(1) In advancing the commitment to ACU Mission, Identity and Values, it is important that the University responds to the needs of its Catholic and other partners who wish to engage ACU’s scholarly expertise and research assistance to inform, evaluate and enhance the quality of their activities. (2) This Policy establishes a University-wide approach to the planning, initiation, implementation and reporting of stakeholder-engaged scholarship projects. It outlines the role of the Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Unit (SESU) in providing governance and management of these projects across the University. (3) The SESU enables ACU to collaborate with its Catholic and other partners to provide expertise in areas that are central to the University’s mission and ethos as a Catholic university. It also provides the skills and resources to increase the University’s research engagement with end-users. (4) This Policy encompasses scholarship projects that have a direct link to the University’s mission, on behalf of and in collaboration with ACU stakeholder partners and wider community groups, but do not meet the parameters for research projects. (5) Projects to be undertaken will be identified from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, the following: (6) The projects to be undertaken will be diverse in their scope and scale, with a focus on activities with a strong link to the strategic priorities of the university. They will include: (7) The principal focus of the SESU is to ensure that ACU has the capacity to engage in scholarship in key areas of need, and for those communities and organisations that are experiencing the most disadvantage, and that are linked with the University’s mission. (8) These projects will usually be non-HERDC scholarly activities. The inclusion of contract and collaborative projects will facilitate opportunities for the development and growth of partnerships that will support the sustainability of the unit. The partnerships will also provide opportunities for future collaboration in competitive funding applications, such as ARC Linkage and NHMRC Partnership Grants. (9) The core operations of the SESU are funded by a levy contributed from the University’s Faculties. This funding is set at the level of $600,000 per annum (indexed), and may be increased in future at the Vice-Chancellor and President's discretion. (10) Stakeholder engaged scholarship projects will be undertaken in a spirit of true partnership. It is expected that the partner will make financial and in-kind contributions to the project, where they will work closely with ACU to design and deliver a project that is fit-for purpose. Where a financial contribution is not possible, greater in-kind supports from partners can be negotiated with the SESU. (11) ACU must not provide any funding to the partners in these engaged scholarship projects. (12) Given the high demand for ACU’s expertise, and in anticipation of further growth in that demand, SESU calls for, and responds to, requests from partners in an equitable and strategic manner. (13) The outputs of this scholarship are usually published in report format, ACU-branded or co-branded with funders / partners, and / or in publications that are usually non-HERDC. Findings will not be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed outlets. (14) In circumstances where the findings of a particular project are considered to be of sufficient significance to warrant a HERDC publication, a submission must be made to the Publication Advisory Committee, which will determine if publication is appropriate and provide direction for any subsequent HERDC output. The decision of the Publication Advisory Committee is final. (15) Staff who publish results in HERDC publications without the authorisation of the Publication Advisory Committee will not be eligible for future projects under this Policy. (16) The outcomes of this scholarship will be aligned with both the mission and the brand of ACU, as well as provide positive stories about the role of ACU, and our Catholic and other partners, in advancing the dignity of the human person and the common good. This is subject to the rights of University members to enjoy freedom of speech and intellectual freedom pursuant to Statute 13 - Freedom of Speech, Intellectual Freedom and Academic Freedom. (17) Media and event opportunities to promote dissemination of the outputs are supported by ACU Engagement – working closely with Marketing and External Relations (MER). Together, ACU Engagement and MER work to identify and maximise opportunities to promote key outputs in order to strengthen the ACU brand. (18) The SESU and stakeholder engaged scholarship undertaken under this Policy, will be guided by an Advisory Group, consisting of internal and external stakeholders: (19) The role of the Advisory Group includes guidance on the overall direction of the unit, including selection of projects and appropriate ACU staff to deliver the projects; identification of new potential directions for scholarship, including the integration of findings from related projects into large scale projects; and, advising on, and assisting with, the dissemination of findings and promotion of the work of the unit. (20) The SESU is located within ACU Engagement, under the leadership of the Head, ACU Engagement. (21) One of the primary goals of the unit is to involve ACU academics in meaningful and high-quality scholarship and engagement. This will build and enhance ACU’s academic culture. (22) When projects are selected, or proposed, the Advisory Group, along with the Manager, Community-engaged Research, will identify academics from Faculties / Schools / Institutes with expertise in the relevant areas of scholarship. (23) An ACU member of the Advisory Group will negotiate with the relevant Executive Dean (and, where applicable, Institute Director) for the inclusion of the project in the academics’ workload. SESU funds will be used to buy out the academics’ time. These academics will be invited to lead and undertake the project(s), with the support of the SESU staff. (24) This Policy will be formally reviewed every 5 years. (25) Unless otherwise indicated, this Policy will still apply beyond the review date. (26) For related legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines and any supporting resources please refer to the Associated Information tab.Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Policy
Section 1 - Background
Section 2 - Purpose
Section 3 - Scope/Application
Top of PageSection 4 - Policy Statement and Principles
Focus
Core funding
Partner contributions
Engaging with external partners
Outputs
Dissemination
Section 5 - Roles and Responsibilities
Governance
Management
ACU researchers
Section 6 - Review
Section 7 - Associated Information
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