Annual Grants Report 2002-03

Page 1

Distribution Report 2002-2003


Sir Ian Potter (1902-1994) was the founder and benefactor of The Ian Potter Foundation. Established in 1964, The Ian Potter Foundation is today one of Australia's largest philanthropic foundations. For further information about Sir Ian, or to obtain a copy of the current application guidelines, please visit the Foundation's website at www.ianpotter.org.au

CONTENTS 3

Board of Governors

4

Chairman’s Report – Mr Charles Goode, AC

5

Executive Secretary’s Report – Dr Dorothy Scott, OAM PROGRAM AREAS

6

Arts

14

Education /Travel

22

Environment & Conservation

26

Health

30

Medical Research

36

Science

42

Social Welfare

50

The Ian Potter Cultural Trust

Cover: Image of Sir Ian Potter in the foyer of the National Gallery of Victoria at The Ian Potter Centre, Federation Square This page: Exterior of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square in Melbourne


THE IAN POTTER FOUNDATION

GOVERNORS OF THE IAN POTTER FOUNDATION AT THE DINNER TO CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF SIR IAN’S BIRTH, HELD AT THE IAN POTTER CENTRE: NGV AUSTRALIA ON 3RD DECEMBER 2002.

From left to right

Professor Graeme B. Ryan, AC MD BS PhD FRCPA FRACP Dr. Thomas H. Hurley, AO, OBE MB BS MD FRACP Mr. Neil R. Clark, AO The Hon Sir Daryl Dawson, AC, KBE, CB LLB(Hons) LLM (Yale) Mr Charles Goode, AC (Chairman) BCom(Hons) Melb MBA Columbia HonLLD Melb HonLLD Monash FAICD

Lady Potter, AC (Life Governor) Professor Thomas W. Healy, PhD (Columbia NY) MSc HonDScMelb FRACI FAA FTSE Mr. Frank L. Nelson, BA LLM The Hon. Sir James Gobbo, AC, CVO, QC BA(Hons) MA (Oxon) Professor Geoffrey N. Blainey, AC FAHA FASSA Dr. P. John Rose, AO BCom (NZ) Dip Ec (Camb) PhD Mr. John B. Gough, AO, OBE HonLLD Melb

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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT This has been an exciting year for The Ian Potter Foundation. In November 2002 we were delighted to participate in the opening of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, our nation’s new gallery exclusively devoted to Australian art. The gallery attracted 1.2 million visitors in its first six months.

CHARLES GOODE, AC

We also commemorated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir Ian in The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. It was a special occasion, bringing together many of Sir Ian’s old friends and colleagues, and those associated with the leading organisations which have benefited from Sir Ian’s generosity and the support of the Foundation. To mark this special milestone a short monograph by Dr Peter Yule, Ian Potter, Financier and Philanthropist, was published. Sir Ian Potter was a remarkable Australian and his foresight for the Foundation he established in 1964 becomes more evident as each year passes. Set up with an initial gift of $1 million, through his subsequent donations and the returns from investments, the corpus grew to $50 million by the time of Sir Ian’s death in 1994. A bequest in his Will saw the corpus double to $100 million and through careful investments it has more than doubled again since then, with a capital base today of more than $200 million.

Sir Ian Potter was a remarkable Australian and his foresight for the Foundation he established in 1964 becomes more evident as each year passes.

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Despite the turbulence in international markets, we have had a fortunate year, with our capital base remaining steady. This has enabled us to increase our distribution, and grants fully paid in the past financial year totalled $8.8 million. Among this year’s recipients of major grants are the Howard Florey Institute for their new Neuropeptide Laboratory; the Australian Landscape Trust for their work bringing new life to degraded landscapes; and the Royal Botanic Gardens for the development and construction of The Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden. In addition a further $10.4 million is committed but not yet paid and covers a range of initiatives now underway. As the Foundation approaches its 40th year, the track record of The Ian Potter Foundation in relation to the management of its investments, the quality of its grantmaking and its low operating costs, has led some individuals to approach us about making substantial donations or bequests to the Foundation. As a Public Benevolent Fund we are able to receive tax deductible donations and we will do so in a manner which honours the memory, and is in keeping with the interests of, the donor. For example in relation to the late Mr Alec Sewell, his recent bequest of over $4 million to our capital base will be used to make grants in his name for disadvantaged children. I wish to express my appreciation to my fellow Governors and to the Executive Secretary and the staff of the Foundation who have all helped ensure another successful year.


E X E C U T I V E S E C R E TA RY ’ S R E P O RT One hears the word "philanthropy" used more frequently these days and it is rapidly shedding its somewhat nineteenth century overtone of old fashioned charity. Of course, historians would tell us that philanthropy played a pivotal role in many of the great advances in the nineteenth century in medicine, science, the arts, education and social reform in what was a tumultuous period of economic and social change. The new philanthropy of the early twenty first century is again becoming a vital force in a period of rapid transformation and has added environmental degradation to the domains in which it seeks to make a difference. The challenges facing us are no less than those in the past, but perhaps we sometimes need to be reminded that they are not necessarily greater either. A hundred years ago Australia was still in the midst of one of the worst economic depressions in its history and yet there was sufficient resilience in the community and in our social institutions to emerge from that period, despite the great setbacks of the First World War that followed. Sometimes history can help put the challenges of our own times into perspective. Intelligent philanthropy seeks to have the maximum impact over time, and involves carefully combining financial, intellectual and social capital in order to advance the well-being of society. In the past year The Ian Potter Foundation has been privileged to work in partnership with a broad range of outstanding institutions representing the very best of civil society. Whether it is in the field of the arts, education, environment, health, medical research, science or social welfare, we are fortunate indeed to have strong and visionary not-for-profit organisations in Australia.

In this Report we have highlighted some but not all of the organisations and individuals with which we have worked closely this year. While there is great diversity, there is also a common core of attributes we find in vital institutions, the quality of their leadership and the depth of their roots in the community being among them. We have also looked at some grants made in earlier years and chosen a few exemplars of how philanthropic support at a strategic point can bear wonderful fruit further down the track.

D O R O T H Y S C O T T, O A M

On a personal note, I cannot help reflecting on how quickly my three year secondment from the University of Melbourne to The Ian Potter Foundation is coming to an end and how much I have learned from working closely with a Board of such eminent Australians and with a team of such competent and committed staff.

While there is great diversity, there is also a common core of attributes we find in vital institutions, the quality of their leadership and the depth of their roots in the community being among them.

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Arts • to support major cultural institutions and organisations in Australia, and through them to encourage, in particular, talented young people • to support the linking of education and the arts with particular reference to extending cultural opportunities to regional centres, and encouraging the development of arts programs at a local level EXCLUSIONS The Foundation does not support performances, exhibitions or festivals unless there is a special educational focus

The Governor of Victoria John Landy, AC, MBE and Lady Primrose Potter, AC, Life Governor of The Ian Potter Foundation officially open The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia on 28 November, 2002

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The highlight of the Foundation’s grant-making for the year was the opening in November 2002 of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.

Sir Ian was deeply involved in the visual and performing arts, and his personal interests continue to be reflected in the Foundation’s strong support for arts organisations across Australia. We look forward to the re-opening of the Gallery’s St Kilda Road building, scheduled for November 2003. Also in the visual arts, the calendar year 2003 sees the conclusion of the Art Museum Collections Accessibility Initiative, or AMCAI. This multi-year program enabled four art museums in different states - Heide Museum of Modern Art in Victoria, The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Tasmania, The Art Gallery of Western Australia, and The Art Gallery of New South Wales - to use their permanent collections in new ways to attract a wider cross-section of the local community. A diverse range of smaller grants made during the year in music, the performing arts, and other fields share the themes of education, community engagement and the encouragement of talented young Australians. In addition to our support of arts organisations, the Foundation is pleased to continue its commitment to individual Australian artists through The Ian Potter Cultural Trust. The Trust is distinctive in global philanthropy and, in both scale and breadth, unique in Australia. Please refer to the separate section for the Trust on page 50 later in this Report.

The Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia 7


ARTS MAJOR PROFILE

ARTS EXEMPLAR GRANTS

The National Gallery of Victoria $2,500,000 to the redevelopment of the Gallery (part of a grant of $15,000,000 over 6 years)

Art Museum Collections Accessibility Initiative (AMCAI)

Dr Gerard Vaughan, Director & Ms Corrie Perkin, Head of Communications 03 9208 0317 corrie.perkin@ngv.vic.gov.au www.ngv.vic.gov.au In September 2000 the Governors of The Ian Potter Foundation approved the largest grant in the Foundation’s history – a grant of $15 million over 6 years to the National Gallery of Victoria for its ambitious redevelopment project. The Gallery chose to recognise the Foundation’s gift by naming the new gallery of Australian art at Federation Square in honour of Sir Ian Potter. Completion of the first stage of the project was celebrated in November 2002 with the opening to the public of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. Inside the Atrium at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

The second stage of the project will be the re-opening of the Gallery’s St Kilda Road premises, scheduled for late 2003, to be known as NGV International. The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is now home to the Gallery’s vast collection of Australian art, from works of Aboriginal antiquity through the early colonial period to the muchloved works of the Heidelberg School, and the challenging visions of contemporary Australian artists. Since the opening of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, the Gallery has been the recipient of several significant donations of art from corporations, most notably the Pilbara series by Fred Williams from Rio Tinto; and the Sidney Nolan four-panel work "Landscape (Salt Lake)" from Alcoa.

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The Foundation’s Art Museum Collections Accessibility Initiative is based on the earlier initiative of the same name by The Wallace Foundation in New York. The Ian Potter Foundation is pleased to be supporting through AMCAI four art museums in different states of Australia, each with a grant of $300,000 over 3 to 5 years. The Initiative encourages each art museum to develop new ways of reaching a more diverse audience, by using different approaches to present works from their permanent collections, and by changing their culture to make the museum a more accessible and welcoming place. A short profile of the program at each participating art museum follows.


AMCAI

Manningham Park Primary School students were part of a musical performance entitled "Creative Spaces: Nolan and Kelly at Heide" during April 2003

Heide Museum of Modern Art, VIC $100,000 to the AMCAI (part of a grant of $300,000 over 3 years)

Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, TAS $50,000 to the AMCAI (part of a grant of $300,000 over 5 years)

Ms Rosalie Dance, Education Officer 03 9850 1500 rosalied@heide.com.au www.heide.com.au

Ms Rachael French, Youth Audience Officer 03 6323 3777 Rachael.French@qvmag.tas.gov.au www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/youth.html www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/ianpotter.html

Heide has continued its two-part approach to AMCAI, with the Community Access and Collection Access programs. Highlights of the Community Access program for the year have been the Chinese Student Essay Competition in August 2002, the Italian Day in October and the Antipodes Festival in 2003. Heide’s Education Program has also been expanded in partnership with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Arts Victoria through the Artists in Schools program. AMCAI activities at Heide will soon have a dedicated all-weather venue with construction of the Sidney Myer Education Centre due to commence in late 2003. The highlight of the Collection Access program has been the completion of a digital image database of Heide’s collection, now available on-line and on CD-ROM. This resource is proving valuable for internal curatorial and collection management staff, and has indeed allowed Heide’s entire collection to be valued for the first time. The Collection Access program has also included conservation on six works by one of Heide’s key artists, Danila Vassilieff.

One of the street sculptures created at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery for Streets Alive, the Launceston Youth arts festival

The Museum’s AMCAI project, entitled Focus for Youth, aims to broaden its appeal to youth audiences aged between 15 and 25. This age group was identified as having low levels of participation in museum-based programs. Through AMCAI the Museum is working to determine the structure and implementation of the art programs that young people consider most relevant. Significant aspects of the Focus for Youth project in the last year include: • establishment of a Youth Advisory Committee in August 2002, which now meets monthly to discuss an artwork from the collection, meet staff members, and initiate their own projects • the ArtsRoar project, which involves professional artists working with young people with special skills and disabilities • the ongoing development of the Museum’s web site as a new vehicle for access to the Museum’s collections by a youth audience • the development of a Focus Gallery (named The Ian Potter Gallery) which will involve young people in exploring new approaches to viewing key works from the Museum’s colonial art and contemporary Australian art and craft collections • professional development for the Museum staff, in particular the Youth Audience Officer

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AMCAI

Jackie Menzies, Head Curator of Asian Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales presents certificates of appreciation to students of the Lao Lane Xane Dancing School at the Wat Prayortkeo Temple for their participation in events for the exhibition BUDDHA: Radiant Awakening. The Lao Buddhist Society of the temple orgainised a week of events in the exhibition's Wisdom Room program.

Art Gallery of New South Wales $100,000 to the AMCAI (part of a grant of $300,000 over 3 years)

Art Gallery of Western Australia $87,000 to the AMCAI (part of a grant of $300,000 over 3 years)

Ms Jackie Menzies, Head Curator of Asian Art 02 9225 1774 JackieM@ag.nsw.gov.au www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Ms Andrea Tenger, Community Program and Planning Officer 08 9492 6646 AndreaT@artgallery.wa.gov.au www.artgallery.wa.gov.au/youth.htm

The focus of the year for the AMCAI program at the Art Gallery of New South Wales has been the implementation of initiatives that were trialled during the BUDDHA: radiant awakening exhibition during the previous year. These included the development of an email database and campaign entitled "Artmail"; and increasing on-line education materials through the development of the Gallery’s main site, and mini-websites.

During the year, the Art Gallery of Western Australia’s AMCAI program, known as @rtX, centered on an exhibition "Boundless: contemporary art from country WA". The exhibition featured art, sculpture, video and textile works, and a wide range of strategies and activities were used to attract a youth audience, including marketing and sponsorship strategies, and public programs.

