The Ian Potter Foundation Report
2003
2004
From the late 1930’s, seahorse was the cable address for Ian Potter and Company, the stockbroking firm founded by Sir Ian Potter. The seahorse symbol was taken as the logo of The Ian Potter Foundation in 1996.
Contents Governors
3
Report from the Chairman
4
Report from the Chief Executive Officer
5
Funding Areas, Principles and Eligibility
6
Program Areas Social Welfare
8
Health
16
Arts
21
Environment and Conservation
26
Medical Research
31
Science
35
Education
40
Travel and Conferences
44
Personnel Contact Details
51 Back cover
governors The Ian Potter Foundation was established in 1964 and is today one of Australia’s major philanthropic foundations. Sir Ian Potter (1902-1994) was an Australian financier and stockbroker, and the founder and benefactor of the Foundation.
The Ian Potter Foundation is governed by a Board of thirteen non-executive Governors. The Chair is Mr Charles B. Goode. Governors also serve terms on the Finance and Audit, the Governance, and the History Committees. The Board meets four times each year.
Life Governor Lady Potter AC Governors Mr Charles B Goode AC Chair Professor Geoffrey N Blainey AC Mr Neil R Clark AO The Hon Sir Daryl Dawson AC The Hon Sir James Gobbo AC CVO QC Mr John B Gough AO OBE Professor Thomas W Healy AO Dr Thomas H Hurley AO OBE Mr Allan J Myers QC as of November 2004 Mr Frank L Nelson Dr P John Rose AO Professor Graeme B Ryan AC
3
Report from the Chairman
The Ian Potter Foundation was established in 1964, and over forty years has awarded approximately 7,000 grants to a total of $70 million. Up to the early 1990s, significant grants were made to The Howard Florey Institute, The University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Management and its Art Conservation Centre (now known as The Ian Potter Museum of Art), The Australian Academy of Science, The Museum of Victoria, The Centre for Independent Studies, and The Potter Farmland Plan. The Ian Potter Cultural Trust was established in 1993. When Sir Ian died in 1994 The Foundation received a significant bequest from his estate. Following this, The Foundation’s broad funding categories were defined further, the number of staff was increased, and funding was expanded more widely across Australia. Throughout the remainder of the 1990s, major awards were to The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, The University of Melbourne for the Bailieu Library, The Smith Family, The Cancer Council Victoria and The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens for Werribee Zoo. During its formative years from 1964 to 1991, Patricia Feilman, working closely with Sir Ian and his personal assistant, directed the work of The Foundation and was largely responsible for developing its granting strategies. She retired from the Foundation in December 2000, after more than four decades of service. Her professionalism and her ability to recognise where The Foundation’s support could best be directed to support the Australian community, was quite outstanding. Her special commitment was to the environment and to conservation and on retirement from The Foundation she continued this by becoming the Foundation Executive Director of the Australian Landscape Trust.
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Dr Dorothy Scott, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, became the second Executive Secretary, a post she undertook for three years on secondment from The University of Melbourne. She brought a deep understanding of the needs of families and young children, shaping, particularly, the guidelines and approach for awarding in the social welfare sector. On leaving the Foundation in December 2003 Dorothy Scott was appointed as Foundation Chair of Child Protection at the University of South Australia and the Director of the Centre for Child Protection. On behalf of the Governors, I express gratitude for the work, dedication and commitment of Dr Scott during her tenure with The Foundation and wish her well in her new role in South Australia. Dr Kerry Bennett, Associate Professor, was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in January 2004. My fellow Governors and I extend a warm welcome and look forward to working with her in the coming years. Close to two hundred grants were paid during the financial year 2003-2004 to a total of $4.82 million. On the 20th of June 2004, the amount committed but not yet paid for approved grants totalled $7.79 million. These funds to be paid during the financial year 2004-2005 and beyond, include major and ongoing support for the National Gallery of Victoria, The Howard Florey Institute, The Australian Landscape Trust, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, and The Ian Potter Cultural Trust. Among other significant awards, The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute was awarded $500,000 over three years for the Healthy Skin Program which is aimed at reducing significantly scabies and its medical sequelae, including heart and kidney disease, in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. Charles Darwin
University was awarded $435,000 over three years to establish and support the new position of The Ian Potter Fellow in Education Economics. The incumbent will research and contribute to policy and procedures on education in Indigenous populations in Australia. In Melbourne, awards to the value of $100,000 each were made to the Centre for Eye Research Australia towards the new Retinal Vascular Imaging Centre, and to Austin Health for the Endocrine Centre of Excellence. Late in 2003, the Governance Committee completed, and is now overseeing, the implementation of a comprehensive governance review of The Foundation’s administration. The Foundation commissioned Dr Peter Yule to write a biography of Sir Ian. This work will be published in 2006. During the year Dr Yule sought comment from the History Committee on this work as it progressed. The Finance and Audit Committee governs administration of funds in trust and for grantmaking. This year, The Ian Potter Foundation received a bequest of approximately $5 million from Mr Alec Prentice Sewell of Toolangi in Victoria, and it is intended that grants in Mr Sewell’s name will be awarded from July 2004 to benefit disadvantaged children. I thank my fellow Governors for their generous contributions throughout the year, and, on their behalf, thank Dr Dorothy Scott and Dr Kerry Bennett for their executive support, and the staff of The Foundation for their work in finance and grantmaking administration. I also bid farewell and best wishes to Mrs Pamela Maughan who has announced her retirement after 14 years with The Foundation and who has served us ably with finance administration.
Mr Charles B. Goode, AC
Report from the Chief Executive Officer
This report documents grants made by The Ian Potter Foundation across Australia for the financial year 20032004. It includes examples which highlight the breadth of the activities supported and outlines the guidelines developed by the Foundation in making these grants. The Foundation now receives around 1500 requests for support each year through a quarterly submission process. These are assessed and submitted to a meeting of Governors for final determination. Grants made are paid during the current financial year but amounts may be committed for following years to allow for the completion of projects. The diverse fields involved and the differing size of grants presents a rich and interesting view of the work and endeavours of very many people throughout the Australian community and the examples given in this report highlight both the projects and the individuals involved. Applications are invited quarterly, and these are the basis of granting activity. The Foundation, however, on occasion has decided to encourage submissions in specific areas in recent years, for example, the Foundation established a competition for original musical composition. It has also actively sought projects to assist indigenous communities in matters of health and education. Such projects supported in the past year are the Healthy Skin project developed by The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and support for The Ian Potter Fellow in Education Economics developed by the Charles Darwin University. Plans are well advanced to support a major program in conservation and science on the Great Barrier Reef.
The No Interest Loan Scheme (see pages 9-10) under Social Welfare also well illustrates this approach. This project first came to the Foundation’s attention in the early 1990’s through the receipt of a number of submissions. Recognising a community need The Foundation initiated revolving funding support with a review process that now continues to operate more than a decade later. The Foundation has also helped to support an expansion of this model, by the Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, to the national level.
The above examples are taken to illustrate just a few of the many projects supported over the past year. These and the many others contained in this report reflect the scope and breadth of the Foundation’s activities. The report also indicates and reflects the talent and commitment of a great number of individuals and groups, many working in a voluntary capacity, who depend for their continued activities on the support of the community and of philanthropic organsiations such as The Ian Potter Foundation.
Also in Social Welfare, priority funding of projects supporting evidence-based services for children and families initiated by Dr Dorothy Scott has continued. The Foundation is also exploring how best to adapt internationally developed models for the Australian scene. These involve funding with leverage which interact with community based bodies and which are self sustainable at the local level. Such policy development has application over a wide range of Social Welfare projects.
In concluding this report I express my gratitude to Patricia Feilman and Dorothy Scott who over the years were responsible for the development of the guidelines and strategies for the Foundation. I am grateful for the support of the Foundation’s staff and to the Governors of the Foundation who have given so freely of their time and wisdom over the past year. I have also appreciated the support given by many colleagues in the field of philanthropy.
Focus in the Arts remains on support for our cultural heritage and for the support of talented young Australians through The Ian Potter Cultural Trust. During the past year support for the STAR scheme has helped provide mentoring programs for young Australians contemplating a career in Science.
Dr Kerry M. Bennett Associate Professor
The past year also saw the completion of the Childrens Garden project at The Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. This was opened on behalf of the Foundation by Lady Potter.
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Funding Areas, Principles and Eligibility
Funding Areas
Funding Principles
Funding Eligibility
The Ian Potter Foundation considers submissions for grants under eight broadly-defined program funding areas. In order of presentation in this report, these are:
The Foundation’s broad range of areas of interest makes it difficult to be specific about what we fund. However, there are some common principles which underlie our grantmaking. When assessing applications, we look for:
The Ian Potter Foundation awards across Australia and to a range of organisations in the not for profit sector. The entities to which grants are made have both deductible gift recipient (DGR) and income tax exempt charitable (ITEC) status.
Social Welfare 8-15 Health 16-20 Arts 21-25 Environment and Conservation 26-30 Medical Research 31-34 Science 35-39 Education 40-43 Travel and Conferences 44-50
The reader is invited to refer to each section to gain information on guidelines that are specific to each of these program areas, and to learn more about some of the projects to which The Foundation has directed funds.
A commitment to excellence We support organisations, programs and individuals who are outstanding in their field, in a national and international context. An emphasis on the "innovate evaluate - disseminate" process We seek to fund programs and projects which take a new approach to problems, support the evaluation of their trial, and if successful, their replication in other locations or contexts. A focus on prevention In seeking to maximise the value of our grants, we try to address the causes of problems, rather than treat the symptoms. Supporting research is fundamental to this approach. Potential for leverage Our grants have greater impact when combined with support from other sources. These might include other trusts and foundations, government, business, and volunteers. We are very happy to be one of a number of supporters of a program. Long-term thinking We try to fund programs that will continue to have an impact well beyond the period of our support. Will the grant be significant (within its context) in ten years time? Partnerships We encourage applications from organisations which are working with others in their field, and indeed in other fields. Our wide range of areas of interest make the Foundation particularly suited to funding programs that combine elements from two or more of those areas. Ideas or programs that combine two or more of our areas of interest While most of the grants we make are in response to applications, we sometimes choose an area we wish to support, and seek organisations with whom we might work in partnership.
