across other Victorian communities.

Policy and practice partner: Norlane Community Initiatives

Social connections in Neighbourhood Houses

RMIT University

Academic team: Dr Ellen van Holstein, Imogen Carr, Dr Iris Levin, Assoc Prof. Sharlene Nipperess, Assoc Prof. Ian McShane, Assoc Prof. Ilan Wiesel (University of Melbourne)

In partnership with the University of Melbourne, Neighbourhood Houses Victoria, and Network West, this project will identify how Victoria’s extensive network of 400 neighbourhood houses may be strategically deployed to offer increased opportunities for social connection, with and for those most at risk of loneliness.

Neighbourhood house participants will be recruited and trained as community researchers. They will work alongside the project team to shape and design workshops and programming. The project will create a replicable, scalable and participatory process that is expected to generate sustainable social connections and mental health outcomes for Victorians connected to neighbourhood houses.

Policy and practice partners: Network West, Neighbourhood Houses Victoria

Enhancing the capacity of Victorian sport to tackle racism

Monash University

Academic team: Prof. Ruth Jeanes, Prof. Ramon Spaaij (Victoria University), Prof. Karen Farquharson (University of Melbourne)

This project plans to improve the capacity of the community sport sector to respond to  and  address racial discrimination in sport.  It will review current policies, education and practices, and co-design anti-racist improvement approaches with community sports participants who have lived experience of racism in sport.  The project aims to enhance equity and inclusion across the Victorian community sport sector so that everyone can enjoy the health benefits of safe and inclusive community sport.

Policy and practice partner: Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMSport)