Wellington Shire Council webpage
Placement Details
Wellington Shire Council offers a full range of statutorily mandated Local Government Services. In the Community Strengthening Unit we offer:
Community Planning and Engagement
Social Planning & Policy
Youth Liaison
Rural Access
Transport Connections
In the first half of 2008 we will be working with 2 small rural communities, Heyfield and Rosedale to assist them to produce Community Plans. A Community Plan is a document that broadly reflects the goals and aspirations of a community. One of the challenging aspects of producing a Community Plan is engaging with those who are traditionally hard to reach. This is a broad ranging group and may include those with low level literacy skills, those who cannot get out to meetings for a variety of reasons and those who lack the social skills or confidence to engage in a community process.
Placement Parameters
Students engaged in this placement would be expected to work relatively autonomously. It is anticipated that the students would be involved in both designing and implementing methodology directed at engaging these ‘hard to reach’ and soliciting feedback that can be included in the community plan process.
This placement will be achievable in office hours on the given Wednesdays. One or two Wednesday evenings during the placement could be beneficial.
Key Skills learned – ability to communicate with clients with lower level communication and social skills, gaining an understanding of the aspirations and goals of a segment of the community often ignored by traditional engagement methods.
Selection Criteria
- Patience.
- Ability to communicate clearly and empathetically.
- Ability to capture and synthesise community input into clear reports.
Location: 70 Foster Street Sale
Contact Person: Frank Pearce, Community Strengthening Coordinator
Phone: 5142 3336
Places Filled: 0/2
Placement Details
Wellington Shire Council offers a full range of statutorily mandated Local Government Services. In the Community Strengthening Unit we offer:
Community Planning and Engagement
Social Planning & Policy
Youth Liaison
Rural Access
Transport Connections
RuralAccess is a DHS funded community development program that aims to assist inclusion of people with disabilities in community life. RuralAccess works closely with Transport Connections – a project that works to reduce transport disadvantage in rural areas using community development strategies.
The focus of this placement is to carry out a number of in–depth interviews that document the experiences and insights of people with disabilities and people who are socially isolated, and (with subjects’ permission) to write them up in a format that can be adapted for use as case studies.
Individual interviews will focus on either :
- People’s experience of fire and/or flood and the recovery process
- Social impact of Transport disadvantage
The data gathered through this qualitative research will be used to contribute to emergency and recovery management policies and processes, and to inform systemic advocacy to address transport disadvantage.
Placement Parameters
Students engaged in this placement would be expected to work relatively autonomously. It is anticipated that the students would have input into designing and implementing the research methodology. Work would be done prior to the placement to identity potential subjects for interviews. This placement will be achievable in office hours on the given Wednesdays - it is likely that students may need to travel (in pairs) to the homes of interview subjects (or to an agreed alternative meeting place in local communities). Travel time to interview locations should not be more than one hour from Sale.
Key Skills learned – understanding the complex social and economic context of health in a population group that is in many ways marginalised by society; action research and qualitative research skills and linking action learning to policy development and advocacy; understanding ‘social model’ of disability, communication and documentation skills; project planning;
Selection Criteria
- Ability to communicate clearly and empathetically.
- Respect for interview subjects.
- Given lack of public transport, students would need access to a vehicle (and at least one would need a driver’s licence)
- Ability to transcribe interview data and to summarise themes and content into succinct case studies
Location: 70 Foster Street Sale
Contact Person: Frances Ford, RuralAccess Project Co-ordinator
Phone: 5142 3464
Places Filled: 0/2 |