Other lessons learned and incorporated into the Gallery’s "best practice" have been the quantity and presentation of information to audiences through the different media of text, image and technology, particularly in the new Asian wing.

The Mini Gallery attracts a crowd of young people at the Big Day In at the Art Gallery of Western Australia

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In particular, a youth event "Big Day In 2" was held on October 9 2002 and included free talks by artists, a free acting workshop, a DJ and sausage sizzle, and a souvenir trail inside the building. Young people in the target 16-20 age group were encouraged by donated gift vouchers and passes to complete visitor surveys, with the outcome that the Gallery now has a database of over 1,500 young people. AGWA continues to be proactive in sharing its @rtX experiences with other galleries, museums, youth and arts industry professionals, particularly those in Western Australia. The "model of approach" being developed will continue to inform the Gallery’s internal culture well beyond the period of the Foundation’s funding.


The Australian Ballet, VIC $50,000 to the on-line Education Program (part of a commitment of $100,000 over 2 years) Mr Patrick McIntyre, Director of Market Development 03 9669 2700 patrickm@australianballet.com.au www.australianballet.com.au The Australian Ballet is a major Australian cultural institution, with an international reputation that other arts institutions strive to rival. This project is aimed at supporting the development of ballet teaching, and educating young people about ballet and is thus part of a longer term strategy of audience development. The Foundation’s grant is enabling the Ballet to extend the online content of their Education Program, with the aim of increasing interest in the website from children, particularly those in remote areas. Educational kits are being developed and placed on the site so that they are available to both teachers and students. The publicity and marketing of other web site features such as educational games, a discussion room and current education program performances and events are also important in the expansion of the site as an educational tool. The project is scheduled to be completed in late 2003.

Yothu Yindi Foundation, NT $20,000 to the Yirrnga Music Development Centre

Musica Viva Australia, NSW $35,000 towards the Middle Years Internet Project, or "Club Viva"

Mr Alan James, Manager Yothu Yindi Foundation 08 8941 0202 yyf@bigpond.com www.garma.telstra.com www.yothuyindi.com

Ms Michelle Kennedy, Fundraising Program Manager 02 8394 6666 mkennedy@mva.org.au www.musicaviva.com.au

The Yirrnga Music Development Centre and Ian Potter Studio opened in 1999 as a project of the Yothu Yindi Foundation Aboriginal Corporation, with the aim of creating a music centre for excellence in teaching and vocational training, and the economic development of Yolngu intellectual property. The Foundation made a grant of $100,000 in 1998 in support of the construction of the Centre. The Foundation’s current grant is supporting the development of 'bush shelter' accommodation, harmonious with the local environment, adjacent to the Music Centre. Having accommodation available will enable artists and performers from other areas to use the Centre to record their work, and also improve the Centre’s income. The grant is also supporting the integration of donated studio equipment with the existing equipment. The project also has the support of the Perpetual Foundation, and the NT Department of Employment, Education and Training.

This Musica Viva In Schools Internet Project has reached phases four and five of a seven phase web development strategy. Club Viva will be an on-line resource for music teachers and middle year students (school years 5 to 8). The projects and activities on the site will enhance the students’ experience of a Musica Viva in Schools performance at their school. There will be approximately five projects or sets of activities on the Club Viva website: on-line composition, create your own webpage for schools, a musical instrument library, ideas for integrating the Musica Viva in Schools program into other curriculum areas, and useful links to other music education sites. There will also be links to Musica Viva’s Across the Top website, and relevant sections of the Hands On Hindson website, previously supported by the Foundation. The Club Viva site is scheduled to be launched in February 2004.

The Ian Potter Studio at the Yirrnga Music Development Centre in action. The Centre is located at Gunyangara on the Gove Peninsula, in the remote north eastern tip of Arnhem Land.

Inquisitive Ian, one of the characters who will guide users through the Club Viva website

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Horsham Regional Art Gallery, VIC $3,350 to the Out Beyond the Square project Ms Merle Hathaway, Director 03 5382 5575 merle.hathaway@hrcc.vic.gov.au www.horsham.net.au/gallery The Foundation supported an initial project "Beyond the Square" with a grant of $2,220 in December 2001. That project aimed to develop the skills of the Horsham Patchwork Quilters through a series of workshops with contemporary textile artists, and to encourage the patchworkers to visit the Gallery for workshops and talks. "Beyond the Square" was a great example of community development in a fairly remote community that has experienced significant hardship during the recent record drought in the region.

"Out Beyond the Square" is an extension of the earlier project, and involves bringing artists to Horsham to conduct classes for a wide range of artistic disciplines from May to November 2003. The aim is to expand the scope of work produced by members of collaborative groups, bringing their work to an appropriate level for exhibition in the Horsham Regional Art Gallery. Staff from the Gallery are conducting a series of complementary workshops on preparing work for exhibitions. The Foundation’s grant is supporting the travel costs of visiting tutors.

Marion Kitchen of Horsham Patchwork Quilters shows her quilt made for the "Beyond the Square" exhibition at Horsham Regional Art Gallery, March to May, 2003. The quilt was inspired by Horsham's Scott Pendlebury painting called "The Recital"

...DOWN THE TRACK Opera Australia, VIC $20,000 to the OzOpera Schools Company 2003 for the production of "The Sound Garden" Ms Sian Warusznski, OzOpera Co-ordinator 03 9685 3770 sian.warusznski@operaaustralia.org.au www.opera-australia.org.au

Fun and games in The Sound Garden. From left to right, Tania Ferris as Cassandra, Carrie Barr as Catherine and Douglas McRae as Ricardo

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Each year, OzOpera’s Schools Company performs an opera written especially for primary school children over 200 times to approximately 40,000 students in schools in metropolitan and regional Victoria. The 5-week regional tour aims to give as many primary school children as possible a valuable live music experience and introduce them to opera. The 2003 opera is entitled "The Sound Garden".

The grant fits well with the Foundation’s funding priorities in the arts in relation to education, long-term audience development and giving young artists (the performers) better career development opportunities. Preparation and follow-up activities are provided to schools in the form of teachers’ kits and a question-andanswer session between the audience and the artists immediately after the performance. Without support from The Ian Potter and other Foundations, the cost per child would need to rise above $5, which could form a barrier for many families and schools. The Foundation is pleased to have supported the Schools Company since 1992 with grants totalling $105,000.


Arts Australian National University, School of Art Fusion

5,000

National Gallery of Victoria for The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

Arena Theatre Company To develop the "Outlookers" for Primary School

5,000

National Library of Australia Migrant Heritage Collection

35,000

Opera Australia OzOpera Schools Company 2003

20,000

The Australian Ballet 2002 Education program

75,000

2,500,000

Back to Back Theatre 10,000 "Soft" - a theatre production examining genetic technology

PACT Youth Theatre Wide Open Road

5,000

Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, VIC Towards The Ian Potter Temporary Exhibition Gallery

Positive Women Positive Women Theatre Project

5,000

Riddoch Art Gallery Inc. Explainers Project

2,450

100,000

Bathurst Regional Art Gallery 3,000 for an educational conference/workshop weekend for ceramic artists and potters 5,000

Riverland Musical Society To replace the existing legs at the Bonney Theatre

2,740

Cairns Regional Gallery The Windows for Gallery School Project

5,000

Southern Youth Theatre Ensemble Inc. how good am I ! primary schools theatre project

3,025

Centre for Contemporary Photography Education Officer - 4th Leica Award

Corrugated Iron Youth Arts 5,000 to visit arts organisations in Kenya over six months from May 2002 Express Media Power Workshops 2003 Mentorship Scheme

3,500

Horsham Regional Art Gallery Out beyond the Square Project

3,350

International Festival of Young Playwrights Support for the 8th World Interplay Festival

5,000

IHOS Experimental Music Theatre Troup Guest artist mentorship program

5,000

LaTrobe University, Centre for Sustainable Communities Photojournalistic evaluation/record of the Small Towns: Big Picture Project

5,000

Monash Gallery of Art "Our View" Photography Project

5,000

The Orchestras of Australia Network to hold an Improvisation Workshop in conjunction with TOAN's Orchestras Alive conference Baroque Workshops for Young Musicians

8,000 5,000

University of Melbourne - Asia Education Foundation - Asialink 5,000 My Place Australia - travelling exhibition Yothu Yindi Foundation 20,000 towards infrastructure improvements for the Yirrnga Music Development Centre and the Ian Potter studio

Total $

35,000

Melbourne Autumn Music Festival Outstanding Young Performers Australian Network

10,000

Melbourne Theatre Company Youth Scholarship Course

17,000

Heide Museum of Modern Art, VIC Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, TAS

5,000

2,923,065

ART MUSEUM COLLECTIONS ACCESSIBILITY INITIATIVE (AMCAI) Art Gallery of New South Wales 100,000 Art Gallery of Western Australia

Musica Viva Australia Middle Years Internet Project

National Association for the Visual Arts Ltd (NAVA) Research and writing of professional publication for visual arts & crafts artists

Terrapin Puppet Theatre Ltd 5,000 Professional Development Program for writers of puppety theatre

Total AMCAI $

87,000 100,000 50,000

337,000

THE IAN POTTER CULTURAL TRUST Payments from The Ian Potter Foundation for 2002/2003 Total Cultural Trust $ 345,000

Total Arts $

3,605,065

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Education • to support educational policy research of outstanding quality • to support educational programs of benefit to the general community

EXCLUSIONS The Foundation does not support kindergartens, pre-school, primary or secondary schools, special education schools or school building funds

Students at St. Brigid's Primary School work on special activities with their dads, as part of the University of Newcastle Family Action Centre's Engaging Fathers Project

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The major initiative in our Education program area this year was the development of The Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

This exciting project will greatly enhance the Botanic Garden’s education programs, allowing children to learn about plants in a "hands-on" environment. A large grant to Museum Victoria for DNA research and education echoes this "hands-on" approach in its emphasis on including students in "live" research programs. Other education grants made during the year focus on education policy research, youth, and rural communities. The Foundation's program of small travel grants continues to benefit early career researchers and others. Although it represents only a small percentage of the Foundation’s grantmaking, the travel grants program has been highly effective in promoting the value of Australian research and overcoming the disadvantage of our geographical isolation. Grants are made across a wide range of disciplines, but with an emphasis on the sciences; and travellers go mostly to Europe and the Americas.

The Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden 15


EDUCATION MAJOR PROFILE

Museum Victoria $250,000 for the establishment of a DNA Research and Education Centre Ms Melinda Viksne, Business and Grants Officer 03 8341 7243 mviksne@museum.vic.gov.au www.museum.vic.gov.au The DNA Research and Education Centre aims to promote innovations in museumbased science research, collections and education, with a strong emphasis on community involvement. It comprises an Ancient DNA Research Laboratory, a high-throughput DNA Sequencing Facility, mobile DNA Laboratories, and an associated community research and education program.

Extracting DNA in Museum Victoria's Laboratory, overlooking the Royal Exhibition Buildings

DNA X-ray banding of a bird (DNA gel) extracted in Museum Victoria's laboratory

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The first community research program to be undertaken is the Australian Owl Genetics Project, which has been developed in partnership with Australian Geographic. Members of the public, particularly children, are asked to collect owl feathers and forward them to Museum Victoria’s scientists for genetic analysis, to study patterns of genetic diversity in Australia’s nine species of owls. The Project is engaging people in "hands on" collection and analysis of data, hopefully exciting them about biological research and instilling conservation values. In addition, eight Australian Research Council Discovery Project applications have been submitted by the Museum in the area of DNA-based natural sciences research; and efforts are ongoing to secure funding for the development of the education component of the Centre’s work (the Lyrebird Genome Project, with links to the VCE Biology Curriculum). The DNA Research and Education Centre’s goal of 'demystifying' DNA identification technology fits well with the Museum's strategic direction and this innovative project will enhance the Museum's profile as a scientific and educational institution in the lead up to its 150th anniversary in 2004.


EDUCATION EXEMPLAR GRANTS

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, VIC $600,000 to The Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden (part of a commitment of $1,000,000 over 3 years) Mr Richard Barley, Divisional Director, Melbourne Gardens 03 9252 2330 Richard.Barley@rbg.vic.gov.au www.rbg.vic.gov.au/projects/childrens/ The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden aims to be one of Australia's major environmental education resources. The Garden has been designed on "kids scale" to encourage children of all ages and abilities to play, to be curious, and to learn about the beauty and importance of plants. Features will include a bamboo forest; a special island; theatre and storytelling; a lavender labyrinth; a secret ruin garden; plant tunnels; a children’s kitchen garden and The Magic Pudding sculpture. Rapid progress has been made on many fronts, including the development of education and public programs, presentations to teachers, design of the Discovery and Activity Shelters, development of plant lists and a planting schedule, and design of the irrigation system. The Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden is due to open to the public in October 2004.

University of Newcastle, NSW Family Action Centre $30,000 to Fathers And Schools Together Literacy Project - to develop literacy practices to involve fathers in the lives of their children (part of a commitment of $60,000 over 2 years) Mr Richard Fletcher, Team Leader, Engaging Fathers Project 02 4921 6401 richard.fletcher@newcastle.edu.au www.newcastle.edu.au/engagingfathers Over the past decade The Family Action Centre has pioneered innovative children's programs in Australia. These include the caravan park project for families living in caravans, the introduction of volunteer home visiting services (Homestart) and volunteering tutoring programs (Homelink). Some of these (eg Homestart) have then gone on to have a life of their own as separate organisations and been very successful. The Centre hosts an annual national Family Strengths conference which is well attended and they do an excellent job at disseminating their innovative projects. This combination of coalface competence in their programs and sophistication in evaluation and dissemination is unusual. The Engaging Fathers Project, generously supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation of the Netherlands, aims to support classroom teachers to promote the involvement of fathers (and father figures) in the lives of their children from ages 0 to 8. Together with a grant from The Myer Foundation, The Ian Potter Foundation’s grant is supporting the engagement of a literacy consultant to work in target schools and early childhood centres with a specific brief to involve fathers.

