Wednesday, May 16, 2012

a big day: social innovation research funding bid

Today I ticked off one of my study leave goals, submitting a funding bid to do some research into pioneering (social innovation) in Australia. It has involved a lot of work, a few late nights, some 5,000 words, spread over 26 pages of application and pulling together support from 4 different partners.

The bid is titled “Social innovation within religious communities in Australia.” The aims are “to undertake an analysis of quantitative data, and gather further qualitative data in order to analyse the skills and capacities required to catalyse and sustain innovations that build social capital and enhance the public good in the not-for-profit sector.”

It has involved negotiating with various partners, trying to think about their needs and how they might link with the aims of the University (research). The intended outcomes (if the bid is successful) will include a mix of articles, book, video and help in our post-graduate research.

It’s a highly competitive process, so I’m not holding my breath.

But it’s been fascinating to try to explain pioneering and fresh expressions in publicly accessible language (almost mission in itself perhaps?). And it’s been great to have the space of sabbatical to write and re-write. It’s allowed me to met some new people, be stretched in new areas and be very glad that Uniting College has a relationship with Flinders University, that makes such collaboration even a possibility.

But it’s left me stuffed.

Posted by steve at 09:49 PM

2 Comments

  1. Well done on this Steve. As one with a vested interest in this area, it seems a timely and important project. Rest well. Peace be with you in the waiting.

    Comment by sarah — May 18, 2012 @ 10:10 am

  2. thanks Sarah. It’s been wonderful to be back to diary that each day says “writing book” rather than “funding application.” But it was great to have a sabbatical space to pull it together – it was a lot more involved than I thought and would have been madness to try the first time in a day job,

    As Peter Gunn encouraged me “if you don’t ask, then there’s no way you’ll ever get it.” So we wait …

    steve

    Comment by steve — May 18, 2012 @ 11:03 am

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