Academy of Social Sciences in Australia

Call for proposals

The Call for proposals for workshops between July 2012 and June 2013 is now open.

The closing date for applications is Friday 21 October 2011.

Download a Workshop application form.

Download the workshop and application guidelines.

The Workshop Program is a principal component in the Academy's promotion of research in the social sciences. Academy workshops are small gatherings of those working at the cutting edge of social science research. It is expected that a diversity of perspectives will be presented from the variety of social science disciplines, and that the emphasis on invited participants will be on active researchers in the field.

Its purpose is to advance knowledge through in-depth discussion, and to promote its application by the dissemination of workshop outcomes through publication. It is expected that the ideas and research discussed at the workshop will be rigorously debated and that they are open to scrutiny by scholars within the social sciences and others. The Academy expects:

  • Papers presented at workshops be readily available in the public domain, with appropriate attribution of opinion by the participants.
  • Encouragement, where appropriate, be given to participants to develop policy statements. Such statements are intended to act as 'signposts' rather than detailed prescriptions; advice that suggests appropriate strategies grounded on sound social science research or advice that furthers the debate on issues that may require policy intervention or consideration by Government. Such advice is also seen to promote awareness-raising concerning social research and the potential benefits for decision-makers in policy development.
  • All workshops, even those with a clear policy outcome, will be strongly rooted in the social sciences.

The Workshop Format is interactive, normally held over two days, and includes a dinner at which further exchange and discussion can continue informally. Inter-disciplinarity is expected and the topics and participants should reflect this. It is expected that participants will include:

  • Established researchers and leaders in their areas of expertise.
  • Early career scholars who are challenging and/or adding to debate.

Participation is not limited to academics, and where appropriate, representatives from Government, community and private sector who are experts on the issues should be invited. This is particularly relevant if there are policy and practice components to a workshop program.

Numbers are limited to around 15 to 20 participants to allow for meaningful exchange of ideas and extensive in-depth debate. All participants must attend the entire workshop program.

Please note that workshops are not public forums.

Workshop applications will be assessed upon their themes, quality and range of participants, and expected outcomes.

Workshops will be funded to a maximum of $7,500.

Funding is for workshops to be conducted in the period 1 July 2012 - 30 June 2013.

Workshops can have one or several Convenors. At least one of the convenors must be a Fellow of the Academy, unless the applicants can clearly demonstrate that there is no appropriate Fellow available for their workshop. A complete listing of ASSA Fellows can be found here.

The responsibilities of the convenors include:

    Ensure the smooth and efficient planning and operation of the workshop.
  • Provision of a report to the Committee within two months of the workshop. The report should be 1500-2000 words, and will be published in the Academy newsletter Dialogue and posted on the Academy website.
  • Ensure the ASSA logo (available on request from the Program Manager) is printed on all invitations/ programs/ publications arising from the workshop. The Academy should be acknowledged as a sponsor of the workshop.
  • Where proposals have a strong policy focus, policy statements may be requested as a condition of funding. This could be pursued by asking participants, where appropriate, to extract out of their presentation a one or two page summary that provides brief and direct policy advice or raises critical policy issues, or for Convenors to provide a 1-2 page policy advice summary in addition to the workshop report. The format is flexible and can be further discussed with the Program Manager.
  • Submission of a budget acquittal at the conclusion of workshop.

Outcomes

The Academy expects dissemination of the workshop outcomes, through at least one of the following:

  • Publication via a recognised publishing house.
  • Chapter/s in a publication, monograph or journal.
  • Published paper/s in professional journals.
  • On a university, institution or Academy website.
  • Media article (newspaper, radio or TV).

Although the Academy expects workshops applications to include a clear statement of expected outcomes from Workshops, the dissemination of findings through academic publications is not a requirement of receiving funding.

To raise awareness of the contribution of the workshop program, convenors will be asked consider the appropriateness of media or other publicity for the workshop or its outcomes and to liaise with the secretariat on any arrangements for media publicity. Convenors may be asked to provide a 2-300 word plain English précis from the workshop or research topic that could be forwarded to media contacts.

Queries relating to the Workshop Program should be addressed to:

  • Ms Margaret Blood
  • Project Manager (Workshops, Public Forums)
  • Email: margaret.blood [at] anu.edu.au
  • Phone: +61   .2   62491788
  • It's currently 11:22 pm on Saturday, February 4, in Canberra.