There are currently five schools actively participating in the Fathers And Sons Together Literacy Project in the Hunter Valley region of NSW, most in urban areas of Newcastle. All schools have progressed in father engagement, with some actively involving fathers in classroom-based literacy activities, while others are working towards that goal through whole-school father engagement (such as Dads BBQs and Sports Festivals). There is increasing evidence that the active participation of fathers is a strong "protective factor" for children growing up in disadvantaged communities experiencing high structural unemployment. Engaging fathers through disadvantaged schools is an attempt to prevent problems of school failure and juvenile crime, especially among boys. It may also prove to be a useful preventive strategy in relation to the fathers in terms of their physical and mental health.

Involving fathers in their children's literacy development is the focus of the Foundation's grant to The University of Newcastle for the Fathers and Schools Together program

Harriet Wing and a member of Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne's horticultural staff celebrate Book Week Book Feast in August 2002

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International Specialised Skills Institute, VIC $12,000 to identifying and validating skills and knowledge gaps

...DOWN THE TRACK

Ms Carolynne Bourne, Chief Executive Officer 03 9244 5102 bourne@deakin.edu.au Founded in 1989, the International Specialised Skills Institute Inc (ISS Institute) is based at Deakin University. Its operations are directed towards bringing design, knowledge, and both traditional and leading-edge technology to Australian businesses new ways of thinking and new ways of producing for local and global markets. The Institute fills skill and knowledge gaps in industries and enterprises that are not covered by Australian TAFE institutes and universities. ISS Institute has an impressive track record over the past decade of identifying skills gaps and development training opportunities in areas such as heritage conservation, building and construction. They work across an extraordinarily broad range of specialisations in close collaboration with industry, government and educational institutions, offering fellowships and development programs. The Foundation’s grant is supporting a pilot, one year program to help build the ISS Institute’s capacity in identification of skills shortages in Australia. Two industries – the building and construction industry, and the automotive industry - have been chosen for the initial program. "Think tanks" have been established to identify the skills, knowledge and attitudinal gaps in these industries, and to produce "findings papers". It is anticipated that the outcomes of this pilot program will lead to the establishment by the ISS Institute of fellowships to fill the identified skill and knowledge gaps; and the establishment of further industry partnership programs in sectors including heritage, food, design, manufacturing and furniture.

18

Dianne Reilly, La Trobe Librarian; Peter Fleming; Lady Potter, AC; Des Cowley, Rare Printed Collections Manager; and Alison Coe, Director Planning and Resources; looking at Scriptores Historiae Augustae, a Roman history written and illuminated in Florence in 1479 for Lorenzo de' Medici

State Library of Victoria $50,000 towards the State Library Development Study in 1987 $25,000 to purchase the Pateshall Manuscript for the State Collection, paid in 1989 $100,000 to the Rare Books Room in 1991 Ms Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, Chief Executive Officer & State Librarian 03 8664 7504 www.statelibrary.vic.gov.au In 1987 the Foundation made a grant of $50,000 to the State Library Development Study. The aims of the Study were to clarify the role, functions and financing of the Library, having regard to the Library Council’s corporate plan for the organisation’s future development. A grant of $25,000 was also made in 1989 towards the purchase of the Pateshall Manuscript, Lieutenant Nicholas Pateshall's account of the voyage of HMS Calcutta, which led to the founding of the first settlement in Port Phillip Bay, at Sorrento, in 1803-4.

The State Library Development Study grant was followed in 1990/1991 with a grant of $100,000 towards the furnishing and equipping of a Rare Books Room in the redeveloped Library. In 1990 the Library received significant funding from the State Government for a $190 million redevelopment project that is now in its thirteenth year. The project has helped to transform the Library into an information and cultural centre for 21st-century users, operating out of custom-designed new spaces and meticulously refurbished 19th-century buildings. The State Library has chosen to honour the Foundation’s early and timely contributions to its redevelopment process with the naming of a seminar room after Sir Ian Potter. It was therefore fitting that Dr Peter Yule’s short monograph, Ian Potter, Financier and Philanthropist, was launched by Professor Geoffrey Blainey, AC, Governor of The Ian Potter Foundation, at the opening of The Ian Potter Seminar Room at the State Library of Victoria on July 24, 2003.


Education Travel Grants The travel grants program has been a part of the Foundation’s grantmaking since its establishment in 1964, and is distinctive in Australian philanthropy. The grants made are small, generally of between $1,000 and $3,000. Most travellers are academic staff from universities or research institutes, however grants may be made to any eligible organisation for travel by a staff member. In 2003 the Foundation is developing a new area of our travel grants program, supporting the TAFE sector. The aims of the travel grants program are: • to assist early career staff members with at least three years tenure to attend overseas conferences, to pursue their research, to have the opportunity to gain further experience and to meet their peers in the international scene • to support conferences of international status to be held within Australia. Grants are generally only made o assist with the travel costs of an international key-note speaker at the conference Please note that the Foundation requires that the traveller’s organisation commit their own funding before requesting a matching grant. EXCLUSIONS The Foundation does not provide grants for: -

domestic travel

-

travel grants for Undergraduate, Masters, or Doctoral students or

-

retrospective grants for travel already undertaken in part or in whole

19


Travel Australian Breastfeeding Association, VIC Ms Jay Marshall

4,000

Art Gallery of New South Wales Ms Haema Sivanesan

3,000

Australian Catholic University, VIC Dr Mary Coloe, School of Theology Dr Neil Saintilan, School of Arts & Sciences

1,500 2,000

Australian Maritime College, TAS Mr Jinzhu Xia

2,400

Australian National Maritime Museum, NSW Ms Elizabeth Hadlow

4,000

Brain Research Institute, VIC Mr Tony Waites Mr Mark Wellard

2,000 2,000

Curtin University of Technology, WA Dr Wendy Oddy, Nutrition, Dietics and Food Science Dr Michael Kuhn, The Western Australian Centre for Geodesy

2,000

Child Health Research Institute, SA Dr Gordon Howarth

2,000

3,000

Deakin University, VIC Dr. Colin Bell, Health Sciences Dr Sharon La Fontaine, Biological and Chemical Sciences

2,000

Flinders University of S.A Dr Tom Chapman, Biological Sciences Dr Ruth Vasey, Screen Studies Dr Tracey Wade, Psychology

1,800 2,200 1,748

2,000

Griffith University, QLD Dr. Lisanna Gibson, Australian Key Centre for Cultural & Media Policy Dr Margaret McAllister, Nursing

2,000 1,500

James Cook University of North Queensland Dr Martin D. Gibbs, Archaeology

2,980

La Trobe University, VIC Dr Linda Bennett, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society Dr Harsh Suri, Education

1,500 2,500

Macquarie University, NSW Dr Melissa Green, Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science

2,000

$ Swinburne University of Technology, VIC Ms Marnie Shaw, Brain Sciences Institute

2,800

Sydney Children's Hospital Ms Tiina Piira

4,000

The Children's Hospital at Westmead, NSW Ms Fiona Richards

1,000

University of Ballarat, VIC Dr S K Florentine, School of Science

1,500

University of Melbourne, VIC Dr Tracey Bucknall, Victorian Centre for Nursing Practice Research A/Prof. Di Bretherton, ICRC School of Behavioural Science Dr. Heung-Chin Cheng, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Dr Shyamali Dharmage, Public Health Dr Theresa Jones, Zoology Dr G Lynch, Physiology Dr Anne Orford, Law Dr Lisa Sullivan, Ian Potter Museum of Art Dr J Ward, Pharmacology Dr Odilia Wijburg, Microbiology and Immunology

1,800 1,200 3,000 2,500 5,000 2,250 1,400 1,500

University of New South Wales Mr Paul Oslington, Australian Defence Force Academy Dr Simone Degeling, Faculty of Law

2,000 1,500

4,000 3,000

University of Queensland Ms. Kelly Forster - Perinatal Research Centre Dr Justine V. Goozee, Speech Pathology & Audiology Ms Louise Noble, Geography, Planning and Architecture

2,500 2,000 2,000

University of South Australia Dr Sophie Petit, Environmental and Recreational Management

3,000

University of Sydney, NSW Ms. Katerina Ajami, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Ms Ann Cust, INIS Coordinating Centre Dr. Julie Cavanagh, Veterinary Science Dr. Fiona J. Hibberd, Psychology Dr Pankaj N Mohan, Japanese and Korean Studies Ms Rowanne Couch, Research Institute for Humanities and Social Science

2,000 1,500 2,799

Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia, NSW Dr Carmel Loughland

2,000

The University of Tasmania Dr Jason Semmens, Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute Dr Gretta Pecl, Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute

Museums Australia Inc. (West Australian Office) Ms Elizabeth Hof

4,000

University of New England Dr Graham Marshall, Institute for Rural Futures

3,000

Monash University, VIC Dr Emma Ball, Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development Dr Susan Cramer, Box Hill Hospital

2,500 2,000

Queensland Institute of Medical Research Dr Kelli McDonald

2,000

4,000

1,500

800

3,000

1,500 2,500 2,000 2,000 1,500

University of Southern Queensland Dr Alfio Parisi, Department of Biological and Physical Sciences

National Gallery of Victoria Ms Suzanna Shaw, Conservator of Objects

Menzies School of Health Research, NT Dr Peter Morris, Ear Health and Education research program Dr Amanda Leach, Ear Health and Education research program

20

$

University of Western Australia Dr Jason White, Anatomy and Human Biology Dr G Parish, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering

2,000

Victorian Clinical Genetics Services Mr Eiliis Hughes, Genetic Support Network of Victoria Ms Roslyn Tassicker

2,250 1,800

Subtotal Travel $

4,000

148,727


Education

$

Ararat Library Progress Association Inc, VIC To furnish and equip the library

5,000

Centre for Adult Education, Writing and Publishing, VIC Writers Studio at the Ola Cohn House

3,601

Community Aid Abroad, NSW To send a representative to the International Youth Parliament in Morocco in August

3,000

Deakin University, VIC, International Specialised Skills Institute Inc. 12,000 Seeding grant for the identification of local skill shortages The Education Foundation, VIC ruMAD Project

5,000

Jewish Museum of Australia, VIC To assist the growth and development of the Education Program

5,000

Museum Victoria To establish a DNA Research and Education Centre

250,000

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, VIC The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden

600,000

Swinburne University of Technology, VIC, Research and Industry Liaison Classroom of the Future

25,000

University of Melbourne, VIC, The Centre for Public Policy Establishment of a National Clearinghouse 13,000 as part of the New Social Settlement Program University of Newcastle, Family Action Centre, NSW To develop literacy practices to involve fathers in the lives of their children

Total $ Total Education $

30,000

951,601 1,100,328

The Magic Pudding Sculpture by Louis Laumen from the Norman Lindsay illustrations, will form an important part of The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne

21


Environment & Conservation • to develop partnerships with communities, government and the private sector to help prevent irreversible damage to the environment and to encourage the maintenance of biodiversity • to support programs and policies which are committed to the economic and ecologically sustainable development of land, and the preservation of species • to foster a broad public awareness of the environmental challenges facing urban and rural Australia • to assist communities which are threatened with serious economic hardship due to the degradation of land and water resources, to develop policies to manage the social, economic and cultural changes needed for survival • to assist projects designed to preserve the built environment which has cultural significance

The historic Strathfieldsaye estate on Lake Wellington is the base for the Australian Landscape Trust's work in East Gippsland

22


The Foundation’s first major commitment to the environment was The Potter Farmland Plan, supported from 1984 to 1998. Its aim was to prove, through the use of demonstration farms, that by addressing land degradation through a process of whole-farm planning, agricultural methods that were both economically and ecologically sustainable could be achieved. The Land Care program which now receives significant government support across Australia, was based on the outcomes of this project. The current focus of the Foundation’s grantmaking in environment and conservation is The Australian Landscape Trust. Its work demonstrating ecologically and financially sustainable development in severely degraded eco-systems is highly regarded. The Trust continues to work in close partnership with two communities, one in the South Australian mallee region and the other in Victoria’s Gippsland lakes region. The same focus on species sustainability and working with communities to manage their land is reflected in smaller grants during the year to the Denmark Environment Centre and Green Skills Inc, both in Western Australia.

Denmark Environment Centre volunteers inspect hair in a hair tubes as part of the Gilbert's Potoroo Survey Project. The Gilbert's Potoroo was thought to be extinct until a small population was rediscoverd in 1994 in Western Australia. Hair tubing is the preferred method of sample collection as it has little or no impact on the mammals and has a high success rate

Denmark Environment Centre 23


ENVIRONMENT MAJOR PROFILE

ENVIRONMENT EXEMPLAR GRANTS Denmark Environment Centre, WA $25,000 towards the Effective Biosphere Management in the South West project Mr Geoff Evans, Secretary 08 9848 1035 gae@dodo.com.au www.denmarkwa.net.au/~environ/

A school group participating in a malleefowl nest survey on Calperum Station. Malleefowl are vulnerable to extinction, and nest surveys are part of a program of assessment of long term changes in the numbers of breeding birds in the area.

