Partner with us on research that meets your needs – applications are open!
Would research help strengthen your programs or services? The SESU partners with community organisations to expand their research capacity through collaborative, community-initiated projects. If you work with communities experiencing disadvantage or marginalisation, we’d love to hear what research matters to you.
Applications opened on Monday 9 February 2026 and close Friday 13 March 2026.
There’s plenty of time to make an application.
Before submitting an application, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. We have two streams:
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Organisation?specific projects – for projects that will support your organisation to advance its work.
- Sector projects – to tackle broad issues affecting parts of the community sector. These projects need multiple organisations to join forces in making their application to the SESU.
You may apply through one or both streams and make as many applications as you like.
2. We want to hear how your research project aligns with one of our research themes:
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Theme 1: Addressing issues of social justice in a changing world
- Theme 2: Improving the wellbeing of communities
- Theme 3: Exploring Catholic identity and organisational practice
3. How to know if your project is a good fit?
Read our online Application guidelines to understand how applications are assessed and what makes applications competitive.
4. Be sure to check your timeline.
The SESU supports projects that can be typically completed within 18 months. If your idea is bigger, consider breaking it into phases and submitting the first phase as your application.
We look forward to collaborating with you to create meaningful, community?engaged research.
Read on for more of our top tips on applying.
Getting ready to apply? Here are some helpful hints
If this is the first time that you’ve thought about engaging in research within your organisation, here are some simple tips to help you prepare your application.
1. The ‘why’
Start by asking: Why does our organisation want to do this research? The application form invites you to give some context around your reasons for wanting to do this research project. So have a think about why this project is important for your organisation, including the communities you hope it will benefit and how it links to important parts of your organisation (such as your mission and organisational priorities).
Be specific about this. Give examples of how the project could make a real difference—whether that’s for specific parts of the community, your organisation’s work or benefits to the wider sector.
? Example:
‘Our organisation wants to understand the barriers faced by young carers in accessing education. This aligns with our mission to support vulnerable youth and our strategic goal of improving educational equity. We expect the research to help us design better programs and influence policy changes that benefit young carers.’
2. The ‘what’
Once you know the ‘why’, try to think of 1-2 specific questions that will help you to achieve this.
It also helps to tell us what the research looks like from your perspective. Do you want to hear from specific groups in the community? Do you have a particular way of doing this in mind (like interviews or surveys)?
The more detailed you are about the specifics of how you would like your project to look, the easier it will be for our team to assess your application and get back to you with any questions we might have.
? Example:
‘We want to know: What factors influence volunteer retention in regional areas? We’d like the research to include interviews with volunteers and coordinators to capture their experiences and identify practical solutions.’
3. The ‘who’
If you’re partnering with other organisations, tell us about it. You can submit a joint application in both project streams. For sector projects, joint applications are required because they tackle bigger, systemic issues that affect more than one organisation. Organisation-specific projects can also be joint – say, two organisations teaming up on a shared program.
We’d like to know how your organisations are connected, how long you’ve worked together, and how your missions and goals align.
If different organisations will play different roles, let us know how you see that working.
? Example:
‘Our organisation is partnering with XYZ Community Services. We’ve collaborated for five years on youth engagement programs. For this project, we’ll lead the research design while XYZ will facilitate access to participants and provide cultural insights.’
Need advice on your project idea? Get in touch with us at sesu@acu.edu.au. You’ll also find helpful resources on our website – check out our Application Guidelines for more tips on preparing your application.
What's coming up?
Join our information session on our current application round
We are running an online information session to support organisations that are interested in applying to the SESU for a research partnership with us.
You will hear from current SESU community partners, academics working on SESU projects and SESU staff.
The session will be held on Tuesday 24 February 2026, 10am-11.30am AEDT.
Do you know of refugees and migrants looking for work? Join us in Blacktown on 23 February
We’re excited to invite migrants and refugees in Western Sydney to an Employment Accelerator on 23 February in Blacktown. This event is for people wanting to join the construction, transport and logistics, professional services, health and care industries.
What’s special about an Employment Accelerator? It’s all about speeding up the job search. Instead of waiting weeks for responses, refugees and migrants have the chance to meet employers face-to-face, interview on the spot, and learn about how to improve their employment prospects. There’ll be practical advice on recognition of prior learning and tips to help them land their next role too.
This event builds on the success of previous accelerators where hundreds of job seekers connected with employers to try to kick-start their careers in Australia.
Know someone who could benefit?
The event is run by the Sydney Greater West CALD and Migrant Employment Working Group, with 糖心原创 proudly involved in improving employment outcomes for migrants and refugees in Western Sydney. These events are backed by the SESU’s research with SydWest Multicultural Services where we recommended that they be expanded in Western Sydney to reach more job seekers.
If you’re an 糖心原创 academic and wondering how to get involved with the SESU…
It’s pretty straightforward. After the Advisory Group shortlists applications from community organisations, we’ll invite 糖心原创 staff to submit an Expression of Interest.
That’s your chance to see whether your skills, experience and expertise line up with the projects on offer.
This will all kick off in May, so keep an eye out for the announcement.
Academics should apply where they feel they will have sufficient space in their workload to contribute to a research project.
Parent well-being: How do we support families who have given birth to a premature or sick baby?
The arrival of a new baby is typically a time of great joy. However, when a baby is born prematurely or requires urgent medical care, families can find themselves navigating an unexpected and highly stressful start to parenthood.
(LLTF) is a leading Australian charity supporting families of premature or sick babies through providing practical and emotional resources and assistance within Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and Special Care Units (SCUs) around the country. When a baby is born prematurely or with complex health conditions, the days, weeks and months after the birth can become overwhelming and deeply challenging for parents.
Partnering with 糖心原创, LLTF evaluated four core services they provide to parents to better understand parents’ experiences during this incredibly vulnerable time in their lives and the impact of these services on parental well?being.
Using surveys and focus groups, this study heard from parents about the value of dedicated products and services provided by LLTF to strengthen early parent-infant attachment and the need they had for services tailored to the mental health challenges parents face in this period.
The study found that parents felt that impacts for families could be deepened by increasing accessibility to LLTF resources (tailored to diverse family needs), expanding emotional?support and enhancing practical assistance such as resources associated with feeding. Parents also shared their interest in community?building initiatives such as buddy systems and volunteer?led groups to further reduce isolation and promote shared experiences. Collectively, these enhancements would improve support to Australian families navigating the challenges of neonatal care.
Our newest research partnerships feature in the media
