Featured Research Projects

She Gives (Women's philanthropy in Australia)

She Gives has partnered with CSI UWA to launch the most extensive research project on women's philanthropy in Australia.

This ground-breaking project will reveal how women give, what drives their generosity, and the obstacles they overcome. The research includes data gathered through She Gives’ online surveys, in-depth interviews, and roundtable discussions, including a landmark event hosted by Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of Australia, at Government House in Canberra in November 2024 (pictured).

Increasingly, women are at the forefront of social change, giving through finances, time, skills, and networks. This comprehensive report, led by Paul Flatau and Dr Leanne Lester, will shine a light on their incredible contributions and impact.

Read the article and add your voice to the survey.

Community pools in the Pilbarra

Empowering remote WA communities through education and programs

Royal Life Saving Society Western Australia (RLSSWA) is the largest provider of water safety education in Western Australia, and they depend on community pools to deliver this education.

Since 2003, BHP has partnered with RLSSWA, providing $5.2 million to deliver the Water Safe WA program in the Pilbara region.

CSI UWA evaluated the social impacts of community pools and associated programs and initiatives in Port Hedland, Newman, Yandeyarra, and Jigalong communities. Reports demonstrated that these programs generate real social impact across health and well-being, social connection, safety and education, social cohesion, and employment and present targeted recommendations for further investment and growth.

Go to the Centre for Social Impact website to read more about the project.

Reimagining the Role of Lodging in Ending Homelessness

The report "Reimagining the Role of Lodging in Ending Homelessness: An Evaluation of Foundation Housing’s Lodging and Support Services" highlights how lodging accommodation managed by community housing provider, Foundation Housing, provides a cost-effective and successful model that could be further expanded to address the housing crisis.

The evaluation of Foundation Housing Lodging – which has 15 lodging houses in Western Australia –finds this model offers affordable long-term stability while addressing the holistic needs of residents through engagement and support services, promoting health, wellbeing, and social connection.  

Evaluation of a regional family domestic violence service

People living in regional, rural, and remote areas who experience family and domestic violence face specific issues related to their location and the cultural and social characteristics of living in small communities.

Our partner DVassist provides much needed counselling services for those affected by family domestic violence in WA’s regional communities.

Researchers at CSI UWA evaluated the DVassist pilot program through mixed methods:

• Analysis of case management data, and
• Interviews and written statements from DVassist staff, and regional stakeholders

The evaluation showed over a 20-month period, DVassist recorded over 2,500 calls with the majority of calls focused on counselling.

Door-to-Door for Mental Health (Assisting Communities through Direct Connection)

The largest ever door knock delving into the mental health of households across the country has revealed the true extent of our national crisis, with nearly half of people reporting being in distress and more than one-third saying they need more support – but many encountering barriers to receiving help.

The ACDC (Assisting Communities through Direct Connection) project, run by Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA) and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, knocked on about 37,500 doors across the country to kickstart conversations about mental health and encourage people to access support services.

Evaluation of the project by the Centre for Social Impact UWA shows that 49.4% of respondents reported being in moderate to very high distress, and 36.7% of respondents said they needed more support.

Go to the Centre for Social Impact website to read more about the ACDC project.

WA Financial Counselling: Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery Framework

Shaping how to support communities when disaster strikes

Communities across the country are facing disasters that are not only more frequent but also more intense. As these challenges grow, so must our response.

CSI UWA recently launched our new report with Financial Counsellors' Association WA (FCAWA), a key milestone in helping them take a more proactive and nuanced approach to disaster management - one that’s deeply rooted in the realities and needs of communities across the country.

This new framework serves as a practical guide to maximise support and resilience, ensuring our efforts are both timely and tailored.

Find out more about how this work will help shape a more responsive future.

Workplace Sexual Harrassment

To understand the prevalence of Workplace Sexual Harassment in WA and Australia, the Centre for Social Impact at The University of Western Australia (CSI UWA) has partnered with Circle Green Community Legal and undertaken new research to help identify legal need priorities related to workplace sexual harassment and discrimination in Australia.

Circle Green is the lead agency delivering the Workplace Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Legal Services Project (referred to as “the Workplace Respect Project”) in Western Australia.

In its new report, Understanding workplace sexual harassment: Trends, barriers to legal assistance, consequences, and legal need, the Centre for Social Impact UWA builds on existing literature on workplace sexual harassment, as well as interviews conducted with community legal centres and other stakeholder organisations, and people with lived experience of workplace sexual harassment, to identify and understand its prevalence, nature, and occurrence in WA.

Go to the Centre for Social Impact website to read more on our work on Workplace Sexual Harassment.

Making mental health support work better for regional communities

Despite their resilience and strengths, regional communities in WA and around Australia have the greatest need for mental health support. Inadequate services, insufficient funding and difficulty in accessing support need to be urgently addressed.

The Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) has engaged the Centre for Social Impact UWA to better understand what is different about living in regional areas that leads to poorer mental health and difficulties accessing support, and what further support is needed to improve the lives and wellbeing of people living in those communities.

New report ‘Going the distance: Making mental health support work better for regional communities’ highlights challenges that are common to rural communities as well as the needs that are unique to individual places. Participants reported the need for tailored, community specific services – be they community services that address the social determinants of mental health, peer support groups, education programs or treatment services.

Looking through an Aboriginal lens: Ngalang Moort Wangkiny (100 Families WA)

Extending from the 100 Families WA project, the Ngalang Moort Wangkiny (Noongar for “Our People Yarning”) project reports on the experience of Aboriginal entrenched disadvantage in Perth and the major lessons that should be drawn by the community sector on ending entrenched disadvantage in Perth.

The overarching goal of the 100 Families WA project is to develop an ongoing evidence base on poverty, entrenched disadvantage, and social exclusion in Western Australia that will be used by the policy and practice community.

PLAN to help vulnerable parents bridging the gap

In 2020 Bridging the Gap (BTG) identified a significant gap in services for parents experiencing domestic violence, homelessness or housing instability, unemployment, mental health issues and financial hardship in areas of the Peel region (WA). To address this, the Parents, Learning, Advancing, Nurturing (PLAN) project was created to assist vulnerable parents aged 18-64, offering holistic, high-touch case management with both practical and relational aspects of support that transcended traditional service boundaries.

Funded by Lotterywest and evaluated by the Centre for Social Impact UWA team from October 2021 to June 2023, the PLAN project gives targeted support through a bespoke suite of activities.

Go to the Centre for Social Impact website to read more on how the PLAN project transformed the lives of vulnerable families.