Australian Landscape Trust, VIC $100,000 to develop and enlarge the scope and support of ALT (part of a commitment of $1,000,000 over 4 years) $300,000 to support ALT’s program at Bookmark Biosphere Reserve in South Australia Miss Patricia Feilman, AM, Executive Director 03 9639 7100 admin@austlandscapetrust.org.au www.australianlandscapetrust.org The Foundation has supported the Australian Landscape Trust with grants of over $3 million since its establishment in 1996. During the 2002/03 financial year two grants were made - one in support of the development of the Trust itself, and another in support of its work in the Riverland of South Australia. The Trust’s practice is to work closely with a rural community to develop economically and environmentally sustainable land management practices, and to promote the conservation of species. Its work not only provides "on the ground" benefits for regions and people, but also valuable lessons and models for others facing the same challenges in other regions of Australia. At Calperum and Taylorville Stations in South Australia, close to the borders with Victoria and New South Wales, the Trust has been working for seven years in partnership with local, State and Federal Governments, private trusts and foundations (both in Australia and overseas), businesses, private landowners and individuals. 24

ALT manages these Stations under a contract with the Director of National Parks (Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage) and, in June, a further five year term commencing in July 2003 was confirmed. While the legacy of environmental debt in the Riverland is significant, progress has been made in recovery of the Ramsar listed Wetland, revegetation of the Murray River floodplain, development of a plant breeding program, education, research, monitoring, biological survey initiatives, and construction of an Environment Centre. These outcomes relied upon significant and ongoing commitment to the landscape and program by volunteers who donated over 14,000 hours last year. Strathfieldsaye is an historic property of 1800 hectares on Lake Wellington in East Gippsland. In September 2003 trusteeship of Strathfieldsaye was transferred from The University of Melbourne to ALT. The Trust will use the property as a community learning centre for research on sustainable management of farm production and natural resources. ALT’s first major program in Gippsland is the Red Gum Plains Restoration Project, being undertaken in partnership with CSIRO and the local community, and based at Strathfieldsaye. The Trust has obtained almost $1 million in funding from the Sustainable Regions Programme of the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services for this project over the next three years.

The South West of WA has been identified as one of 25 biodiversity hotspots on the planet. Over the past decade the Denmark Environment Centre has become a strong presence in the centre of a region of WA facing enormous environmental challenges. The Centre has a well-established volunteer base, a healthy membership list (growing by 30% in the past year), and a sound track record in partnerships with local government. They have developed an independent income stream through their bookshop and in 2002 they received the WA Environment Award and the WA Community Achievement Award. The Foundation’s grant will contribute to three projects under the umbrella of the Biosphere management program: the Mount Hallowell Reserve Survey; a survey for the Gilbert’s Potoroo; and the Acid Sulfate Soil Brochure and Workshop.


Green Skills Inc., WA $12,000 to the Bush Products Program in Great Southern WA (part of a commitment of $24,000 over 2 years) Mr Basil Schur, Projects Manager 08 9848 1019 basilschur@greenskills.green.net.au www.greenskills.green.net.au Green Skills was established in 1989 and operates a diverse range of environmental training and employment programs in Western Australia. They work with Government agencies, industry, landholder associations and individual land owners to increase local employment and to improve local economic and environmental outcomes. The Bush Products program is supporting the development of new enterprises in the WA Great Southern region, based on commercialising native species. Green Skills have identified the problems faced by their part of WA - the region is in serious economic hardship, caused by salinisation, drought and past reliance on a relatively small number of agricultural commodities. Two Green Corps teams, three Landcare experience week teams, Denmark High School students and community volunteers are planting over 100,000 trees of a variety of different native species on 21 low-rainfall demonstration sites. The sites aim to promote agricultural diversification, and the benefits of tree planting as part of an integrated farming system; where trees planted for wind breaks, for aesthetic purposes, to regenerate swamps, for firewood or honey, to improve livestock pasture or crop production are equally as commercial as trees planted for woodchips, sawlogs, essential oils, and charcoal. The Bush Products Program fits the Foundation’s priorities in the environment and also in social welfare, in relation to training unemployed people and assisting the economic development of struggling rural communities. The Program also provides a good funding model, as the costs of the Program are being shared between Green Skills, Government, landholders, corporations and philanthropic foundations.

...DOWN THE TRACK CSIRO Entomology, ACT

The work of the late Dr Ebbe Nielsen was central to the above grants. The Foundation supported the Dr Nielsen was appointed Director of Entomology Division of CSIRO for the Australian National Insect over a decade with a series of grants Collection in 1990 and became focusing on the classification of increasingly interested in promoting Australian beetles and their the importance of systematics, importance as indicators of communicating scientific results environmental health. through publishing, and in the management of biodiversity data – 1989 $10,000 to the Australian a process now known as "biodiversity National Insect Collection informatics". He was instrumental in 1990 $15,000 to the Australian the creation of the Global Biodiversity National Insect Collection Information Facility (or GBIF), which 1991 $60,000 to the research was formed in March 2001 with project "Katydids as funding from OECD countries. GBIF bioindicators" links existing databases on 1993 $60,000 to the checklist of biodiversity with new databases into beetles project a global information resource for 1994 $10,000 to the Double environmental research. Helix Science Club Dung The ECOWATCH project grew from Beetles project the long-standing association between 1999 $25,000 to the ECOWATCH CSIRO Entomology and the Bookmark community based habitat Biosphere Reserve (supported by the quality assessment project Foundation through the Australian Mr Mark Hardwick, Finance Manager Landscape Trust). The project involves primary and secondary 02 6246 4008 school students in the Riverland mark.hardwick@csiro.au region of South Australia in the field www.ento.csiro.au identification of invertebrate species, www.ento.csiro.au/Ecowatch as indicators of the biological health of their local environment.

Environment & Conservation Australian Flora Foundation, QLD To photograph and database native flowers Denmark Environment Centre Inc, WA For various projects in the effective Management in the South West Green Skills Inc, WA Bush Products Program in the Great Southern WA 11th Annual Fungi and Fibre Symposium in July Royal Zoological Society of SA Inc. Volunteer support for Manarto Zoo revegetation project

Total $

1,600 25,000

12,000 5,000 2,000

45,600

Australia Landscape Trust (ALT) Australian Landscape Trust, VIC Bookmark Biosphere Reserve project at Renmark, South Australia

300,000

Australian Landscape Trust, VIC for the development of the Trust

100,000

Total ALT $

400,000

Total Environment & Conservation $

445,600 25


Health • to support organisations undertaking research into and treatment of major diseases • to support innovative programs designed to improve the delivery of services to people handicapped by health conditions • to support educational programs for the prevention of diseases

EXCLUSIONS The Foundation will not normally support requests for funds for: -

salaries of health personnel, research assistants, small items of equipment or programs which are substantially funded by Government or major public health organizations

-

equipment and services which should properly be provided for in the usual operation of the hospital or health facility

Paediatric visit at Nganampa Health Council, May 2003

26


Mothers and their children were the focus of the Foundation’s grantmaking in the health area during the year.

The major initiative has been seeding support for the establishment of the Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth (ARACY), based in Western Australia. ARACY is co-ordinating research by a network of institutes across Australia into long-term patterns of physical and mental health in children; and facilitating the implementation of the findings in policy and practice. Two programs based in indigenous communities, one in Townsville, Queensland and the other in the remote north-west of South Australia, share a strong and practical focus on screening, education and prevention. Finally, two smaller grants to Melbourne hospitals focus on community education for parents.

Nganampa Health Council 27


HEALTH MAJOR PROFILE

HEALTH EXEMPLAR GRANTS

Nganampa Health Council, NT $130,000 to the Child Health Project (part of a commitment of $620,000 over 10 years) Mr John Singer, Director 08 8952 5300 info@alice.nganampahealth.com.au www.nganampahealth.com.au

Professor Fiona Stanley, AC, 2003 Australian of the Year and Founding Director of ARACY

TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, WA $200,000 to the establishment of the Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth (ARACY) (part of a commitment of $400,000 over 2 years) Professor Fiona Stanley, AC, Chief Executive Officer 08 9489 7777 info@aracy.org.au www.aracy.org.au The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth has now been established as a separate company with a membership base spanning all the relevant disciplines associated with children and youth, and also integrating the different perspectives of research, policy and practice. The aim of the Alliance is to develop relationships of influence so that they can contribute to key policy decisions and advocate for better use of evidence in the formation of public policy for children and youth. ARACY is currently looking at the feasibility of establishing a Clearinghouse, working towards a National Data Network, and developing a "Research to Action" agenda. The Foundation’s grant has supported the salary costs of the National Coordinator and the Administrative Officer during the establishment phase of the Alliance.

28

Nganampa Health Council provides a comprehensive primary health care service to residents of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands in the far northwest of South Australia. The Foundation has provided support since 1996 for the Child Health Program, which focuses on the health of children on the lands up to age 14. The program has undergone many changes since the Foundation’s initial grant was made, in response to the changing needs of the communities on the Lands. Key components of the current program are: • Immunisation – the Council has achieved close to 100% vaccine coverage for children under 5, and this program is now focused on the timeliness of immunisations and the introduction of new vaccines such as the pneumococcal conjugate. • Growth monitoring – children demonstrating growth failure can be identified for medical assessment and possible medical treatment or nutritional intervention. Frequent "weighins" also provide a regular opportunity for nursing staff to interact with mothers when their baby is well and provide key messages about maternal practice.

• Child Health Screening – children are screened with a standard set of health assessments at age 5, 10 and 14 years for conditions such as anaemia (a significant problem on the AP Lands) • Failure to thrive project – this program provides comprehensive medical assessment and treatment for failure to thrive babies born on the AP Lands, as well as support and education for their mothers • Antenatal care – since its inception this program has achieved excellent outcomes in terms of birth weight and survival. Low birth weight rates have fallen from around 15% in the mid 1980s, mainly due to very high rates of contact between antenatal staff and individual mothers during pregnancy. The Child Health Program has been affected since its inception by the difficulty in recruiting and retaining key staff members, and this remains an ongoing challenge in the delivery of its services.

Mr Michael Chaney, Chairman of ARACY, the The Hon. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, and Professor Fiona Stanley, AC at the launch of ARACY in Perth on 19th July 2002


Townsville Aboriginal and Islanders Health Services Ltd, QLD $70,000 to the Maternal and Child Health Program (part of a commitment of $210,000 over 3 years) Ms Rachel Atkinson, Chief Executive Officer 07 4759 4027 ratkinson@taihs.net.au www.taihs.net.au This Maternal and Child Health program was established in 2000 to trial an outreach model for indigenous maternal and child health programs. Such programs are a key component in any strategy for breaking the cycle of poor ante-natal care, low birth weight and the broad range of short and long term health problems so evident in many aboriginal communities. The program was successful in 2002 in obtaining its own dedicated building in Townsville, modifications to which were completed in June 2003. Three doctors are now working each morning, and attendance figures for the three years the program has been running show a marked increase for each year of operation. The "Mums and Babies" program, as it is known, has been successful in gaining funding from the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health for two years under its "Exemplar site" funding initiative, and this funding may become recurrent dependent upon the results of a comprehensive infant health outcomes evaluation being undertaken.

...DOWN THE TRACK Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing, VIC $20,000 to the Distance Intervention Program Ms Hilary Russell, Chief Executive Officer, Taralye Oral Langauge Centre for Deaf Children 03 9877 1300 hilaryruss@ozemail.com.au www.taralye.vic.edu.au Taralye provides assessment, education and support to children with hearing impairment and their families, and has played a leadership role in the development of services for hearing impaired children below school age. The Distance Learning Program is an innovative and successful program which was introduced in 1998 with the support of the J.T. Reid Trust and The Ian Potter Foundation. It aims to improve access to Taralye's services for rural Victorian families and to provide support to speech and hearing professionals working in country areas. The program pioneered the use of video-conferencing so that

pre-school aged children in rural Victoria could receive through a computer link up in their homes something approaching the intensive intervention received by the children who attend the Centre in Blackburn receive. The program is delivered in three modules: • support and consultancy to local service providers and professionals in regional areas • direct service to families from Taralye centre staff • service for families provided by local sessional teacher employed by Taralye Over 26 children have participated in the program since its establishment, and a number of other disability-related organisations are considering adopting this model of reaching rural children with a disability. Despite this, the program has struggled to obtain recurrent funding from government.

Health Nganampa Health Council, SA Child health care project on the Ananga Pitjantjatjara Lands

130,000

St Vincents Hospital Melbourne, VIC Maternal and Child Health Skin Education Program

18,500

Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Services Ltd., QLD to continue the maternal and child health program for indigenous women

70,000

The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, VIC Effects of a new model of care on information and support needs of first time mothers TVW Telethon Institute of Child Health Research, WA National Research Partnership for Developmental Health and Well Being

Total Health $

5,000

200,000

423,500

29


Medical Research • to support major initiatives by leading Australian research institutes, universities and teaching hospitals in innovative biomedical research, the anticipated benefits of which are likely to advance the institution as a whole

EXCLUSIONS The Foundation will not normally support requests for funds for: -

-

projects suitable for submission to the National Health and Medical Research Council or the Australian Research Council salaries for researchers or research assistants and for equipment which should be the subject of submissions to the NH&MRC or ARC

-

purposes which are core to the operations of the organisation and should more appropriately be funded from institutional operating funds

-

research projects for which there would be a reasonable prospect of attracting commercial funding

-

research scholarships or projects which would be awarded by the grantseeker to third parties

Professor Geoffrey Tregear, Deputy Director (standing) and Dr Chrishan Samuel (seated), of the Relaxin Team at the Howard Florey Institute, 2003

30


The Foundation has a long tradition of providing multi-year support for strategic research initiatives at leading institutes, universities and teaching hospitals.