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The Foundation does not award to individuals, to other grant-making foundations and trusts, to organisations that are the sole funding domain of government (eg, schools), to entities that are acting as auspice for another entity, to companies which have an address or operations outside Australia, or to organisations that are a going concern in terms of finance, governance or structure. Additionally, The Foundation usually will not fund: - recurrent costs, such as those for administration, human resources, marketing, maintenance, and financial management, to be funded from institutional operating income - public programs that are the funding domain of State or Federal government - the purchase of land, buildings or routinely-used equipment - projects, and the associated researcher and assistant salaries, suitable for submission to major grant-making councils such as the National Health and Medical Research Council or the Australian Research Council - salaries, and professional development and training, for personnel employed normally for organisation operations - projects with elements of activism and political alliance - generic fundraising appeals towards capital pools, endowment funds, investment accounts, etc. - undergraduate and postgraduate study, and associated scholarships, fellowships, and award schemes - research or service projects for which there would be a reasonable prospect of attracting commercial funding - retrospectively
Photo of Sir Ian Potter taken in the late 1960’s, around the time of his retirement from Ian Potter and Company. 7
social welfare
Nigel (Big Brother) and Eugene celebrate their first 12 months of being matched together as part of the Big Brothers – Big Sisters mentoring program. (photo courtesy the Herald Sun, 31 Jan, 2004)
Our funding objectives in the social welfare program area are: • 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
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• 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
Social Welfare
The award types under the Social Welfare program area range from large multi-year grants to small oneoff payments. The programmatic themes evident in this year’s funding rounds include: •
strengthening families with young children through community rebuilding
No Interest Loan Schemes
•
the creation of meaningful employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged young people
The Ian Potter Foundation made its first grant in support of a No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) in 1992. Since then, 64 grants totalling over $750,000 have been made to a variety of organisations.
•
interest free loans to low-income earners for the purchase of essential household appliances
During the financial year 2003-04, the Foundation granted a total of $75,000 in grants to six organisations across four states of Australia, as listed below. Each grant supported a capital base from which loans are accessed by those in need to purchase basic household goods such as refrigerators and washing machines. NILS offers an alternative for low-income people who are unable to gain access to credit.
One-off small grants this year have been to organisations with commitment to their communities, a strong volunteer component, and demonstrated need. The Ian Potter Foundation is grateful to all who contribute to the wellbeing of our society and the social welfare sector, through their
New South Wales Manning Support Services $15,000 Central Tablelands Housing Association $15,000 Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre $15,000
commitment, their passion and their empathy.
Northern Territory Somerville Community Services $15,000 Queensland Logan East Community Neighbourhood Centre $10,000 Victoria Cardinia Combined Churches Caring $5,000
Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services, Victoria $40,000 towards the national coordination of the No Interest Loan Scheme (part of a commitment of $80,000 over 2 years) $5,000 to research the impact of NILS loans on families (part of a commitment of $10,000 over 2 years) Ms Marilyn Webster, Policy and Research Unit 03 9419 5477 goodshep@infoxchange.net.au Ms Collette McInerney, Manager, Microfinance 03 8412 7306 microcredit@infoxchange.net.au www.goodshepherd.com.au Good Shepherd seeks to generate a program of capitalisation from the banking and insurance industries for people on low incomes so that they can gain access to credit and financial services without interest in order to acquire essential household items and health appliances. Good Shepherd’s aims include providing an information exchange for NILS across Australia, assisting in the development of national standards for the scheme, developing credit options with the Government and other public policy institutions as well as providing accessibility to community groups, governments and commercial enterprises. Finding support for the administration of the various NILS schemes remains a high priority. National Australia Bank has been a keen supporter, organising and funding an annual conference for NILS providers throughout Australia. Discussions with the Federal Government continue over the waiver of the Centrepay automatic deductions fee for loan repayments. The two year, $40,000 per annum grant to Good Shepherd has covered the costs of newsletter production, printing and postage, Network Teleconferences, travel for training and accreditation conferences in South Australia, 9
Dr Frank Ainsworth, joint author of the National Audit of Australian Research in Out-of-Home Care.
Queensland and New South Wales as well as the employment of a Project Worker in the organisation. NILS is now widely disseminated across Australia and many low income earners have demonstrated ability to repay loans. The goals of a research project undertaken by Good Shepherd are to explore the scheme and to ascertain short and long-term outcomes for loan recipients. Thus far, over forty people in NSW and Victoria have been interviewed and the stories recounted suggest that each NILS loan changes the lives of individuals and their families positively. Self-esteem is often reported as being greatly enhanced, with many recipients revealing that the purchased whitegood is the first new item they have ever owned. It is also often their first recorded positive credit history.
Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies, New South Wales $36,000 to a national audit of child and family welfare research Mr Nigel Spence, Chief Executive Officer 02 9281 8822 nigel@acwa.asn.au www.acwa.asn.au The Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA) is the peak child welfare body in New South Wales with a membership of non-government child and family service organisations. It also provides a secretariat service for the national peak body, the Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia (CAFWAA). The National Audit of Child and Family Welfare Research is to inform future policy and service developments in child welfare. The project focused on research into out-of-home care services for children who cannot live at home with their families. Many of these services are provided by non-government organisations and charities, which lack the financial and resource capacity to undertake research. The audit, conducted during 2004, identifies all completed or continuing out-of-home care research projects in Australia in the ten year period 1995 2004, summarises key findings, analyses strengths and gaps in the current research effort and identifies priorities for future research. It includes a report on the resources provided for child welfare research in Australia, places the Australian research activity within an international context and presents recommendations for the development of a national research agenda in this area. This is the first time a national audit of child welfare research has been conducted in Australia. The research was conducted by respected researchers Dr Judy Cashmore and Dr Frank Ainsworth.
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The audit aimed to increase the likelihood of research already done in the field of out-of-home care being implemented in policy and practice, and to enable a more integrated strategy for future research in this field. The Foundation’s grant covered the researcher’s salary (Dr Frank Ainsworth) for six months, plus travel and information technology costs. ACWA made excellent use of a previous grant of $25,000 from the Foundation in 1999 for a study on the real costs of foster care. The study led to successful lobbying of State Governments across Australia to increase the allowances for foster children. The Audit project has strong links with the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), and its project findings are being disseminated and implemented through the Alliance. Outcomes of the project include listings of all research projects, key child welfare documents and research publications, a template for reporting out-of-home care research projects and a recommended national research agenda.
Social Welfare
Western Australia Council on Addictions
Barnardos Australia, New South Wales
$30,000 to the Saranna Women’s and Children’s Program at Cyrenian House
$10,000 to the Two Trees Project for children who have entered into adoption
Ms Malvina Limb, Resource Worker 08 9328 9200 enquiry@cyrenianhouse.com www.cyrenianhouse.com
Mr William Petch, Marketing Manager 02 9281 7933 bpetch@barnardos.org.au www.barnardos.org.au
This Council on Addictions is a not-forprofit organisation which began operating in 1998. It offers a wide range of drug treatment and rehabilitation services that include out-patient treatment and prison-to-parole programs, and residential treatment services for pregnant and post-partum women and their children.
Barnardos Australia is a child welfare agency with an interest in older child adoption though its range of over 60 programs and services. Previous Barnardos projects regarding adoption have included Jumping at Opportunities, a documentary and training video for older age adoption, and the Life Story Book, a pictorial expression of a child’s life that advocates understanding and guiltlessness for children within the care system.
The Saranna Women’s and Children’s residential program seeks to enhance the recovery from chemical dependency of mothers, while also developing life coping and parenting skills. The aim is to provide a safe and caring environment to help families break the cycle of drug use and welfare dependency. Families participate in the program for a minimum of three months. The Foundation’s grant of $30,000 was used to upgrade facilities in eight Saranna family cottages in order to meet health and safety regulations. Many areas within the cottages were upgraded, including: safety cots for babies, security doors, disabled facilities such as ramps and rails both interior and exterior, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, shatter proof glass doors, safety signs, air conditioning and heating.
Children who are unable to live with their family of origin face great challenges throughout the adoption process. The grief and loss associated with losing family and friends creates difficulty and confusion. The adjustments necessary for them to fit in and develop bonds with a new family can also be traumatic. Many children have difficulty relating with their peers, which further damages their self-esteem, sense of belonging, and their social skills.
The pilot project for Two Trees involved five children aged 8 - 12 years in permanent foster care, a number of whom are likely to be adopted in the future. These children had significant attention or behavioural difficulties and/or a history of violence in the school playground. The children participated in nine group sessions comprising physical activities, activity sheets, craft and artwork, group discussion and play. Two group sessions for foster carers were also held in conjunction with the children's groups. The project gave the children an opportunity to meet others like themselves, to identify their strengths and skills, to learn social and problem solving skills from each other and to explore the experience of being born into one family and living in another. After struggling in the early stages, the children progressed to supporting each other and by the end of the program were able to articulate and demonstrate the social interaction skills they had acquired. The outcomes of the Two Trees pilot project were presented at the 6th International Looking After Children Conference and National Child Welfare Symposium in Canada in August 2004.
The Two Trees project aims to combat these problems and provide support to address the emotional side of the adoption process for children. Taking its name from the genealogical family tree, the project assists children to develop an understanding and identity in regard to being part of two families: their foster or adoptive family, and their birth family.
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Whitelion, Victoria $9,300 to the Whitelion Action Group (WAG) Program Mr Mark Watt, Chief Executive Officer 03 9389 4420 whitelion@whitelion.asn.au www.whitelion.asn.au Whitelion was established in 1999 to support young people in transition from the Juvenile Justice and Child Protection systems through role modelling, mentoring and employment programs. This is achieved through partnerships with business, sporting and arts bodies, the youth and welfare sector and community volunteers. The aim of the Whitelion Action Group was to help develop a healthier, more positive social lifestyle in young people post-release. The program involved trained volunteers working over a oneyear schedule that included sport, art, and social events and activities for young people within the juvenile justice system. The WAG program has both short-term and long-term objectives. The immediate objective is to reduce isolation and alienation felt by young people while in the juvenile justice system. Planned group activities allow young people to learn skills required to operate in a social group environment and access safe ways of taking risks and having fun. The long-term objective is to support young people post-release and to ensure that they feel connected and contributing to mainstream society. Between October 2003 and March 2004, the Foundation’s grant contributed to a number of successful activities, including a clean living project for young women living in the community who had been within the juvenile justice system, weekly activity nights in the juvenile justice centres, and community days, including such activities as rock climbing and golf, for mentors and young people in custody.
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Big Brothers – Big Sisters Melbourne, Victoria $5,000 to the Partnership Acquisition Campaign for male mentors Mr Paul Mathewson, Executive Officer 03 9427 7611 paul.mathewson@bbbs.org.au www.bbbs.org.au For the last 22 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) has been providing youth mentoring services within the Melbourne metropolitan region. BBBS matches young people deemed ‘at risk’ of becoming disconnected from their families, schools and the wider community with a carefully screened volunteer to provide positive role modelling. Volunteers provide weekly face-to-face contact with a young person for at least 12 months. At any given time, BBBS has over 100 active ‘matches’. BBBS experienced a lack of male volunteers to mentor young people aged 7-17 years. The Foundation’s grant supported a partnership acquisition campaign for male mentors aimed at combating this issue. The campaign targeted male dominated professions, such as law, accounting, construction and engineering. It involved identifying men to act as positive mentors, or Big Brothers, carefully screening them, and then matching them with disadvantaged young men, or Little Brothers. The resulting mentor matches aim to improve the educational and employment potential of the Little Brothers. The campaign will build long-term partnerships between BBBS and certain companies and organisations in male dominated professions that possess synergies with the work of BBBS.
A Big Sister and a Little Sister enjoying each other’s company, as part of the BBBS mentoring program.
Social Welfare
....down the track Bridgewater and Gagebrook Youth Activity Service, Tasmania $4,460 to the Get Connected youth internet access program Mr Michael Morgan, Youth Activity Service Coordinator 03 6263 5677 youth@intas.net.au The Bridgewater Police and Citizens Youth Club (BPCYC) provides sporting and community activities for members and community groups in outer Hobart. The Youth Activity Service, run by the family liaison officer at the BPCYC, deals specifically with at risk young people aged 11-16 years. It provides social programs which include sport and recreational activities as a proactive means of improving future outcomes for young people. The aim of the Get Connected program was to address the problem of extremely low access to, and use of, computers by young people in the Bridgewater and Gagebrook communities. The project provided broadband internet access, the installation of five computers, advertising of the free availability of the computers, supervised and supported access during normal Youth Activity Service hours, and specific instruction to individuals in most need. The target of the Get Connected program was youth who had limited computer access, who were thus getting left behind their peers in terms of computer literacy, and who were also thus at risk of operating at a disadvantage in the employment market.
The Smith Family, Victoria $500,000 1998-2000 towards new Victorian premises Ms Heather Barton AM, General Manager Victoria 03 9473 4333 heather.barton@smithfamily.com.au www.smithfamily.com.au The Smith Family is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation which works to enable disadvantaged families to participate more fully in society. It is increasingly focused on early intervention and prevention through education as a way of addressing the root causes of poverty rather than just treating the symptoms. To support administration costs, The Smith Family’s Commercial Enterprise generates an income stream from recycled donated material goods and production of non-woven textiles. The Ian Potter Foundation has a twenty-year history of support for The Smith Family, with notable grants to the No Interest Loan Scheme and the Learning for Life programs. The 1998-2000 $0.5 million grant was made in acknowledgement of, and respect for, this organisation’s contribution and dedication to those in great need. The property in Collingwood, named Ian Potter House, is The Smith Family's Victorian base, housing approximately thirty staff and volunteers who work with disadvantaged adults and children through the Learning for Life suite of programs, Emergency Help, computer training programs, and the Christmas Appeal. The building is also home to three other organisations: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Social Ventures Australia, and the Victorian Chapter of OMEP Australia (Organisation Mondiale pour l’Education Prescolaire), the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education. On 5 September 2003, a celebration was held with about one hundred staff and volunteers to mark the fourth anniversary of The Smith Family moving into their new home.
It is hoped that the Get Connected program will result in long-term measurable improvement in the behaviour, self-esteem and confidence of young people who use computers and the internet, and in the community support for the program from local businesses, parents of at risk youth, and other grant-making organisations.
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SOCIAL WELFARE Grants 2003-2004
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Australian Drug Foundation, Victoria Enough Is Enough, a program to reduce irresponsible promotion of alcohol to young people
$50,000
Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies, New South Wales National Audit of Child and Family Welfare Research in Out-of-Home Care
$36,000
Beacon Foundation, Tasmania Establishment of Alliance, a national Beacon network, in 6-8 regional locations across Australia over the three year period 2001 - 2003
$33,000
Western Australia Council on Addictions Saranna, a residential program for women seeking treatment for drug and alcohol problems, and their dependent children aged 0-8 years
$30,000
Orana Family Services, Victoria Growing an Innovative Neighbourhood (GAIN), a project in Melbourne’s northern suburbs for vulnerable families with children aged 0-6 years
$15,000
Hanover Welfare Services, Victoria Development of the BrainGame Project which involves providing tutoring to children living in homeless families assisted by Hanover
$10,570
Working Against Violence Support Service, Queensland Renovation of premises
$10,000
Barnardos Australia, New South Wales Two Trees, a project assisting children who have entered into adoption
$10,000
Muscular Dystrophy Association Victoria National camp program
$10,000
St Joseph's South Yarra Emergency Housing Association, Victoria Fitout of six accommodation units and a communal laundry
$10,000
Whitelion Victoria Whitelion Action Group (WAG) program for young people who have been in juvenile detention
$9,300
Typo Station, Victoria Residency and wilderness programs for at-risk young men
$8,000
Bridgewater and Gagebrook Youth Activity Service, Tasmania Get Out There sports program for young people
$7,000
Alice Springs Youth Accommodation and Support Services, Northern Territory Deadly Treadlies bike-rebuilding project
$5,000
Anglicare, New South Wales Foster care program for the natural children of foster parents
$5,000
Lifeline Darling Downs and SouthWest Queensland Limited, Queensland Children's storybook to be used for fundraising purposes for Lifeline's family support program
$5,000
Prison Fellowship of Australia, Victoria Lives in Transition, a program to reduce the rate of recidivism through Barwon Prison in Lara, Victoria
$5,000
Asylum Seekers Centre, New South Wales Emergency Pharmaceutical Assistance program for people on Temporary Protection Visas
$5,000
Hobart Police and Citizens Youth Club, Tasmania Gymnastics program for young people aged 15-16 years
$5,000
Nambour Community Centre, Queensland Building Better Communities project in three areas of the Sunshine Coast region
$5,000
Orbost Regional Health, Victoria Parent training for the Toddler Gym project
$5,000
Eastern Volunteers Resource Centre, Victoria Computerised booking system for the Community Transport initiative
$5,000
Melbourne Citymission, Victoria The Agora 2004 community conference
$5,000
The Richmond Fellowship of Victoria Discovery 2004 for 15 young people to undertake a 14-day journey to northern South Australia and the Northern Territory
$5,000
Big Brothers - Big Sisters Melbourne, Victoria Acquisition campaign for male mentors, targeting male dominated professions
$5,000
Blind and Vision Impaired Persons Network, Queensland Computer training for vision impaired young people
$5,000
Riverland Youth Theatre, South Australia Theatre project for young mothers in the Riverland region
$5,000
Karkana Support Services, Victoria Modifications to the entrance foyer, and to expand the water supply, storage and distribution systems
$5,000
SOCIAL WELFARE Grants 2003-2004 Warrah Day Services, New South Wales Pilot arts program for people with an intellectual disability
$5,000
Nidkids Support Group, Victoria Support for families in rural Victoria with children diagnosed with Neuronal Intestinal Dysplasia
$5,000
Habitat for Humanity Australia, New South Wales Recruitment and training of volunteer management committees
$5,000
UnitingCare Ballarat Parish Mission, Victoria Publicity and recruitment campaign for Lifeline volunteer counsellors
$5,000
Australian Red Cross, Western Australia Family support service in the Kalgoorlie areas for mothers suffering post-natal depression and mothers who have had multiple births
$5,000
Dooloomai, Tasmania Fathers and Sons project for at-risk youth
$5,000
Aspire - A Pathway to Mental Health, Victoria Development of a writers' group during a day program for people with a psychiatric disability
$4,500
Bridgewater and Gagebrook Youth Activity Service, Tasmania Get Connected youth internet access program
$4,460
Stand By Me Youth Service, Western Australia Cultural music and dance program for 12-16 year olds from aboriginal or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
$4,300
Gateways Support Services, Victoria An outdoor shade sail for residents at the McNeil Court East Geelong home for young people with a disability
$4,233
CARA (Christian Alternative to Remand Accommodation), Victoria Camping program for young women who have been abused and removed from their homes for their own protection
$1,600
Subtotal $362,963
No Interest Loan Schemes Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services, Victoria To support further the national coordination of the No Interest Loan Scheme
$40,000
Central Tablelands Housing Association, New South Wales To establish a NILS Scheme in Orange
$15,000
Somerville Community Services, Northern Territory To establish a NILS Scheme
$15,000
Manning Support Services, New South Wales To establish a capital base for a NILS Scheme
$15,000
Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre, New South Wales To establish a capital base for a NILS Scheme
$15,000
Logan East Community Neighbourhood Centre, Queensland To establish a NILS Scheme
$10,000
Cardinia Combined Churches Caring, Victoria To establish a NILS Scheme
$5,000
Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services, Victoria To research the impact of NILS loans on families
$5,000
Subtotal NILS $120,000 Total $482,963
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Grant allocations by state
15
health Kehannie May Tunkin enjoying her lunch in the training room set up in Alice Springs for the Failure to Thrive project run by Nganampa Health Council.
Our funding objectives in the health program area are: • 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
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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
The Foundation’s health grants are
Health
focused on prevention, through academic research, community education, and screening programs. A funding theme continued for this year has been the support of collaborative research between universities, research institutes, community health organisations and condition-specific associations.
Eastern Palliative Care Association, Victoria $60,000 to the Client Information Management System
Another theme continued is that of prevention, treatment and evaluation in indigenous health. Ongoing support for Nganampa Health Council and for the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute’s Healthy Skin Program reflects The Foundation’s interest in programs which are subject to rigorous evaluation, and which produce measurable outcomes and a model that can be defined, refined and replicated. The Foundation also provides awards to innovative and practical solutions to people living with health problems, and initiatives with a high level of volunteer endeavour.
Ms Julie Swan, Projects Co-ordinator 1300 130 813 jswan@epc.asn.au www.eastpallcare.asn.au Eastern Palliative Care (EPC) Association was established in 1998, through St Vincent’s Health, the Order of Malta, Melbourne Eastern Palliative Care Association and Outer East Palliative Care Service. The organisation assists terminally ill patients to remain in their homes, and it provides specialist equipment and care, free of charge. It is volunteer-based, with over 80 active volunteers operating over many Eastern suburbs in Melbourne. EPC upholds the dignity of the patients and respects their spiritual, physical, emotional and social needs. The Client Information System is an information technology platform that can be accessed by staff as they visit clients in their homes. It enables, for example, a district nurse to connect to the system by plugging a portable computer into a standard telephone line, to then check up-to-date information on the visited client’s medical records, and to record on-line and immediately the medication administered and the current condition of the client. The new IT platform was developed by a working group of management, medical staff and patient carers. Following a comprehensive training and implementation period, use of the system has already resulted in enhanced patient care by improving accuracy, currency and efficiency of patient information. It is providing a solid base from which EPC can strengthen further its future care programs.
The Cancer Council, Victoria $50,000 to the Men’s Cancer Program Ms Naomi Murphy, Corporate and Trust Partnerships 03 9635 5604 naomi.murphy@cancervic.org.au www.cancervic.org.au The Cancer Council Victoria (formerly known as the Anti Cancer Council) is a volunteer based coordinating body, established in 1936. It works to minimise the human cost of cancer for all Victorians. The aim of the Men’s Cancer Program was to educate the community and health professionals on cancers specifically targeting men, such as prostate, bowel or lung cancer. Prostate cancer, of highest incidence, affects one in eleven Victorian men, and results in approximately 700 deaths per year in this state. Under a comprehensive program of education forums, information packages and direct meetings, men were encouraged to undertake early medical checks for prevention and early detection. The grant from The Ian Potter Foundation was used to support the costs of seven forums, with funds being expended on advertising, travel, venue hire, accommodation and guest speakers. $30,000 of The Foundation’s grant was dedicated to general practitioner education on prostate cancer. This included the development of education kits, promotion of resources to general practitioners, and program accreditation with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Past grants from The Ian Potter Foundation to The Cancer Council have been used to support the Sunsmart Community Education Program, the Victorian Cancer Control Research Institute and the Cancer Information Service.
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Mr Bill Winning signing up to the focus group at a recruitment presentation by Monash University Accident Research Centre at the Springvale Senior Citizens Club, September 2004.
Monash University, Victoria $25,000 towards investigating the overrepresentation of older persons in Do-ItYourself home maintenance injuries Ms Karen Ashby, Research Fellow, Monash University Accident Research Centre 03 9905 1805 karen.ashby@general.monash.edu.au www.monash.edu.au/muarc Monash University established its Accident Research Centre in 1987 as Australia’s largest multi-disciplinary research centre. Its focus is on injury prevention and control, and the Centre’s charter includes safety in all modes of transport, in the workplace, in the community and in the home. The Do-It-Yourself accident research program has three objectives. The first is to identify a range of attitudes and reasons why older persons undertake DIY maintenance. The second is to identify the circumstances under which older persons would take up alternatives to DIY (removing the need for themselves to undertake DIY maintenance under high-risk conditions). The third is to indicate the feasibility of the provision of these alternatives. The research study will be conducted from mid-2004 to mid-2005, and will comprise approximately 15 focus groups, each of 8-10 people aged 60 years or older, who are living independently in the community. MUARC anticipates publication and dissemination of results and recommendations late 2005, early 2006. The Foundation’s grant is funding travel for research staff to and from focus groups, payment to each participant in the research, venue hire, and staff costs for the project leader, two researchers and for administrative support. The research has also been supported by a grant from the Victorian State Government Department of Human Services.
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The Schizophrenia Fellowship of New South Wales $25,000 to the Clubhouse Development Project Mr Rob Ramjam, Executive Director 02 9879 2600 rob@sfnsw.org.au www.sfnsw.org.au With deinstitutionalization of psychiatric services, The Fellowship fosters community-based services that provide support and opportunities for employment, meaningful activity and social engagement for people suffering from schizophrenia. It also offers support to their families. The Fellowship’s Clubhouse Program offers a range of activities towards integration into, and employment within, the local community. It has been designed for implementation across different community contexts, and, thus far, appears to be strong, replicable and sustainable. Features that contribute to this success include the themes of engagement and inclusion, and the establishment of local community Clubhouse Branch Committees, that include representatives from city councils, area health services, universities, churches, the police, service organisations, carer groups and consumers. Each Clubhouse Branch Committee is responsible for planning, obtaining premises, fundraising and publicity. The Foundation’s grant has assisted the Schizophrenia Fellowship in establishing further Clubhouses across New South Wales, and in developing an educational program to assist clients, staff, management and supporters. Funds were directed to two years of a half-time salary for an individual to provide training and technical assistance to existing and new Clubhouses. The grant was also put towards operational costs, including travel.
As part of the project, a Fellowship Clubhouse Development Team was established. This team has facilitated experienced members of existing Clubhouses to mentor new members of emerging Clubhouses, and has worked closely with the Wagga Wagga, Woolongong and Port Macquarie communities. The Schizophrenia Fellowship has attracted ongoing recurrent funding through relevant area health services and the NSW government, and, in creating a state-wide network of Clubhouses, will set a precedent nationally and internationally.
Health
Epilepsy Association Australia, New South Wales $15,000 to the Telelinx Across Australia Project Mr Steve Clarke, National Partnerships Coordinator 02 9856 7208 telelinx@epilepsy.org.au www.telelinx.org.au Epilepsy is regarded by the World Health Organisation as the world’s most common serious brain disorder, and up to 3% of the Australian population is estimated to have the disorder. The Epilepsy Association’s educators have found that many young people in both regional and metropolitan areas have never had the opportunity to meet other young people similarly affected. Without support, this isolation can often lead to anxiety, stress and trauma, commonly expressed through anger, depression and social withdrawal.
For each participant, the Telelinx project offered three teleconference sessions of one and a half hours duration, where they could speak with others experiencing similar issues. Participants could choose their sessions from four topics: understanding your epilepsy (newly diagnosed), uncontrolled epilepsy, parents/carers of children with epilepsy, and parents/carers who have children with severe seizures. The Telelinx project has provided people with epilepsy with another option to accessing support services. It offers the opportunity to discuss dayto-day issues in a supportive environment, to discuss and develop coping strategies, to obtain accurate, relevant and current information regarding epilepsy, and to develop friendships by connecting with others affected by epilepsy.
The Telenix across Australia project was set up in 2003 and designed to create mutual support and information networks for young people with epilepsy, and for parents of young children affected with epilepsy. The aims were to improve counselling access, to increase understanding and awareness and to raise self-esteem. Telelinx is of particular importance for those affected by epilepsy who are isolated because of a lack of travel opportunities, who want to communicate with those with similar issues, who want to learn more about seizures, and who need flexible session times.
Mr Lorne Hyde, a registered nurse with postgraduate qualifications in epilepsy care and a professional Telelinx facilitator, is pictured here conducting a structured distance education and support program to people affected by epilepsy across Australia. 19
....down the track Nganampa Health Council, South Australia $620,000 1996-ongoing towards the Child Health Program Mr Chris Masters, Health Services Manager 08 8952 5300 chrismasters@nganampahealth.com.au www.nganampahealth.com.au Nganampa Health Council is an Aboriginal owned and controlled health organisation operating on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in the far north west of South Australia. These lands cover over 105,000 square kilometres, and are home to almost 3,000 residents. The Anangu culture is still strong, and Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara is the first language. Across this area, Nganampa Health Council operates nine clinics, a 16-bed aged-care respite facility and some 30 community primary health care programs. The Council employs over 120 staff, the majority of whom are Anangu residents from the Lands. The health service has earned an excellent reputation for best practice clinical services, for collaborative program research and development, and for the collection of outcome data as a basis for ongoing evaluation. In 1996, The Foundation made a commitment of $620,000 towards the Child Health Program run by the Council. The program covers the broad areas of immunisation, school age screening, and growth and development. The grant is now directed specifically to the Screening and Failure to Thrive programs, with The Foundation continuing its support for the work of Dr Paul Torzillo, Medical Director, and the staff of Nganampa Health Council.
HEALTH Grants 2003-2004
Eastern Palliative Care Association, Victoria Client Information Management System
$60,000
The Cancer Council, Victoria Men's Cancer Program
$50,000
Monash University, Victoria Researching the over-representation of older persons in Do-It-Yourself home maintenance injury
$25,000
The Schizophrenia Fellowship of New South Wales Clubhouse Development Project $25,000 Epilepsy Association Australia, New South Wales Telelinx across Australia Project $15,000
Total $175,000
2 3
Grant allocations by state
Ann Marie and Bernhard playing in the Training Room established in Alice Springs as part of Nganampa Health Council’s Failure to Thrive project.
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arts
Interior of the re-opened St Kilda Road building of the National Gallery of Victoria, known as NGV International.
Our funding objectives in the arts program area are: • to support major cultural institutions and organisations in Australia, and through them to encourage, in particular, talented young people
Exclusions The Foundation does not support performances, exhibitions or festivals unless there is a special educational focus
• 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 21
Sir Ian Potter was committed to the development of the visual and performing arts in Australia. He served as Chair of the Boards of The Australian Ballet, The Australian Opera and The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. His personal commitment has been reflected in the Foundation’s long history of support for arts organisations across Australia. Chief amongst these is the National Gallery of Victoria, to which The Foundation has awarded $15 million over six years for a major redevelopment program. The Foundation’s focus in the arts remains on education, community engagement and extending cultural opportunities to regional areas of Australia. Another theme, the encouragement of talented young Australians, is reflected in our grants to The Ian Potter Cultural Trust. The Ian Potter Cultural Trust is a separate legal entity from which grants to individuals are made.
National Gallery of Victoria $2,500,000 to Redevelopment of NGV International (St Kilda Rd) and Design and Construction of The Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square Ms Madeline Wilson, Communications Officer 03 8620 2345 madeline.wilson@ngv.vic.gov.au www.ngv.vic.gov.au The Ian Potter Foundation awarded $15 million over six years to the National Gallery of Victoria in support of a major redevelopment program to construct a new gallery for Australian art at Federation Square, and to redevelop the St Kilda Road building for housing of the Gallery’s international collection. The Federation Square gallery was named in honour of Sir Ian in recognition of this gift, and opened to the public as The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in November 2002. It has since won a series of national and international architectural and design awards.
excellence and diversity in cultural activities in Australia by making artists in the early stages of their careers. It is distinctive in global philanthropy and, in both scale and breadth, unique in Australia. Information on The Ian Potter Cultural Trust may be found at www.ianpotter.org.au/ipct.html. A report on Trust activities for 2003/2004 is also published, and available on request.
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NGV International was officially reopened in December 2003 following a seven-year redevelopment program. In its first six months, it has had nearly 900,000 visitors, with attractions including Darkness and Light: Caravaggio and his World, and The Impressionists, which included part of Dr Joseph Brown’s international art collection. January 2004 saw marking of the centenary of the death of Alfred Felton, the Gallery’s greatest benefactor, and an announcement by the Felton Bequest Trustees of three new acquisitions. Over the financial year 2003-2004 nearly two million people visited The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia and NGV International, positioning the NGV in the top twenty most visited in the world.
The Trust is directed at nurturing
grants to outstandingly talented
Several exhibitions of Australian art have been hosted at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, including Desert and Drought on the works of Sidney Nolan, a major retrospective on the contemporary Australian artist Peter Booth, and the Clifford Possum Tjapaljarri travelling exhibition. The Gallery has also received a major gift from Dr Joseph Brown of part of his extensive collection of Australian art.
Interior of the re-opened St Kilda Road building of the National Gallery of Victoria, known as NGV International.
Orchestra Victoria player Deborah Hart with a horn student at Shepparton mOVe!
Arts
Musica Viva Australia, New South Wales $25,000 to professional development classes for teachers for The Viva Zone website Ms Hannah Penman, Fundraising Program Manager 02 8394 6666 hpenman@mva.org.au www.musicaviva.com.au Musica Viva Australia is a national presenter of classical chamber and ensemble music. Musica Viva promotes an understanding of this music through concert, educational and outreach programs. Around 2,500 concerts are presented each year throughout Australia and internationally, and more than 400,000 Australian school children are involved every year in the award-winning education program, Musica Viva In Schools. The Ian Potter Foundation has supported Musica Viva’s internet projects over recent years with a grant of $30,000 in 2001 and a grant of $35,000 in 2002 to promote Musica Viva In Schools and to encourage middle-school children (years 7 to 10) to explore further the program via its online resources. The Viva Zone website forms an important part of the Musica Viva In Schools integrated music education program. This 2004 award from The Foundation was towards a national program of masterclasses to learn more about how to access, resource and use this website. The grant supported eight masterclasses in Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and regional New South Wales, reaching a total of 125 participants. All classes were held by experienced music educators, and explored ways of using the innovative website. Teachers received a resource pack on features of the website, and classroom activities and materials that demonstrated ways in which they could link the activities into their State's curriculum. The grant also supported developments made to The Viva Zone website in 2004, including a teachers’ room for access to additional resources, work samples, evaluation tools and ideas to help further the integration of the Musica Viva In Schools program into classroom teaching.
Orchestra Victoria $15,000 to the mOVe! Education Program for young instrumentalists in regional Victoria
Bangarra Dance Theatre, New South Wales $10,000 to the Junior Dancer Development Program
Ms Wendy Brooks, Development and Strategy Manager 03 9694 3677 wendy.brooks@orchestravictoria.com.au www.orchestravictoria.com.au
Mr Paul Stuart, Sponsorship Manager 02 9258 5110 paul@bangarra.com.au www.bangarra.com.au
Orchestra Victoria (OV) was founded in 1969 and was formerly known as the State Orchestra of Victoria. OV performs all Melbourne seasons with Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet and The Production Company. Opera and Ballet performances comprise 50% of those during the year, with performances that make up the remaining 50% being part of OV’s community program.
Bangarra Dance Theatre’s mission is to show Aboriginal culture through storytelling, dance, theatre and music. The Company tours nationally and shares cultural traditions and expressions with remote audiences and Indigenous communities. Bangarra is keeping alive the traditional aboriginal dances and stories for future generations.
The mOVe! Education Program gave young people in regional Victoria, who otherwise have limited opportunities to play in large ensembles, an opportunity to work with professional musicians. Youth received guidance and mentoring, and established connections with the musicians in Orchestra Victoria. Many of the students continue to have periodic master classes and lessons with the Orchestra, with some now studying music at a tertiary level. Through the program, young Australians have learnt new skills, participated in orchestral performances, and entertained thousands of people in their local communities during 2004. The Foundation’s grant, combined with support from other sources, allowed more than 100 instrumental music students and teachers in each regional centre to participate in workshops and rehearsals with Orchestra Victoria musicians. At the end of each of the two-day workshops, free community concerts were held, where the young people performed side by side with Orchestra Victoria musicians to an audience of family, friends and the community. During 2004, Orchestra Victoria held mOVe! Education Workshops in the City of Latrobe during May, Horsham in June, Bendigo during July and Shepparton in August. The Foundation’s grant helped to cover the music and equipment hire, and the travel and accommodation costs for the program. This enabled fifteen Orchestra Victoria musicians, administrative staff and a guest conductor to attend each of the workshops.
The Junior Dance Program was designed to support and nurture talented junior dancers and to encourage professional development. The Foundation’s grant supported the wonderfully gifted dancer, Deborah Brown, by funding one year of salary and touring, training and coaching costs. Ms Brown benefited from personal coaching from senior staff and intensive workshops with some of Australia's leading dance teachers. She received ongoing mentoring from senior Bangarra dancers, and successfully performed solo roles during an extensive performance schedule.
In 2004 Deborah Brown performed in Bush as part of Bangarra's highly successful US tour. She also performed in Uniapon at the 2004 Adelaide Festival and in Bangarra's season of Clan in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
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....down the track Australian Theatre for Young People, New South Wales
Mallee Family Care, Victoria and New South Wales
$10,000 to Operation Pilbara in Western Australia
$3,000 towards the Cunningham Dax Collection exhibition in Mildura
Mr Christopher Saunders, Regional Projects Manager 02 9251 3900 chris@atyp.com.au www.atyp.com.au
Mr Vernon Knight, Executive Director 03 5023 5966 vknight@malleefamilycare.com.au www.malleefamilycare.com.au
The Australian Theatre for Young People (atyp) travels about Australia to work with local organisations in introducing youth to the performing arts. The aim of Operation Pilbara was to motivate and inspire young people aged 13-17 years in six communities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, through participating in specialist performance workshops, a drama camp and a forum.
The Cunningham Dax Exhibition was held over six weeks in Mildura and was of thirty works by artists with a mental illness. It formed a focal point for a program of community education during Mental Health Week in October, 2003. The selection of works came from the 9,000 piece collection of Dr Eric Cunningham Dax, housed at the Mental Health Research Institute in Melbourne. The Foundation’s support has helped Mallee Family Care, the Mildura Base Hospital and a range of specialist services, in promoting their mental health prevention and treatment services throughout the top north-west of Victoria during this Mental Health Week.
Twenty-five young participants from Tom Price, Karatha, Newman and Port Hedland, developed their skills in a one week camp in Dampier, October 2003. In the two weeks following the camp, further workshops were run in Panawonica and Onslow and included physical theatre, dance, hiphop, circus skills, video and acting. Most of the 50 young participants in these workshops had no previous experience in performing activities. The young people involved created some short films which were distributed throughout the community to showcase the success of the camp and to promote the work of atyp. Positive feedback has highlighted the need for more cultural and artistic activities in the Pilbara region. Strong links between communities in the Pilbara region were also made, encouraging the communities to work together in future to provide activities for their young people. The Foundation’s grant helped pay for accommodation and food for the participating children, tutors at the camps, equipment and materials for the production, and travel costs.