In keeping with this tradition, major grants during the year helped to establish new centres or laboratories at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, The Howard Florey Institute, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, the Alfred Hospital, and the Austin Research Institute. The Foundation’s strong history of supporting medical research reflects Sir Ian’s personal interest in the field, which pre-dates the establishment of the Foundation. Sir Sydney Sunderland, one of the founding Governors of the Foundation, was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at The University of Melbourne, and the Award established by the Foundation in his memory is commemorated on page 34 of this Report.

Dr Qian Sang, Brain Development Team, Howard Florey Institute, 2003

Howard Florey Institute

31


MEDICAL RESEARCH MAJOR PROFILES

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre,VIC $500,000 to the establishment of The Ian Potter Foundation Centre of Cancer Genomics & Predictive Medicine (part of a commitment of $1,000,000 over 2 years) Professor David Bowtell, Director of Research David.Bowtell@petermac.org www.petermac.org/research/ The Ian Potter Foundation Centre of Cancer Genomics and Predictive Medicine was opened by The Hon. John Brumby, MP on February 4, 2003, World Cancer Day. Dr Tom Hurley, AO, the longest-serving Governor of The Ian Potter Foundation, spoke on behalf of his fellow Governors and drew some interesting parallels between the life course of Sir Peter MacCallum and Sir Ian Potter. The new Centre will focus on linking laboratory cancer research with the management of cancer patients by rapidly matching patients with the best-available cancer drugs. Cancer research and treatments are becoming more individualised and there are now more anti-cancer compounds in early phase clinical trials than there have been in the last 40 years combined. These new compounds or drugs are designed to specifically target proteins that are the key to the growth of a given cancer. Each kind of cancer has many different types, each with different changes and growth patterns. Previously a drug has been given to a group of people with a particular kind of cancer without any assessment of the genetic changes in the cancer itself. The link between laboratory research and clinical trials which the new Centre embodies is thus vitally important in assessing which patients will benefit from a specific drug treatment, and providing the best opportunity to test that particular drug in a clinical environment. Finally, research at the Ian Potter Foundation Centre will also assist in the early identification of some cancers through identifying the genetic changes that occur in the first stages of the disease. 32

From L-R: Professor David Bowtell, Director of Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; The Hon. John Brumby MP, Victorian Minister for State and Regional Development and Minister for Innovation; Dr Thomas Hurley, AO, OBE, Governor of The Ian Potter Foundation; and Dr Heather Wellington, Chair, Board of Directors, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, VIC $880,000 to the establishment of a Neuropeptide Laboratory (part of a commitment of $1,200,000 over 5 years) Professor Geoffrey Tregear, Deputy Director 03 8344 5654 g.tregear@hfi.unimelb.edu.au www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au Nerve cells in the brain communicate using chemicals called neurotransmitters. Understanding neurotransmitters and how to design drugs that either block or mimic their actions underlies existing treatments for nearly all types of brain disorders. Currently most drugs available rely on manipulating just one class of neurotransmitters, the amines, that were discovered between 50 and 80 years ago. There is huge potential in the discovery of new members of another class of neurotransmitter molecules, the neuropeptides. Peptides are small proteins and when they occur in the brain they are called neuropeptides. Elucidating their actions will lead to better ways of treating brain diseases.

is necessary to detect and measure interactions of these systems with other proteins in the cell. The Foundation’s grant is supporting the purchase of two major items of equipment, a Ciphergen Protein Biology System and a Scanning Fluorimeter, some consumables and an operator for the equipment. The choice of equipment has taken into account what is already available in other institutes in Melbourne’s Parkville precinct, and ensures no duplication of existing facilities. The new laboratory is headed by Professor Geoffrey Tregear, Deputy Director of the Howard Florey Institute.

The Alfred Hospital, VIC $250,000 to the establishment of the National Trauma Research Institute Ms Leora Harrison, Director, Public Affairs & The Alfred Foundation 03 9276 2141 L.Harrison@alfred.org.au www.alfred.org.au

This project builds on an area of traditional strength at the Howard Florey Institute in peptide chemistry. Recent discoveries at the Institute include a new neuropeptide system involved in learning and memory, as well as a new neuropeptide that is a member of the relaxin family.

The Foundation’s grant is assisting the establishment of the first National Trauma Research Institute in Australia. A major focus of the research of the institute will be the development of approaches to decrease the severity and extent of brain and spinal damage following head or neck trauma (neurotrauma). The funds will be used to create the major neurotrauma research laboratory within the Institute.

To accelerate the application of these discoveries to the development of new therapies, equipment using proteomics

The Institute is unique in that it involves the collaboration of all the major trauma service providers in


MEDICAL RESEARCH EXEMPLAR GRANTS

Victoria including universities, hospitals, ambulance services and rehabilitation providers. It will be led by Professor Thomas Kossmann, Director, Department of Trauma Surgery - The Alfred and Monash University, who established his international reputation in Switzerland in the fields of brain trauma, spinal injury and trauma orthopaedics. Whilst survival rates of major trauma are steadily improving a large number of brain damaged patients remain with long lasting disability. The findings of this Institute will have significant implications for the well being of such patients as well as their families and the community in general.

Austin Research Institute, VIC $200,000 for the development of an X-ray crystallography Facility Professor Mark Hogarth, Director 03 9278 0660 pm.hogarth@ari.unimelb.edu.au www.ari.unimelb.edu.au The Austin Research Institute is currently establishing a state-of-the-art protein crystallography facility in a collaborative funding approach, to provide high quality analysis of protein structure to consortium members and other researchers. X-ray crystallography equipment allows more efficient analysis of the structure of proteins and so enables the faster development of a new generation of "rationally designed drugs" which closely fit the particular

molecule design. The development of new treatments will initially focus on serious, common, debilitating and costly diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, while also being potentially applicable to a broad range of major disorders from asthma to cancer While the Austin is not a large Institute, it has developed a good structure for collaboration and for sharing equipment. The bridge between research, pharmaceutical development and clinical treatment is strong and their intellectual property policy ensures that benefits from commercially valuable breakthroughs are equitably shared by the inventor, the staff and the Institute. The Foundation’s grant supported the purchase of a highly sensitive Rigaku X-ray Crystallography generator, previously not available in Australia, to be used by a consortium of researchers who require access to this technology. Support has also been received from a number of other Foundations, including the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, after which the Laboratory is named.

St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research following its capital works program

St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, VIC $300,000 to the Diabetes Research Laboratory Mr David Rees, Business Manager 03 9288 2486 drrees@ariel.unimelb.edu.au www.svimr.unimelb.edu.au St Vincent's Institute is a centre of excellence in several different areas of medical research. With the appointment of Professor Thomas Kay as the new Director of the Institute, high-quality diabetes research has become a new focus and growth area for the Institute. The Institute has been outstandingly successful in terms of its research productivity, competitive funding, international citations, publications and patents. To accommodate its expanding research activities, St Vincent’s Institute is in the middle of a major capital works program. Substantial funds have been won from Commonwealth and State government sources for the redevelopment of the Institute. The Foundation’s grant of $300,000 is supporting the capital cost of fitting out the Diabetes Research Laboratory on the 3rd floor of the new building and will assist the Institute as a whole. A major new focus of the diabetes research program at the Institute will be setting up a Human Islet Transplant Program. Islet transplantation provides the most promising path to a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Medical Research The Alfred Hospital, VIC National Trauma Research Institute

250,000

The Austin Research Institute, VIC 200,000 for the development of a X-ray Crystallography Facility Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, VIC To establish a Neuropeptide Laboratory Monash University, Department of Medicine, VIC for the purchase of a DNA Capillary Sequencer

880,000

50,000

Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, VIC 500,000 The Ian Potter Foundation Centre for Cancer Genomics and Predictive Medicine

Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, NSW - Spinal Injuries Research Centre Study of child injuries in motor vehicle accidents

25,000

Research Australia Limited, NSW three-year start-up support

50,000

St Vincents Institute of Medical Research, VIC 300,000 For the capital cost of fitting out the Diabetes Research Laboratory Baker Medical Research Institute, VIC to purchase a confocal microscope

Total Medical Research $

50,000

2,305,000

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‌DOWN THE TRACK The Sunderland Award The Sunderland Award was established in 1994 to honour the memory of Sir Sydney Sunderland (1910 - 1993), Governor of the Foundation from its inception in 1964 until 1993. Sir Sydney was internationally recognized for his monumental research on peripheral nerve injuries. The goal of the Awards has been to support and provide new research experience for young Australian neurobiologists working on sensorimotor neurobiology problems that would have interested Sir Sydney. An amount of $50,000 was committed by the Foundation to allow for five Awards, each of $10,000 to be made. A short description of the work undertaken by each recipient follows.

1995 - Professor Trevor Kilpatrick, Professor of Neurology, The Centre for Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, VIC The Sunderland Award enabled me to work for a three month period at the National Institute of Neurology in London with Professor Ian McDonald, who is one of the world’s leading experts in multiple sclerosis research. Professor McDonald was instrumental in establishing that magnetic resonance imaging is a valuable tool in the diagnosis and surveillance of multiple sclerosis. I used the time to become familiar with the various analytical modalities used to quantitatively assess lesion load on MRI and have since applied these techniques to assess the validity and reliability of novel MRI-based measures of disease severity. The Award was very timely for me and was much appreciated. I had previously spent three years undertaking basic laboratory research at The Salk Institute in California and the Award allowed me to rekindle my enthusiasm for clinical research and hospital-based medicine. The experience that I gained and the professional associations that I formed whilst at the Institute of Neurology have been invaluable to me in my subsequent career.

1996 - Dr Vaughan G. Macefield, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, NSW All of my work involves microneurography, in which a tungsten microelectrode is inserted through the skin and manually directed into a muscle or cutaneous fascicle of an accessible peripheral nerve (e.g. median, ulnar or peroneal). The microelectrode can be used to record the firing properties of individual myelinated mechanosensitive afferents - such as those supplying sensory endings in the skin, joints and muscles - and even of single unmyelinated axons (C-fibres), such as the postganglionic sympathetic axons which supply the blood vessels and sweat glands. An extension of this technique, microstimulation, allows one to selectively stimulate individual sensory axons to determine how the brain interprets rudimentary signals, and to stimulate individual motor axons to allow detailed measurement of the contractile properties of single motor units in various muscles. I have two laboratories, one devoted to sensorimotor control of the hand and the other to the sympathetic control of blood pressure, blow flow and sweating. These laboratories form part of the Spinal Injuries Research Centre.

My research comprises three primary fields of investigation: (i) examining the firing properties and control of single typeidentified sympathetic nerve fibres in normal and pathophysiological states such as heart failure, sleep apnoea, hyperhidrosis and hypertension. (ii) studying the capacity of single human cutaneous, joint and muscle afferents to encode the various force components encountered by the fingers during manipulation; examining the synaptic coupling between individual afferents and the spinal motoneurones acting on the digits. (iii) determining how the firing pattern of individual human motoneurones contributes to the production of force and movement.

1999 - Dr Glenda Halliday, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, NSW Standardizing the Collection of Research Data on Patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson's Disease (PD) is the commonest neurodegenerative movement disorder. The diagnosis of PD is clinical, and ultimately pathological as there are no laboratory methods to diagnose PD in vivo. There are no current treatments to halt its progression. Current research advances are made only by careful clinical and pathological analysis of patients with the disorder. This project was to enhance the capacity for such research in Australia. The Sunderland Award allowed me to travel to Melbourne to collaborate with colleagues at the Austin Repatriation Hospital on 1. standardizing clinic methods for the prospective collection of research data on PD patients, cont...

34


2. standardizing the protocols used and data collected at neuropathology, and 3. standardizing neuropathological diagnosis for research purposes. All of these goals have been achieved and some published. A proportion of the funds were for software purchases to 4. further develop a database I had written that integrates this clinical and neuropathological research data, 5. serve this database for ethernet connection to all collaborators, 6. install end-user software for collaborators to access this database, and 7. then train collaborators in the use of this national research database. Most of these goals have been achieved. The database has been developed and is currently used by all collaborators with appropriate computer hardware and ethernet connections. This award has already allowed two broader projects to proceed – the Diagnosing Early Dopamineric Cell Loss (DEDCeL) group which has published several articles and the Australian Parkinson’s Project (APP) under the auspices of the Movement Disorder Society of Australia.

2000 - Professor Kathryn North, Head of the Neurogenetics Research Unit at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Professor, Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW My laboratory research is focussed on identifying the genetic basis of inherited muscle disorders and understanding the mechanisms underlying the muscle weakness. Many children with inherited muscle disorders have disabling weakness, often lose the ability to walk and may die at an early age due to failure of respiratory muscles. In additon to my

laboratory-based research, I am the Head of the Clinical Neuromuscular Service at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, which cares for over 400 families with inherited muscle disorders particularly the muscular dystrophies and congenital myopathies. I received the Sunderland Award in 2000, and used the funds to visit three collaborators in the United States: Prof. Louis Kunkel (Harvard University, Children’s Hospital Boston) Collaboration: Limb girdle muscular dystrophy due to deficiency of dysferlin. A/Prof Alan Beggs (Harvard University, Children’s Hospital Boston) Collaboration: Molecular basis of nemaline myopathy. Prof Stanley Froehner (University of Washington, Seattle). Collaboration: A novel myopathy associated with deficiency of the syntrophins and dystrobrevins. The time spent in Boston resulted in new collaborative studies using DNA microarray technology to understand the molecular pathways involved in nemaline myopathy and dysferlin deficiency. This work has already resulted in two joint publications, and a grant from the US Muscular Dystrophy Association. The time spent in Seattle greatly furthered progress in the study of a novel myopathy discovered in the North laboratory. This work has resulted in one joint manuscript, an additional manuscript in preparation and funding for this project from the US Muscular Dystrophy Association. Face-to-face meetings of scientific collaborators can never be replaced by email. The trip funded by the Sunderland Award helped to cement existing collaborations and to accelerate the progress of the joint research efforts of my laboratory.