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Artworks were displayed to the public which showed visual representations of mood swings, loss, trauma, family and social issues as well as the recovery and creativity of mental illness sufferers. Accompanying information explained mental illness, describing such conditions as bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, post natal depression, psychosis and schizophrenia. Floor talks were aimed at different sections of the community, and in many cases carers and sufferers recounted stories firsthand. The Foundation’s grant covered transport costs, staff expenses and the preparation of art works for display.
Art Gallery of Western Australia $300,000 2001-2003 towards the Art Museum Collections Accessibility Initiative (AMCAI) Mr Alan Dodge, Director 08 9492 6600 aland@artgallery.wa.gov.au www.artgallery.wa.gov.au AMCAI was an adaptation of a successful initiative launched in 1991 by the New York-based Wallace Readers’ Digest Funds. Four art museums: Heide Museum of Modern Art in Melbourne, The Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, The Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth and The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston each received a grant of $300,000 from The Ian Potter Foundation. The grants supported each art museum to use their permanent collections to expand and diversify their audiences. Each created a new educational and interpretative program to enhance their relationship with a chosen segment of their local community. Under AMCAI, the Art Gallery of WA researched and developed community partnerships which promoted the Gallery to young audiences. Their project, named @rtX, involved working with young people from two target areas within metropolitan Perth to determine what will initially attract a youth audience to the Gallery, and then how they can be encouraged to return. A range of strategies was developed subsequently, including youth-targeted marketing, physical changes to gallery spaces, more free events, and greater use of interactive audiovisual and electronic media. The @rtX project has stimulated internal cultural change and the embedding of the youth project into normal Gallery operations. The knowledge gained is also being shared with other Arts organisations in Western Australia.
Arts
ARTS Grants 2003-2004
National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Redevelopment of NGV International (St Kilda Rd) and Design and Construction of The Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square.
$2,500,000
The Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Victoria Individual grants for career development to talented emerging Australian artists
$350,000
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Tasmania $25,000 Art Museum Collections Accessibility Initiative (AMCAI)
The Performance Space, New South Wales Workshops in contemporary and cross-cultural performance arts at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, September 2003
$5,000
RMIT University, Victoria HotHouse Theatre case study, an educational resource to promote the viability of small to medium size regional arts companies
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
The Australian Ballet, Victoria Online content of the Education Program, to increase interest in the website from children, particularly those in remote areas
$25,000
Access Arts, Queensland Wataboshi Music Festival of original music and performance inspired by the lives and experience of people with a disability, Brisbane, November 2003
Musica Viva Australia, New South Wales Professional development masterclasses for teachers around Australia in 'The Viva Zone' website
$25,000
Urban Myth: Theatre of Youth, South Australia A youth theatre production called StressheadS developed with young people experiencing stress and anxiety
Orchestra Victoria mOVe! Education Program for young instrumentalists in regional Victoria
$15,000
Bell Shakespeare Company, New South Wales Shakespeare in Action Education Program for disadvantaged schools
$15,000
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Victoria $5,000 The Prelude Project, offering a free MSO subscription program to participants in the DOXA Youth Foundation's Hollingworth Cadetship Program Shopfront Theatre for Young People, New South Wales Off the Wall, skill-based workshops in movement and puppetry
$4,125
Australian Theatre for Young People, New South Wales $10,000 Operation Pilbara, bringing theatre and arts to rural and remote art centres
Restless Dance Company, South Australia Landmark Project of new works of dance theatre by young people with and without a disability
$4,000
Bangarra Dance Theatre, New South Wales Young Dancer Development Program
$10,000
Goulburn Accommodation Program, Victoria Performing Arts Group Camp for young people
$4,000
Craft Victoria The South project, developing cultural exchange between countries in the Southern Hemisphere
$10,000 Mallee Family Care, Victoria Cunningham Dax Exhibition in Mildura
$3,000
The University of Melbourne, Victoria The Ian Potter Museum of Art, biennial Art Fair in October 2004
$10,000
Community Connections, Victoria 'Ngarrakeetoon' Community Mural Project
$2,000
Queenscliffe Historical Museum, Victoria Restoration of art works
$1,400
The Melbourne Chorale, Victoria Conductor's Mentoring Program for talented young choral conductors
$7,000
Geelong Ethnic Communities Council, Victoria Workshops for the Pako Street Festival, to celebrate, educate and present the richness of Geelong’s cultural diversity
$5,000
Arena Theatre Company, Victoria Game Girl project development by girls aged 8-12 years
$5,000
Theatreworks Victoria Tribes of St Kilda community theatre training project for students of Small Companies and Community Theatre at Swinburne University
$5,000
Total $3,065,525
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Waltzing Matilda Centre, Queensland $5,000 Production of a photographic and audiovisual exhibition involving local school children
2
6 16 1
Grant allocations by state
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environment
and conservation Dr Joss Bentley releasing a Bridled Nailtail Wallaby into Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary, the largest feral-free area on mainland Australia.
Our funding objectives in the environment & conservation program area are: • 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
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• 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
Environment and Conservation
The award types under the Environment and Conservation program area range from large multi-year grants to small one-off payments. In all cases, grants are to organisations that work closely with communities towards biodiversity and preservation of ecosystems. In this 2003-2004 financial year, a funding theme has been towards programs with strong education, public awareness and public
Australian Landscape Trust, Victoria $250,000 towards Landscape-Scale Sustainable Environment and Economic Futures (part of a commitment of $1,000,000 over 5 years)
engagement components. Another theme has been to organisations with defined contribution pathways for, and good management, of volunteers. Additionally featured are programs comprising skill, training and employment opportunities, and feasible balances between economics and conservation. The Ian Potter Foundation is very grateful to all who contribute to the well-being of Australia’s stunning landscapes, to the preservation and strengthening of our unique flora, fauna and ecosystems, and to biodiversity for sustainability.
Ms Patricia Feilman, Executive Director 03 9639 7100 admin@austlandscapetrust.org.au www.austlandscapetrust.org.au The Australian Landscape Trust (ALT) has been supported by The Ian Potter Foundation since the former’s inception in 1996. Over that time the Trust’s work has increased significantly in scope, both geographically and conceptually. From its original base close to Renmark in the north-eastern corner of South Australia, ALT has expanded its operations to include Gippsland in Victoria. In both locations the Trust works with the local community and landholders to explore sustainable environmental and economic futures for the region. A feature of the Trust’s work is the unique partnerships it generates between different types of landholders, and between multiple funding sources. Conservation and restoration work on degraded land covers privately held land, state and national parks, and leaseholds. Funding for the Trust’s work comes from Australian and US philanthropic foundations, from local, state and federal governments, and from private sources.
True to its name, the Australian Landscape Trust works on a landscape scale, rather than focusing on the conservation of one individual species or one particular habitat. The Trust’s efforts are spread between the two locations – Renmark in South Australia, where their work is based at Calperum Station on Bookmark Biosphere Reserve; and Stratford in Gippsland, Victoria, based at Strathfieldsaye Homestead. The Trust’s day-to-day work includes: • environmental and scientific research • extensive monitoring of species and environmental indicators • land and property maintenance • planning and advocacy • youth employment programs • applied education and training of tertiary environment and science students • coordination of volunteers • meetings with local community, government and stakeholders • compliance with environmental and safety standards.
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Bridled Nailtail Wallabies are breeding at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary.
Green Skills, Western Australia $50,000 towards the Denmark Centre for Sustainable Living Ms Louise Duxbury, Projects Manager 08 9336 1033 louiseduxbury@greenskills.green.net.au www.greenskills.green.net.au Green Skills is a not-for-profit environment and conservation organisation headquartered at the Denmark Centre for Sustainable Living, a building which is also available for tourist operators, community groups, and training and natural resource management groups. Green Skills runs a wide range of training and public education programs, and is characterised by working considerately across private, government and public sectors and by fostering ownership, engagement and a ‘benefits-to-all’ approach. It delivers and researches programs in waste water management, organic horticulture, bush regeneration, ecological and economic reforestation, wetlands management and desalination of freshwaters. Green Skills creates training, employment and work experience opportunities for many sectors of the community, such as youth, unemployed women and under-employed people. Its education and training programs are open to school groups, Universities, and international students. The Foundation’s grant was towards saving the old Denmark Agricultural College from demolition. The College was converted into a conference, camp and community education facility with accommodation for 80 people, a large kitchen and dining area, a resource library and education rooms.
As with the construction of the Denmark Centre for Sustainable Living, the restoration was with best consideration to environment and conservation principles. Recycled material was used for doors, window frames, floors, paving, roofing, the kitchen, outdoor sculptures, etc. The facility is solar powered and has two waste water management systems that are being compared for effectiveness in growing natural bush plots. The project has engaged strongly the local community, not only in lobbying against the planned demolition but in contributing to all aspects of the renovation. Local artisans with limited work opportunities have been employed for carpentry, plumbing, roofing, etc., and in doing so, have gained further understanding of how to use recycled material. A volunteer group of local women has made and donated eighty quilts for the beds and curtains for the bedrooms. Local school and community groups have been involved in replantation exercises across the large site of the College, and training programs involving agricultural and land management students, are under consideration. The grounds are spotted with local and beautiful sculpture and painting works. The Denmark Community has worked together to develop a valuable asset to help them meet the increasing demand and thirst for knowledge and practical skills in recycling, conservation and environmental management.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Western Australia $40,000 towards the Scotia Endangered Mammal Recovery Project Mr Atticus Fleming, Chief Executive 08 9226 0340 atticus@australianwildlife.org www.australianwildlife.org The Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is an independent not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of native wildlife. It aims to save Australia’s threatened and declining wildlife population, through establishing and managing a network of sanctuaries across Australia. The Scotia Endangered Mammal Recovery Project involves establishing the largest feral predatorfree area on mainland Australia, on the borders of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, covering 10,000 hectares. Within the Scotia sanctuary, AWC will re-establish wild populations of at least seven threatened mammal species. The initial release of Bilbies, Bridled Nailtail Wallabies, Burrowing Bettongs and Brush-tailed Bettongs is intended for late 2004. AWC is also implementing a biodiversity research program at Scotia with cooperation from The University of Sydney and National Parks. The Foundation’s grant has supported the rebuilding of the feral-proof fences and the purchase of essential equipment for the biodiversity research program. Thirty-two kilometres of fence have been reconstructed, with the new fence being six feet high, and including three electric wires. The equipment included traps and radio transmitters. The research and data collected from the Scotia Endangered Mammal Recovery Project will assist in the recovery of other endangered ecosystems throughout Australia, especially in the semi-arid zones. The Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary will be open to the public and will educate visitors on endangered and threatened species and ecosystems, encouraging them to support Australia’s wildlife and look after rare and precious ecosystems within our country.