2001 - Dr Simon Koblar, Centre for Molecular Genetics of Development, Adelaide University, SA I was awarded $10,000 from the Ian Potter Foundation in August 2001, which was instrumental in funding this research project at its inception. Following the receipt of this award I was able to offer this research project to a PhD student in 2002. The aim of this research project is to investigate the genetic code, which guides motor nerves from the spinal cord into the limbs during the early stages of nervous system development in an embryo. The assumption is that by understanding how the nervous system is wired up during embryo development we may apply this to the re-wiring of damaged peripheral nerves in a mature animal following injury. The hope is that this fundamental neurobiological knowledge will be applicable to the clinical situation of peripheral nerve or spinal cord injury in humans. In the two years since this award we have discovered a new combination of genes that appear to coordinate the spinal motor nerves travelling in their initial pathway from the developing spinal cord. This has led to two presentations at a national scientific meetings; Australian Neuroscience Society 2002 and a Australian Developmental Biology Workshop 2002. Finally, the preliminary data generated from work financed by this award has led to a NHMRC project grant application for 2004. In my opinion this award funded by The Ian Potter Foundation has been extremely valuable from its monetary component and from the viewpoint of recognition of my work in the field from an Australian perspective.

35


Science • to support high quality scientific research of particular value to the development and enhancement of the economic and ecological sustainability of Australian enterprises • to support high quality scientific research to preserve Australian flora and fauna

EXCLUSIONS The Foundation will not normally support requests for funds for: -

projects suitable for submission to the Australian Research Council

-

salaries for researchers or research assistants and for equipment which should be the subject of submissions to the ARC

-

purposes which are core to the operations of the organisation and should more appropriately be funded from institutional operating funds

-

research projects for which there would be a reasonable prospect of attracting commercial funding

A Peron's tree frog on the NSW central coast, photographed as part of the Earthwatch program "Australia's Vanishing Frogs”

36


The Foundation continued its support of science education through two peer-mentoring schemes.

At Murdoch University in Western Australia the Foundation’s grant is supporting the dissemination of the Science and Technology Awareness Raising (STAR) peer-tutoring model to other Universities throughout Australia; and at RMIT University in Melbourne a grant is supporting the extension and evaluation of their program. Other grants focused on the environmental sciences, supporting both research and practical programs.

It's a test of physics knowledge, teamwork, ingenuity and a race against time for students when they tackle the bridge-building exercise during a visit by the STARtrek Science Show. Under the watchful eye of STAR peer tutor and mentor Andrew Pomfret, students at Newman Senior High School in the East Pilbara (1200 kms north east of Perth) have their bridge - built from drink straws, toothpicks and sticky tape - stress tested under increasing weights.

STAR Peer Tutoring Program

37


SCIENCE EXEMPLAR GRANTS The Australia 21 Living Planet Roundtable, held in Sydney in November 2002

RMIT University, VIC $20,000 to the continuation of the Science Peer Tutor Program Mr Nick Besley, Marketing and Communications Manager and Peer Tutor Program Director 03 9925 1022 besley@rmit.edu.au www.rmit.edu.au A grant of $20,000 was made to RMIT to continue to extend and evaluate its Science Peer Tutoring Program for the first six months of 2003. The program places undergraduate students in science and maths classes in primary and secondary schools to assist younger students with learning. Tutors are role models for school students and the program offers them valuable experience in teaching and communication. By involving undergraduate students, the program provides a contemporary and compelling image of young scientists that helps demystify the stereotype. The program commenced in Melbourne metropolitan schools in 1998, and was expanded to include a workshop program in regional schools in 2000. During the first half of 2003 14 regional and 13 metro-politan schools participated in the program. The Foundation’s grant is being used to employ a part-time coordinator for the program. The Coordinator’s role involves liaison with schools, recruitment and training of university students as peer tutors, development of the program in new areas, and ongoing evaluation. Further funding for the program was received by the Department of Education and Training, and from RMIT itself. 38

Murdoch University, WA $38,337 to the STAR (Science/ Technology Awareness Raising) Program (part of a commitment of $115,011 over 3 years) Mr Russell Elsegood, Director, STAR Peer Tutoring Program and Development Manager 08 9360 6650 elsegood@central.murdoch.edu.au http://about.murdoch.edu.au/star The Foundation’s support of this program arose from a desire to mark the International Year of the Volunteer in 2001 with an initiative which would encourage lifelong community service amoung university students. The STAR program meets the twin goals of embedding a commitment to volunteerism and a greater awareness of science in Australia’s youth. Under the STAR program, undergraduate university science students volunteer a few hours a week to assist in the classroom with science lessons in secondary schools. The secondary students benefit greatly by working with and learning from a peer tutor close to them in age who is fascinated by and committed to science. The tutors work in collaboration with classroom teachers and develop projects which they can implement with students. The STAR program was developed in Australia at Murdoch University, and the Foundation’s grant of $115,011 over three years is providing salary support and some operation costs for Mr Russell Elsegood, Director of the program. Mr Elsegood is working to develop a supportive national network of individuals and organisations committed to the program, and to

disseminate the STAR model to other Universities throughout Australia. His efforts are now coming to fruition, with programs based on STAR in place at the University of South Australia, Flinders University, the University of Tasmania, and RMIT (the latter two also directly supported by the Foundation). The STAR model is based on two overseas programs: the Israeli Perach Project, the world’s largest universityto-school science peer tutoring program; and the London-based Pimlico Connection. Highlights of the STAR program during the year were visits to Melbourne by the founders of both overseas programs: Amos Carmeli, National Director of the Perach program in August 2002, and Professor Sinclair Goodlad of Imperial College in London in May 2003. Both visits provided valuable impetus to the expansion of peer-mentoring schemes throughout Australia.


Australia 21 Limited, ACT $25,000 to develop the intellectual framework for a new research and development program on "The Living Planet" Emeritus Professor Bob Douglas, AO, Chair of the Board 0409 233 138 office@australia21.org.au www.australia21.org.au Australia 21 was formed to fill what its founding directors perceived to be a lack in Australia's ability to address large strategic issues in a sustained trans-disciplinary and transinstitutional way. Such interdisciplinary and inter-institutional bodies as Australia 21 are supplanting the single organisation "think tanks" of the past, and those people involved in Australia 21 are among the leaders in their respective fields. A meeting of 20 experts from around Australia was held in Sydney on the 8th of November, 2002 to explore the question "How can we better understand the relationship between the earth and its biosphere, and what might flow from an improved understanding?". The Foundation’s grant covered the costs of the meeting and subsequent implementation of its recommendations. This included converting the transcripts of a six hour open discussion on the issue into a useable form for publication.

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, WA $10,000 to conserving threatened mammals – history informing current management practice Dr Jeff Short, Principal Research Scientist 08 9333 6457 Jeff.Short@csiro.au www.cse.csiro.au This library-based project is a blend of historical and contemporary ecological research into the causes of the mainland decline of Australia’s mammals.

This work provides a basis for further field surveys of the locations where Shortridge worked, in particular looking at the relative abundance of poisonous plants in Western Australia, which may have provided refuges from feral cat predation in the areas where Shortridge was most successful in his collections. This research will have direct bearing on the current fate of endangered species through management of surviving remnant populations and attempts to re-establish populations via reintroduction.

In 1906, one Guy Shortridge collected 22 specimens of the banded harewallaby for the British Museum in what is now the wheat-belt of WA. This was the last mainland record of this species, which now survives only on two islands at Shark Bay. Shortridge collected widely in southern WA and his unpublished correspondence, lodged in the archives of the British Museum of Natural History, is providing insight into the major forces affecting mammals at that time. The letters have been accessed and transcribed, and extensive relevant extracts have been incorporated into a manuscript for publication.

The November meeting has led to two separate but related proposals: the establishment of an elite ecological research and development network; and a national field-based ecological resilience initiative, in partnership with the Australian Museum. Australia 21 will be exploring these two proposals during the remainder of 2003.

A banded hare-wallaby, photo taken on Dorre Island at Shark Bay, approximately 850 kms north of Perth in Western Australia

39


The Earthwatch Institute, VIC $16,000 to the Science and Conservation Volunteer Challenge Program Ms Penny Richards, Director, Programs and Development 03 9682 6828 prichards@earthwatch.org www.earthwatch.org

A Barred Frog, photographed as part of the Earthwatch program Australia's Vanishing Frogs"

An Earthwatch volunteer assessing the age of a bird by checking moult

The Earthwatch Institute's 'Science and Conservation Volunteer Program' cuts across a number of the Foundation’s interests - environment, science, education, and nurturing an ethos of community service among young Australians. In 2001 Earthwatch received a grant of $20,000 from the Foundation for this program for one year, with a commitment to consider future support in light of the quality of evaluation and feedback. Eight fellowships to participate in Earthwatch programs were awarded to students from 4 Victorian universities as a result of the grant. Some universities have given accreditation to the program as part of the university's fieldwork requirements in their courses. This second grant to the program of $16,000 will allow Earthwatch to consolidate their own commitment to the program, to explore opportunities to develop partnerships with other universities, and hopefully to secure ongoing funding for the program.

Earthwatch volunteers sweep netting to catch aerial invertebrates

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‌DOWN THE TRACK

A Chatham albatross (Thalassarche eremite) shown carrying a satellite transmitter (see aerial above back). The bird breeds only on The Pyramid in the Chatham Islands, approx. 800 km east of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean

Dr David Nicholls, Chief Investigator A total of $44,000 in grants from 1993 to 2002 03 5990 7166 D.nicholls@chisholm.vic.edu.au

Satellite telemetry refers to the automatic measurement of something distant or inaccessible and the transmission of the measurements by satellite to a device for recording or displaying them, as when information about some bodily process is collected from a device implanted in the body. This technique is currently used to map the distribution of albatrosses, however it is expensive and other, cheaper means of recording data during flight and recovering that information are necessary to inform management of species conservation and worldwide fisheries practice. Dr Nicholls’ work is currently focusing on geolocation loggers, which have been carefully selected to find the best balance between reliability, battery life and location accuracy. They also record

temperature and potentially other environmental and animal physiological data. Nine loggers were deployed in December 2002 on the Chatham Albatross, a critically endangered species living in New Zealand, Chilean and Peruvian seas. Weather permiting, they will be retrieved in SeptemberNovember 2003. Dr Nicholls is also involved in developing and testing low-pressure sensors to measure the depth of the bird in the water, and also developing new tools to interpret the telemetry data, particularly in relation to weather systems. His group have published original work on albatross flights in relation to weather systems and the first distribution maps of wandering albatross in Australasian seas.

Science Australia 21, ACT To develop the intellectual framework for research & development progam "The Living Planet

25,000

CSIRO - Sustainable Ecosystems Dr. Jeff Short - conserving threatened mammals

10,000

The Earthwatch Institute, VIC Science and Conservation Volunteer Challenge Program

16,000

Murdoch University WA, Star Peer Tutoring Program STAR Program

38,337

RMIT University, VIC SciencePeer Tutor Program University of Queensland, Contemporary Studies "Cells from Hell"

Total Science $

20,000

5,000

114,337

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Social Welfare • to support innovative programs which have a strong preventative focus and which are directed to family preservation • to assist programs which have an established record of providing meaningful employment opportunities for young people. • to assist projects designed to develop strong business, community and volunteer partnerships which provide support for families and other groups experiencing economic or other hardships • to encourage the economic, social, educational and cultural life of communities and the people who live in them, and to help develop nationally applicable strategies for community development • to encourage the dissemination of results of successful programs Australia wide and to assist organisations to access proven overseas practice

The house at 106 Hodgkinson Street, Clifton Hill, purchase by Melbourne Affordable Housing with assistance from The Ian Potter Foundation

42


No Interest Loan Schemes (NILS) remain a strong component of the Foundation’s grantmaking in the social welfare area.

Grants are made to provide a capital base for a revolving loans program, where small grants are made to members of a local community for the purchase of essential household items. Loan repayments are set at a level which the recipient can afford. Eleven grants were paid to NILS programs during the year. Other large grants under this area focus broadly on children and youth, within the context of their families and communities. The social welfare program area also contains the largest number of small grants from the Foundation, most at $5,000. These grants are made to community-based organisations where there is a strong volunteer component, a demonstrated need, and a history of successful project outcomes.

The Clifton Hill church that sits in the midst of Melbourne Affordable Housing's proposed accommodation complex, destined for refurbishment into a community centre

Melbourne affordable housing 43


SOCIAL WELFARE EXEMPLAR GRANTS No Interest Loan Schemes $175,000 paid to 11 organisations in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia (part of a commitment of $350,000 made in June 2000) Mr Scott Anderson, Administrator, The Ian Potter Foundation 03 9650 3188 scott@ianpotter.org.au www.ianpotter.org.au Ms Annette Leverett, National NILS Coordinator, The Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service 03 9419 5477 nils@infoxchange.net.au http://www.goodshepherd.com.au/gsyf s/work/fin_nils.html No Interest Loan Schemes (or NILS) assist low-income communities and groups in a very practical way. Successful repayment of a loan not only provides a family with a necessary household appliance, but also with a sense of achievement, a credit history, and a further benefit to their community through the relending of the money they have repaid. The Ian Potter Foundation made its first grant to a NILS in 1992, in partnership with The Jack Brockhoff Foundation, and continued to support the concept between 1992 to 2000 with grants totalling $377,000. In early 2000, the Foundation commissioned a report to provide advice and information about the outcomes of the NILS funded, mostly in Victoria. The report concluded that there were significant gaps in the availability of these programs across Australia. For a copy of the report please go to http://www.ianpotter.org.au/60_pubs/pdfs/6-03-03-ifl.pdf

44

As a result of this report, the Foundation made a commitment of $350,000 in June 2000 to the dissemination of the interest-free loans program model into States and Territories other than Victoria. Grants assist the creation of new programs through the provision of funding for capital bases and establishment costs, and support existing programs by expanding their capital bases. The Foundation also made an additional grant of $80,000 in March 2002 to the Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service in Victoria to support their national coordination of NILS. Good Shepherd has played a pivotal role in the development of NILS over the last two decades, including the development of the Victorian NILS Network, administrative software for agencies, standards and best practice guidelines. The Foundation’s grant is assisting Good Shepherd to provide technical support, advice and advocacy for new and existing NILS across Australia for two years. Achievements during the first half of 2003 included the development of a NILS Accreditation Agreement, a second edition of the NILS newsletter, and a forthcoming NILS Seminar to be sponsored by the National Australia Bank.

Grants made to NILS during 2002-03 were as follows: NSW: $40,000 to Mission Australia, for the establishment of the Hunter NILS project $15,000 to the Narrabri Community Tenancy Scheme, to increase the capital base of the existing NILS $15,000 to the Albury Wodonga Community Centre Inc., for the establishment of a NILS, $15,000 to The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation, to establish a NILS for HIV+ people QLD: $15,000 to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland, to expand the capital base of the existing NILS $10,000 to the Queensland Renal Association Inc (QRA Inc), to expand the capital base of the existing NILS $15,000 to the Kyabra Community Association Inc., to expand the capital base of the existing NILS SA: $15,000 to Port Pirie Central Mission Inc., to expand the operation of their existing NILS program $15,000 to Anglicare SA, to expand the existing NILS at the Magdalene Centre, Adelaide $5,000 to Anglicare SA, to support the existing NILS in the Gawler and Playford Community $15,000 to the Port Mission Family Centre, to establish a NILS


SOCIAL WELFARE MAJOR PROFILE Children’s Welfare Association of Victoria $50,000 to the Capital Appeal

Melbourne Affordable Housing, VIC $100,000 to the House of the Gentle Bunyip Community Housing Project

Ms Coleen Clare, Chief Executive Officer 03 9614 1577 coleen.clare@cwav.asn.au www.cwav.asn.au

Mr John Timmer, Manager, Community Housing Development 03 9662 4733 admin@mah.com.au

The Children's Welfare Association of Victoria was established in 1912, and is the peak body for all of the State's child and family welfare and support organisations. It serves its member organisations by representing their needs to government, advising on appropriate policies, providing training and undertaking projects which benefit the whole field. The Association provides leadership in excellence in the child, youth and family welfare and support field through member support and by increasing public understanding of the social issues affecting vulnerable families and their children. The 90th Birthday Capital Appeal was established to enable CWAV to purchase larger premises, so that services to members could be increased. With support from other philanthropic foundations (most notably the Community Support Fund, the William Buckland Foundation and the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust), the Association was successful in early 2003 in securing a new home double the size of their previous premises.

Melbourne Affordable Housing (formerly Ecumenical Housing Inc.) works in partnership with individual churches, communities and church agencies, to broker joint ventures with governments, private developers and community organisations to provide permanent, well-located and affordable housing to low-income individuals and families. MAH currently has 68 properties under management, comprising 103 housing units. A total of 69 single people and 34 families are currently provided with high-standard accommodation. A further six projects are in development, including The House of the Gentle Bunyip project in Hodgkinson St, Clifton Hill. The Foundation’s grant has supported the purchase of 106 Hodgkinson St from the Baptist Union of Victoria to form part of an accommodation, community and employment centre. The project is an excellent example of bringing together a broad range of community partners to provide an outcome for a historically significant site that is acceptable to all parties.

The project has also received significant support from The William Buckland Foundation, the Helen McPherson Smith Trust, North Yarra Community Health, the Community Support Fund, CFMEU, the Office of Housing, and more than 300 individual donors who contributed a total of $40,000. The Community Church of St Mark, Fintry Bank and WorkVentures are the major partner agencies.

The House of the Gentle Bunyip as it was in its hey day during the 1980's - the most enduring memory for local residents. This photo has provided Melbourne Affordable Housing's architect with details for the planned refurbishment

The new location has allowed for the extension of research, training, and networks through the establishment of the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. The new Centre will offer opportunities for partnerships with universities and business, and include a library and publications sales area. It will be opened in October 2003 by the Minister for Community Services.

45


Hanover Welfare Services, VIC $19,440 to the Tutoring Program (part of a commitment of $66,540 over 3 years) Ms Leanne Starmans, Coordinator, Hanover Family Services 03 9696 5055 lstarmans@hanover.org.au www.hanover.org.au Hanover is a non-denominational welfare agency which specialises in assisting people who are homeless. The Agency places a particular emphasis on helping families, most of whom are single parents. Hanover has a proven track record of developing high quality programs which go beyond providing emergency shelter to include follow-up support of families until they are selfsufficient. Hanover also has a strong history of evaluating and disseminating their service models. The Tutoring Program provides one-onone homework-based tutoring to children living in homeless families who are already in contact with Hanover. It is designed as an early intervention strategy aimed at preventing long-term educational disadvantage. This project combines the features of encouraging volunteering across ethnic/social boundaries and mentoring for an educationally disadvantaged group of children. It is operating on a pilot basis for three years, based at Hanover’s Family Service in South Melbourne, as well as from the library in Port Melbourne. Fourteen children are currently participating in the program, ranging from Prep to Year 12. With this project, Hanover is building on a successful partnership already developed with a group of families through the community service organisation, Keshet (Australian Jewish Humanitarian Relief). Keshet plays a major role in recruiting volunteer tutors from within the Jewish Community as well as from the general population. It is hoped that some long-term supportive relationships will emerge from this type of program and that some of the children from homeless families will be exposed to possibilities and opportunities that they would otherwise have been denied.

46

Jesuit Social Services, VIC $25,000 to the Education and Professional Service Unit Ms Julie Edwards, Program Director 03 9427 7388 jss@jesuit.org.au www.jss.org.au Jesuit Social Services has developed, established and administered over 25 years a range of programs and services for adolescents, giving the agency a unique knowledge base regarding best practice in their field. These program areas have been supported and justified by the work of the policy and research arm of Jesuit Social Services. To share this knowledge they have established an Education and Professional Service Unit to disseminate their programs and practice; to provide training, supervision and consultation to other service providers working with vulnerable adolescents; and to enhance collaborations with other organisations in their field. A particular focus for the Unit is to assist rural and remote workers in Victoria and possibly other states. The Foundation’s grant is supporting the salary of the Project Co-Ordinator for one year, until the Unit becomes self-funded through product sales and cost-recovery charges for services.

Participants in Hanover Family Welfare Service's Tutoring Program hard at work together

Workventures Ltd, NSW $25,000 towards a feasibility study for a Sustainability Enterprise Centre in western Melbourne Dr Andrew Curtis, Social Enterprise & Resource Development 02 9282 6995 andrew.curtis@workventures.com.au www.workventures.com.au WorkVentures aims to provide employment, economic and community development services to assist disadvantaged groups in the Australian community. Through training, skills development, and the provision of small business advice, WorkVentures creates jobs and improves social infrastructure in the communities with which they work. The organisation was established in Sydney in 1979, and currently employs over 200 people. The Foundation’s grant is supporting a feasibility study to determine whether there is a sound basis on which to begin a major initiative, known as a Sustainability Enterprise Centre, or SEC, in the City of Maribyrnong. Such a Centre would involve the local community as a major stakeholder, and would support environmental sustainability, education, skills development, employment pathways and economic development. To be known as "BusinessFutures", it would assist small businesses initially to minimize the harmful ecological impacts of their operations, and then to sell products and services that promote and perpetuate more sustainable ways of living and working. WorkVentures has also applied to AusIndustry for funding for a complementary small business incubator in Maribyrnong, which would co-exist with, but be separate from the SEC.


…DOWN THE TRACK La Trobe University, VIC Genetics & Human Variation $20,000 in June 2002 to the construction of a Community House for Donydji Community, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory Dr Neville White, AM, Senior Lecturer 03 9479 1861 n.white@latrobe.edu.au http://www.latrobe.edu.au/genetics/ staff/white/homepage/

Top photo: The Class of 2003 at the new Donydji Homeland Centre in August Lower left photo: Donydji school in early 2002. The huts housing young women and children are to the right of the school "house" Lower right photo: The new Donydji school and community centre under construction in July 2002

La Trobe University anthropologist, Dr Neville White, AM has had a very long involvement with the Donydji people, undertaking ethnographic research and providing support to the communities of this remote part of Australia. The community wants to encourage their young people to remain on their ancestral lands living "out bush". The Donydji community comprises approximately 50-60 people, including up to 30 children, and they receive little support from ATSIC or the Northern Territory Government. They endure a significant level of hardship to live on their ancestral lands. This project has been driven by the strong desire of the Donydji community to have a weatherprotected community house/ school. The School is run in partnership with Shephardson College and the Northern Territory Education Department.

Shephardson College on Elcho Island is a government school that provides an outreach service to the "homeland learning centres" in isolated NT communities, and is providing a teacher 3 days per week to the Donydji community. Dr White’s report on the project in early 2003 advises that the Donydji children especially were very excited at the prospect of moving into a brand new "real school". The Foundation’s grant supported the purchase of construction materials for the school, and their delivery to the site. All construction work was undertaken by The Donydji people and volunteers from the Rotary Club of Keilor East, who funded their own travel, accommodation and food costs. This project demonstrated a practical partnership between a group of indigenous Australians in a remote community; and a group of non-indigenous Australians willing to support them to achieve their goal.

47


Social Welfare Anglicare Top End, NT To enable staff to travel to the Conference of Living Works in Canada Beacon Foundation, TAS The "Alliance" project

$ 5,000

33,000

Berry Street Inc, VIC "Looking After Children" project, to attend the 5th Int'l Conference in the UK

5,000

Camcare Inc, VIC Boroondara Youth Services Support Fund

5,000

CARA (Christian Alternative to Remand Accomodation), VIC 5,000 To work with young women in care in developing a sense of family Centre for Community Welfare Training, NSW Improvement of the journal "Developing Practice"

5,000

Child and Family Services Ballarat Inc, VIC The Innovation Project

5,000

Children's Welfare Association of Victoria CWAV's Capital Appeal

50,000

Narrabri & District Community Aid Service, NSW Volunteer Visitor Scheme called "Community Friends"

5,000

Orana Family Services, VIC GAIN Project

15,000

Oxford Houses Australia, VIC 3 year longitudinal research study on self-managing housing and people in addiction recovery

30,000

Prahran Mission, VIC Drop-in and after hours support program To evaluate the barriers to employment of the mentally ill Queensland Council of Carers to undertake research into young carers in Queensland

5,000

20,000 12,000

Retina Australia (Vic) Inc. A Bigger Brighter Bolder Future, biennial congress, Melbourne, November, 2002

5000

The Richmond Fellowship of Victoria Discovery 2003 Project

2,800

5,000

Riverland Regional Health Service Inc, SA to reduce tenage pregnancies in the Riverland Region of South Australia

5,000

Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW Inc. Ethnic Radio and Debt Information project Djerriwarrh Employment and Education Services, VIC Melton After School program

5,000

Royal Women's Hospital Foundation , VIC Art Therapy for the children of cancer patients

5,000

Share Care Inc, VIC Foster care placement support project

5,000

Families and Schools Together (FAST) Outstanding Commitment

5,000

Foodbank of South Australia Inc Support for part payment on the lease of the building

18,000

SOS For Children Inc, SA Family Recruitment Campaign

5,000

Geelong Adult Training and Education (GATE) Inc, VIC Karingal Internet CafĂŠ

5,000

South West Access Network Inc. Let's make music project

5,000

Stawell Intertwine Services Inc. Plastic granulator for supported employment program

5,000

Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, VIC towards the National NILS coordinator

40,000

Hanover Welfare Services, VIC for the development of the BrainGame project

19,440

Jesuit Social Services, VIC Establish an Education and Professional Service Unit

25,000

Inner East Community Health Service Inc, VIC for phase 3 evaluation of the SWATRAD project

15,000

Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland Ltd The Charleville Womens Goup

2,500

MECWA Community Care, VIC 3,000 For staff to attend the 2003 National Shared Housing Conference in San Diego Melbourne Affordable Housing, VIC 100,000 To the House of the Gentle Bunyip Community Housing Project

48

$

Menzies Inc, VIC To send two staff to a "Aggression Replacement Training" course in the USA

5,000

Moree Police and Community Youth Clubs, NSW G.O.C. - Girls only Club

Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Taralye), VIC Distance Intervention Program The Big Issue in Australia Ltd, VIC Vendor Peer Support and Mentoring Project The Queen Elizabeth Centre, VIC For a visiting scholar - Professor Jane Drummond from University of Alberta