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Environment and Conservation
Canoeists setting off on a guided tour of the Iron Bark Creek at The Wetlands Centre Australia.
Greening Australia, Northern Territory $20,000 towards the Northern Grasslands Education Kit Ms Liza Schenkel, Bushcare Support Officer 08 8981 1344 info@nt.greeningaustralia.org.au www.greeningaustralia.org.au Greening Australia is a national organisation with 80 branches across all states and territories in Australia. Their mission is to engage the community in vegetation management to protect and restore the health, diversity and productivity of our unique Australian landscapes. Greening Australia received a grant from The Foundation to develop an educational resource kit about Northern grassland habitats. The aim of the kit is to encourage young Territorians to develop an appreciation and a desire to protect and conserve these grasses and their habitat. The long-term goals of the project are the preservation of the remaining native rangeland grassland communities and the proactive revegetation of the rangelands utilising native pasture species. The kit is aimed at students at primary and secondary levels, from Years 3 to 10. It comprises a CD and a 52-page instruction booklet. It contains modules on the identification of grasses, classification systems, methods for determining areas where the habitat and grasses are compromised, and excursion ideas with practical revegetation exercises. The Foundation’s grant was directed to the design, writing, editing and printing costs of the education kits. It was also put towards costs associated with Kit Development Workshops, which provided in-service training and professional development to participants from a wide range of educational and environmental organisations. The crosscurriculum kit is intended for distribution throughout schools and community organisations.
Karkana Support Services, Victoria $10,000 to upgrade the water supply, storage and distribution system. Mr Lyall Wheaton, Chief Executive Officer 03 5382 4621 karkana@netconnect.com.au www.karkana.org.au Karkana Support Services was formed in 1972 to provide disability support services to the Wimmera. They are situated seven kilometres south-east of Horsham in Victoria and run three programs for intellectually disabled clients and clients with acquired brain injuries. One of these programs is the Business Services, or Farm Fresh program, where clients grow vegetables to be sold at retail or wholesale outlets, or directly to hospitals, restaurants and hotels throughout the area. Karkana had been relying solely on one water catchment. Water, storage and pumping facilities needed to be upgraded and installed to enable sourcing from two separate catchments. The grant from The Ian Potter Foundation contributed towards the installation of two two-thousand gallon tanks to store the water, the fitting of a pump, and the upgrading of tapping in the storage facilities. Karkana Support Services also installed a dripper to distribute the water throughout forty acres of vegetable crops in the Farm Fresh program. Without this significant upgrade to the water supply, storage and distribution system, the Farm Fresh program would be curtailed by the drought.
The Wetlands Centre Australia, New South Wales $5,000 to community environmental education projects Ms Tara Ure, Chief Executive Officer 02 4951 6466 twc@wetlands.org.au www.wetlands.org.au Located on a 45 hectare site in the lower Hunter Valley, The Wetlands Centre (formerly The Shortland Wetlands Centre) is a small group with a strong volunteer base, and a focus on environmental education and community involvement. The Foundation’s grant enabled The Wetlands Centre to run a series of workshops for local community members from September 2003 to January 2004, on weekends and in school holidays. A total of 82 people attended workshops on creating a native garden, beginning birding, puppetry, native birds, reptiles and plants, frog ponds, wild foods, nature photography and craft activities. The Centre also celebrated The World Wetlands Day on 2 February 2004. This day marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The theme of the day was Water for Wetlands - Water for Life. Shortland Wetlands was listed as part of the Hunter Estuary Wetlands Ramsar site in November 2002. The nomination recognises its unique values and the complementary ecosystem services it provides alongside the Ramsar listed Kooragang Nature Reserve and other wetlands in the Hunter Estuary.
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....down the track Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Victoria $200,000 1994-1997 towards development of the Werribee Open Range Zoo Ms Cate Rejman, Corporate Sponsorship Manager 03 9285 9498 crejman@zoo.org.au www.zoo.org.au Werribee Open Range Zoo has grown from an agistment property for Melbourne Zoo into an open range zoo of international standing. Developed around the Werribee River flood plain, the 200 hectare property is home to a range of magnificent animals from the grasslands of Africa, Asia, North America and Australia. Visitors undertake a 50-minute guided-bus Wildlife Safari, which takes them amongst the animals and provides superb opportunities for close-up animal encounters. The Foundation’s grant supported Werribee Zoo in its initial growth and development phase, following its opening to the public. An important aspect of this zoo is its commitment to conservation of grasses of the Western Basalt Plains. These grassland communities are considered endangered, and as part of its program to promote conservation of native grasslands, Werribee Open Range Zoo has established a native seed orchard. This orchard development includes provision of local seed for large-scale replanting and revegetation projects. Werribee Zoo has now been open to the public for over 20 years and runs an extensive Discovery and Learning program which includes online learning resources, schools special programs and teacher professional development. The seed orchard has become the focus for plant education and promotions at Werribee Zoo. Informal presentations by the Zoo’s Horticulturist and by Friends of the Zoo Guides bring the flora of the Basalt Plains to the attention of the general public.
ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION Grants 2003-2004
Australian Landscape Trust (ALT), Victoria Landscape-Scale Sustainable Environment and Economic Futures
$250,000
Green Skills, Western Australia $50,000 Refurbishment of the Denmark Agricultural College as a community environment and conservation education camp and conference centre Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Western Australia Scotia Endangered Mammal Recovery Project $40,000 Greening Australia, Northern Territory Northern Grasslands Education Kit
$20,000
Green Skills, Western Australia $12,000 Bush Products Program in Great Southern Western Australia Karkana Support Services, Victoria $10,000 Farm Fresh Market Garden Water System Upgrade The Wetlands Centre Australia, New South Wales Community Environmental Education $5,000 workshops Mareeba Tropical Savanna and Wetland Reserve, Queensland Furnishing the Field Study Centre
$5,000
Total $392,000
1
1
3
1 2
Grant allocations by state
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medical research Professor Geoffrey Tregear, Relaxin group leader at the Howard Florey Institute, with colleagues.
Our funding objective in the medical research program area is: • 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
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A visit in September 2004 to Ramingining in the East Arnhem Region of the NT as part of the Healthy Skin Program at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. Staff went from house to house, talking to people about the project and the treatment day, and screening children for scabies and skin sores.
Medical research has historically been one of The Foundation’s strongest program areas, and Sir Ian Potter’s support of the Howard Florey Institute pre-dates the establishment of The Foundation. Together with Sidney Myer, Sir Ian began a tradition of giving that was instrumental in the establishment of the medical research sector in Victoria, and that continues to contribute to its ongoing success. Institutes that have received significant, multi-year grants from The Foundation include the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, the Howard
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI), Victoria $82,000 to the Healthy Skin Program to reduce chronic disease (part of a commitment of $500,000 over 4 years) Dr Jonathon Carapetis, Principal Investigator 03 9345 5074 jonathan.carapetis@rch.org.au www.mcri.edu.au
Florey Institute, the Anti-Cancer Council, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, and the Macfarlane Burnet Centre for Medical Research. Grants made by The Foundation to medical research are towards initiatives by research groups that have a strong publication record, international standing, a culture of scientific rigour and realistic pathways for application of research
MCRI conducts medical and community health research for babies, children and adolescents. The Institute is located at the Royal Children's Hospital and affiliated to The University of Melbourne. It focuses on translating world-class child health research into prevention programs, community education, and better treatments and care. The Institute carries the name of its Patron, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, who has been associated with the Royal Children’s Hospital for over 65 years.
outcomes in clinical and community settings.
The Healthy Skin Program is a collaboration between MCRI, the Menzies Research Institute, federal and state government health service providers and local indigenous communities across the top end of the Northern Territory. In addition to funding from The Ian Potter Foundation and these partners, the Rio Tinto Aboriginal Foundation and a few commercial sponsors have provided support. The program is aimed at controlling skin infections, particularly those associated with scabies, in remote Aboriginal communities. Operating over the past ten years, service providers have noted tremendous short-term success in convening Healthy Skin days. These days have typically involved a whole-ofcommunity approach to the eradication of scabies, with all community residents washing and applying skin medication, contributing to cleaning, airing, and maintenance projects and participating in a celebratory get-together at the end of the day.
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The current Healthy Skin Program is an expanded version of this concept and stems from experience over several years, and two key findings. One is that the effects of a Healthy Skin Day in one community were short-lived because people visited from outside the community, the scabies mite oft being reintroduced. The second finding was a direct correlation between scabies skin infections and longer-term health problems which resulted in local people having to leave the community for dialysis, for treatment of serious heart problems, and for management of more serious systemic infections. Six communities in the East Arnhem region of the Territory are participating in whole-of-region Healthy Skin Days, the first being in September 2004. Not only will each community be treated but data will be collected for analysis to inform disease prevention strategies and to assess long-term impact on the incidence of health problems that are linked to scabies, such as heart disorders, rheumatic fever, streptococcal kidney disease, malnutrition and joint diseases. Current predictions for the results of this program are that scabies will affect less than 10% of the indigenous population, and that there will be a 50% reduction in rheumatic fever in four years and an 80% reduction in five years.