20,000 5,000 10,000

Typo Station, VIC External evaluation of program

8,000

University of New South Wales Education and out of home care

5,000

Victorian Association of Youth in Communities Inc for Youth Group Development work

5,000

Volunteering Queensland Youth Leadership Institute Pilot Project

50,000

5,000

Wandoo Aboriginal Corporation, NSW Learning Scape Project

5,000

Motor Neurone Disease Association of Victoria Inc. MND Telelink Client Support Project

3,000

Wesley Mission, Sydney Staff Development

5,000

North Sydney Regional Community Forum Inc, NSW To raise the profile of Volunteer Referral Agencies

2,000

Wesley Uniting Mission Inc, SA Athol Park Energy Friends Pilot Project

3,000


$ West Gippsland Healthcare Group, VIC The Youth Alcohol Cautioning Program Westaway Youth Support Inc To purchase a PA system Wintringham, VIC Wintringham Outreach Program To present their work at a conference in San Diego, USA

10,000 5,000

5,000 5,000

Workventures Ltd, NSW 25,000 Sustainability Enterprise Centre in the City of Maribyrnong Youth Assist Inc.(The Visy Cares Centre), VIC Redevelopment of the Visy Cares Centre) YWCA of Sydney The Power to Act Training Institute (8 - 10 July 2003)

Subtotal $

5,000 20,000

686,740

Interest Free Loan (IFL) Scheme $350,000 approved at June 2000 meeting To the expansion of IFL programs in NSW, QLD, SA and Tasmania Albury Wodonga Community Centre, NSW Anglicare SA (Gawler & Playford Community)

15,000 5,000

Anglicare SA (Magdalene Community)

15,000

Bobby Goldsmith Foundation, NSW

15,000

Kyabra Community Associatio, QLD

15,000

Mission Australia (Hunter NILS project), NSW

40,000

Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland

15,000

Narrabri Community Tenancy Scheme, NSW

15,000

Port Pirie Central Mission Inc, SA

15,000

Port Mission Family Centre, SA

15,000

Queensland Renal Association Inc (for patients with renal disease)

10,000

Total IFL $

175,000

Total Social Welfare $

861,740

49


The Ian Potter Cultural Trust The Ian Potter Cultural Trust provides grants to a maximum of $5,000 for the support of: • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art • community arts • conservation and moveable cultural heritage • crafts • design • literature • music • performing arts • radio, film, television & video • visual arts

EXCLUSIONS The Ian Potter Cultural Trust will not normally support applications for:

50

-

undergraduate study

-

travel or formal courses of study within Australia

-

academic research in the arts and related areas

-

standard equipment such as computer hardware and software, and digital cameras

-

performances, exhibitions or the making of recordings


The Ian Potter Cultural Trust was established by The Ian Potter Foundation in 1992 to enable it to make grants to individuals across a broad range of cultural fields.

The Trust aims to nurture excellence and diversity in cultural activities in Australia by making grants to outstandingly talented people in the early stages of their careers. Grants assist people to undertake a program of international study, or another form of career development. The vast majority of applicants seek funding for travel and tuition costs; however a small number of grants are made for the acquisition of musical instruments or nonstandard equipment.

"It was literally a dream come true. I am not the same person I was when I left, and I feel more confident and determined than ever to pursue my career…". Kate Denborough, July 2003, recipient of a grant of $5,000

The Trustees’ current focus is on fulfilling the diversity of Trust deed, and supporting a very broad range of cultural endeavour across Australia. Building on our past success in supporting music and the performing arts, the Trust is now actively encouraging applications from crafts and design, conservation, and literature. A separate, biennial program of the Cultural Trust is The Ian Potter Music Commissions Program, which offers support for the composition and performance of new Australian music. Expressions of Interest in the 2003 Music Commissions closed in April, and the final awards will be announced in October and featured in next year’s Distribution Report. The judging panel for the 2003 Commissions comprises Richard Divall, Helen Gifford, Stephen McIntyre, and Jonathan Mills. For further information about The Ian Potter Cultural Trust, or to obtain a copy of the Trust’s current application guidelines, please visit www.ianpotter.org.au/ipct.html

51


Cultural Trust

$

Mr Alister Barker 3,000 to undertake studies in cello at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK Ms Emily Barry 5,000 to study the Foundation degree in Fashion Design Technology, London Mr Benjamin Bayl 5,000 to undertake a one year position as a repetiteur at London's National Opera Studio Ms Anita Beckman 5,000 to undertake a mentorship with Mixed Media Productions in Europe Ms Sarah Beggs 2,000 to participate in the Geminiani Chamber Orchestra European tour as principal flute Ms Ruth Borgobello 5,000 to produce the film 'Claudia's Shadow' as part of her Post Graduate Diploma at the Victorian College of the Arts

Ms Catherine (KT) Doyle to visit tapestry collections in Europe

5,000

Mr Adrian Dwyer 5,000 to assist with living expenses while studying at the National Opera Studio, London Mr Simon Ellis 4,000 to purchase computer and software for work as a choreographer Dr Dongwang Fan 5,000 to travel to Shanghai for research at the Shanghai Museum, Art Gallery and School of arts and Crafts Mr Duane Fogwell 5,000 towards production of "The Best Man" - graduation film at the Victorian College of the Arts Ms Alison Frilingos 5,000 for professional development in cello with Professor Maintz in Germany Ms Dianna Gaetjens 5,000 to complete the final two years of a Masters Degree in Music in Detmold, Germany

Ms Lisa Cahill to attend the Glass Art Society Conference in Seattle

4,000

Ms Nicole Canham to resume clarinet studies with Philippe Cuper at the Conservatoire National de region Versailles

5,000

Ms Kathleen Gallagher 2,000 to undertake a four-week study and performance tour of London and Holland, developing her skills as a flautist

Ms Peta Carlin for the purchase of photographic equipment

2,500

Ms Lisa Goldberg 5,000 to undertake a one year post graduate certificate in bassoon performance in The Hague

Ms Judith Caughie 4,000 to undertake intensive language and vocal training with Richard Wistreich in Germany Ms Jenevieve Chang 5,000 to undertake one year of study in contemporary dance in London Ms Zana Clarke to visit international music festivals, universities, and exhibitions in Europe

2,500

Ms Amanda Cole 3,000 to study electronic music with Professor Denis Smalley at City University in London Ms Zara Collins 3,000 to exhibit her work at the International Symposium - SOFA (Sculpture Objects and Functional Art) in Chicago

Ms Tina Gonsalves to attend the European Media Arts Festival 2003

4,000

Ms Anna Goldsworthy (The Seraphim Piano Trio) 5,000 to undertake a study tour in preparation for the 4th International Chamber Music Competition Mr Julian Goyma for training in Guinea, West Africa studying djembe and doundoun rhythms

5,000

Mr Eddie Hadzig to undertake residency with Back to Back Theatre Co.

4,700

Mr Michael Hooper to have a replica baroque Neapolitan mandolin made

5,000

Ms Gillian Howell 3,500 for a four-week tour to England, working alongside educational teams in UK orchestras

Ms Emillie Collyer 5,000 to attend 4 week residency for Playwrights and Directors at the Royal Court Theatre, London

Ms Heidi James to design and produce innovative handcrafted footwear

Ms Lucy Cornell 5,000 to undertake training in Linklater voice method in the USA

Mr Paul Kelsey 2,500 for purchase of a glory hole or high-temperature chamber, to produce glass sculptures

Ms Maggie Craigie 3,000 to undertake three-months study of the rhythms, songs and cultural traditions of Guinea, West Africa

52

$

5,000

Ms Meredith Kerr 5,000 to resume opera studies with Maestro Franco Pagliazzi and language courses L'Instituto Europeo

Ms Belinda Daw to undertake a visual arts editorial internship in Dublin

5,000

Ms Lerida Delbridge to participate in the International Holland Music Session

2,000

Ms Kate Denborough to study dance with Beniot Lachambre, in Brussels

5,000

Mr Peter Knight 3,500 to study composition in New York and study at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada

Ms Ruani Dias-Jayasinha 4,000 to undertake training in Linklater voice method in Boston

Ms Zoe Knighton 4,000 for Flinders Quartet to undertake the 2003 Long Term Career Development Program at the Banff Centre

Ms Sophie Knezic to take up the Denise Hickey Paris Studio Residency

4,800


$

$

Mr Damon Kowarsky 2,815 to develop draughtsman/illustrator skills at an archeological dig in the western desert of Egypt

Ms Kate Spence 5,000 to undertake singing lessons with Enid Hartle in London and to study French in Paris

Mr Duong Le Quy 5,000 to undertake a one-year filmmaking course at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood

Ms Kate Sulan 5,000 to investigate the theatre making styles of five leading arts and disability companies in Europe

Ms Michelle Lehman 5,000 to produce a film entitled 'Not Without You' as a third year Victorian College of the Arts film

Mr David Tong 5,000 to undertake a four-year undergraduate course in piano at The Juilliard School in New York

Ms Laura McEwan 3,400 for a residency at the Guldagergard International Ceramic Centre in Denmark

Mr Alexandr Tsiboulski to undertake career development residency in classical guitar at the Banff Centre in Canada

Ms Emily McIntosh for purchase of lathe for glass craftwork

Ms Laura Vaughan 5,000 to study viola da gamba at The Royal Conservatory of Music, The Hague

Cultural Trust

3,000

Ms Jane McKenzie 2,000 to study at the Getty Conservation Institute and the Centre for Sustainable Heritage in London Ms Elaine Miles 4,900 for equipment and travel expenses for residencies in glassworking techniques in New York and Germany Ms Miranda Nation 5,000 to undertake a 2 year course of study at the Jacques Lecoq International School of Theatre, Paris Ms Caitlin Newton- Broad 3,000 to travel with Blast Theory Performance Company in London

4,500

Ms Therese Virtue to undertake a two-month tour to Georgia and Bulgaria with the men's singing group Gorani

2,000

Mr Nicholas Von der Borch to work with Philippe Genty's puppet theatre Company in France

4,500

Ms Emma Vuletic for a residency at Camac in France to write two plays

5,000

Ms Katrina Waters 5,000 to study for a post graduate award in singing at the Royal College of Music, London

Mr Benjamin Northey to undertake the four-year Sibelius Academy orchestral conducting program in Helsinki

4,000

Ms Turiya Orme to purchase glasswork equipment

2,000

Ms Alexandra Osborne to undertake the second year of a music degree in violin performance at the Curtis Institute

5,000

Ms Bethany Wheeler 2,800 to purchase a diamond saw to create a series of work called "incise"

to undertake the third year at the Curtis Institute

5,000

Dr Astrid Wootton 3,000 for an eight-week residency in Italy researching a major text on 17th Century artist Sinibaldo Scorza

Mr Paul Peers to undertake second year of the Professional Directing Program at Columbia University

5,000

Mr Kristian Pithie to purchase a laptop computer for screenwriting

3,300

Ms Gillian Ramm to undertake post-graduate opera studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester

5,000

Ms Sarah Ryan 5,000 to undertake a residency at Cite International de Arts in Paris Ms Sharmila Sandraseger to undertake research on contemporary architecture in Northern Europe

5,000

Ms Lana Schwarcz 5,000 to undertake a five month arts residency and internship with Sesame Street in New York Ms Laura Sheedy 5,000 to undertake a four week training intensive with the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in New York Ms Deanna Smart 2,500 to attend the Summer Intensive Workshop at the School of Physical Theatre in London

Mr Scott Weatherson 3,300 tuition fees for the second year of study in percussion at the Amsterdam Conservatorium

Ms Emma Zakarevicius to attend the drawing marathon in New York

Total $

5,000

317,015

The Ian Potter Music Commissions Program Mr Matthew Hindson a 15-20 minute work for baroque violin and harpsichord

7,500

Mr Raffaele Marcellino 'Universal Beatitudes'

2,500

Professor Larry Sitsky 'Apocalypsis Figuratis' (Piano Concerto No. 2)

6,000

Dr Timothy Stevens 'Four words of Elizabeth Hunter'

1,750

Music Commissions Awards 2003 Honoraria and administration costs

Total Music Commissions $ Total Cultural Trust $

12,615

30,365 347,380

53


PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS All photographs are copyright to the photographers and should not be used for any other purpose without permission.

Cover image, photographer John Gollings, Gollings Photography, 03 9537 0733 p.2 Photographer Alexandra Williamson, The Ian Potter Foundation p.8 Photographer Alexandra Williamson, The Ian Potter Foundation p.16 Upper photo, Museum Victoria, Photographer John Augier p.16 DNA photo, Museum Victoria, DNA Laboratory p.19 Photographer Alexandra Williamson, The Ian Potter Foundation p.22 Upper photo, Photographer Italo Vardaro p.24 and 25, Photographer Cyndi Cole p.36 Upper photo, Photographer Dr. Angus McEwan p.37 Photographer Dr. Jeff Short, CSIRO p.39 Albatross photo, Photographer CJR Robertson p.46 Graeme Weber from Returb Studios p.47 Photographer Dr. Neville G. White

STAFF Dr Dorothy Scott, OAM – Executive Secretary Mr John Kellaway – Accountant (part-time) Mrs Pam Maughan – Finance Administration Mr Scott Anderson – Grants Administration Ms Maria Roberts – Grants Administration Ms Alexandra Williamson – Grants Administration (part-time) Ms Carol Mackieson – Reception

54



Trustee: The Ian Potter Foundation Limited ACN 004 603 972

Level 3, 111 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Telephone: 03 9650 3188 Facsimile: 03 9650 7986 email: admin@ianpotter.org.au web: www.ianpotter.org.au


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