MEDICAL RESEARCH
Lady Southey AM, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Emeritus Professor Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE, Patron of Research Australia, present Professor John Funder AO with Honorary Life Membership of Research Australia at a Victorian Government House reception hosted by Lady Southey 19 July 2004.
The Howard Florey Institute, Victoria $80,000 to the Neuropeptide Laboratory (part of a grant of $1,200,000 over 5 years) Ms Merrin Rafferty, Public Relations and Fundraising Manager 03 8344 1658 m.rafferty@hfi.unimelb.edu.au www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au Established in 1971 and named after the Australian Nobel prize winning scientist who developed penicillin, the Howard Florey Institute is today under the direction of Professor Fred Mendelsohn. Over the last few years The Howard Florey Institute has focused increasingly on neuroscience, and is now regarded as an international centre of excellence in this field. The Foundation’s grant has supported the establishment and equipping of the Howard Florey Neuropeptide Laboratory, which aims to facilitate the discovery of new drugs to treat disorders of the brain. The total grant of $1.2 million was paid as an initial grant of $800,000 towards the purchase of stateof-the-art equipment, with a further $80,000 per annum for five years for consumables and technical support.
The major instruments purchased with the Foundation’s grant included a Ciphergen Protein Chip Array system, a Molecular Devices Flexstation flurometer, and a Mithras LB940. The focus of this Laboratory is upon neuropeptides, minute proteins in the brain and nervous system that are involved in signal transmission, nerve cell health and brain and nerve functioning. The different areas of the brain have different types of neuropeptides and scientists across the world are working actively to identify and characterise these types, to work out their functions and interactions and to determine how imbalances in these neuropeptides lead to neurological and psychiatric disorders. Scientists working in the Neuropeptide Laboratory now have the capacity to investigate neuropeptides, their target receptors and the enzymes involved in their processing. Current work includes the analysis of protein to protein interactions in peptide receptor function, particularly the molecular pharmacology of G protein-coupled receptors, and research into relaxin and its role in the brain. The Relaxin team, under Professor Geoffrey Tregear, Deputy Head of the Institute, recently discovered an additional relaxin gene, called relaxin-3. Shortly after the discovery, investigations at Stanford University and at the Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development laboratories, isolated the long sought relaxin receptors. Both groups are now collaborating with Florey scientists and rapid progress is envisaged in this field. The new relaxin-3 peptide is strongly localised in a precise area of the brain indicating that it is likely to function as a neuropeptide.
Research Australia, New South Wales $50,000 toward establishment of Research Australia - an alliance for discoveries in health (part of a grant of $150,000 over 3 years) Dr Christine Bennett, Chief Executive Officer 02 9227 0967 christine.bennett@asx.com.au www.researchaustralia.org Research Australia’s mission is to make health and medical research a higher national priority by building community awareness and support, and by strengthening funding and investment in this sector. It’s activities are supported by over 150 members and donors. These include leading research organisations, universities, philanthropy, community and special interest groups, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, small businesses and corporate Australia. The Ian Potter Foundation’s grant has assisted Research Australia to build a solid operational base and develop innovative programs. The $50,000 payment funded the development, commissioning and publication of the Health and Medical Research Public Opinion Poll for 2004. This is a core activity to understand and reflect the Australian community’s views and opinions about health and medical research. The grant has also supported publication and dissemination of polling results to members, donors, government, media and others involved in policy development. Building on the success of the 2002 and 2003 polls, the 2004 Poll continued to show strong community support for health and medical research, with 43% of respondents agreeing that disease prevention programs have shown them how to live a healthier life. During 2005 Research Australia will develop a three year strategic plan and refine their polling strategy to ensure maximum impact and usefulness.
A visiting researcher in Professor Tregear’s group, Feng Lin from Shanghai, is working with Dr John Wade at the Howard Florey Institute.
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....down the track The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, Victoria $500,000 2000-2001 to The Ian Potter Hepatitis Research Laboratories Dr Ian Cooke, Associate Director Research and Development 03 9282 2105 iancooke@burnet.edu.au www.burnet.edu.au The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health (The Burnet Institute) was established in 1986. The research focus of The Burnet Institute is communicable diseases, with a major focus on HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and viral diseases of children. The applied focus of The Burnet Institute is on controlling the spread of infectious diseases through the two major complementary approaches of developing new vaccines and drugs, and of changing policy, management and behaviour to reduce the risks and consequences of disease. Approximately half of The Burnet Institute’s 130 staff and research students are engaged in research. The remainder work in field-based research and public health programs in Australia and in many developing nations, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. In June 2002, The Burnet Institute moved into a new, state-of-the-art research facility within the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct on the campus of the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. The Burnet Virology Program (of which the Hepatitis Research Laboratories are a part) aims to define the replication processes of human viral pathogens and their closely related animal viruses through fundamental research. Strong emphasis is placed on understanding how viral pathogens manipulate their respective host cells to promote viral replication, virus production and viral persistence. Scientists within the virology program work on a variety of viruses, including Hepatitis A, B, C, and E viruses. Work at present is focusing on Hepatitis B replication using a duck Hepatitis B model. Current and future collaborations with industry and the public health programs of The Burnet Institute will ensure that the research within the hepatitis research laboratories will continue to have impacts on the management and prevention of viral hepatitis worldwide. The Centre for Harm Reduction at The Burnet Institute brings together people working throughout Asia, and globally, with expertise in the prevention of drug related harm, and, in particular, the prevention of transmission of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C among and from injecting drug users.
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MEDICAL RESEARCH Grants 2003-2004
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Victoria $82,000 Healthy Skin Program to reduce chronic diseases Howard Florey Institute, Victoria Neuropeptide Laboratory
$80,000
The University of Melbourne, Victoria Laboratory fit-out in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
$75,000
Research Australia Limited, New South Wales $50,000 Establishment of Research Australia Monash University, Victoria $40,000 Laboratory equipment for the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Total $327,000
1 4
Grant allocations by state
science
Our funding objectives in the science program area are: • 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
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The Science program area is linked strongly with The Foundation’s Environment and Conservation program area. This cross-disciplinary approach reflects focus on research with potential for application in strengthening Australia’s biodiversity through the preservation of flora and fauna.
Murdoch University, Western Australia
A strong funding theme for this
$38,337 towards the STAR Tutoring Program (part of a commitment of $115,000 over 3 years)
financial year has been paleontological and archaeological research that will inform understanding of our rich and unique cultural heritage. Awards from The Foundation have also been targeted to projects with strong links between education and science. This is in recognition of the continuing promotion of science as a career option and as a profession with a broad range and full workforce of dedicated, wellqualified and innovative scientists. The STAR peer-tutoring program, as outlined on this page of the report, illustrates well this theme. It has an elegant model in which is enriched the scientific minds of school children, the careers of the mentoring tertiary graduates and the discipline of science and its industry in Australia.
Peer tutor Sheryn Prior (right) with students of St Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic School, Carnarvon, and their teacher, during a Wetland Ecology laboratory session in which students assessed the health of the Gascoyne river from water samples. 36
Mr Russell Elsegood, Director, STAR Peer Tutoring Program 08 9360 6650 star@murdoch.edu.au www.about.murdoch.edu.au/star STAR is an acronym for Science Technology Awareness Raising. The STAR program began in 1994, and provides cross-age, cross-institutional peer tutoring. The program has been nurtured and grown in Australia by Russell Elsegood, inspired by the energy, optimism and enthusiasm of the students he works with. The STAR peer tutoring program involves science and technology students from Universities volunteering to help secondary school students in their studies. Through the mentoring and tutoring that the tertiary students provide, the high school students are able to study and grasp the concepts of science more easily. The STAR program benefits their learning and development, encouraging a passion for science and technology. It also provides tertiary students with the opportunity to share their knowledge with others.
Tertiary students who apply as peer tutors attend training sessions on timemanagement, group dynamics, communications skills, problem solving, and classroom do’s and don’ts. They help students with assignments, assist in the classroom and sometimes attend excursions with the students. They are assigned to a classroom in the first instance for three to six months, assisting for approximately three hours per week. Many peer tutors volunteer their time to the STAR program over a number of years. The Ian Potter Foundation has supported the STAR peer tutoring program for several years. The current grant has assisted Mr Elsegood to disseminate the program to other Universities across Australia, including RMIT University and the University of Tasmania, where The Ian Potter Foundation has supported the implementation of STAR programs. Many success stories have emerged from the first stages of the dissemination of the program, sparking wide interest from other colleges and Universities.
University of Tasmania $20,000 towards establishing the TasSTAR Peer Tutoring Program Ms Anna Renkin, Project Coordinator, TasSTAR Peer Tutoring Program 03 6430 4908 anna.renkin@utas.edu.au Dr David Russell, Project Manager, Cradle Coast Campus 03 6430 4935 david.russell@utas.edu.au www.utas.edu.au TasSTAR was established in 2004 and involves a State-wide peer mentoring program across three of the University’s colleges in Hobart, Burnie and Launceston. Students from the schools of Agricultural Science, Aquaculture and Computing have shared their skills with year 11 and 12 science students, for four hours a week over the school year. As a result of the tutoring program, it is hoped that many inspired students will seek careers in the field of science. Students have been given a good introduction to the University’s science department, talking to tutors who have a passion for science, and they have also been guided through their final years. The tutors also benefit from the experience; the personal satisfaction of helping a fellow science student can be very rewarding and tutors may be inspired to teach after achieving their degree.
The Foundation’s grant has helped the program establish, funding a Project Manager and Coordinator, teaching staff, training sessions for the peer tutors, accommodation costs, and promotion material. The Foundation’s support also helped with travelling expenses for staff and peer tutors to visit the colleges around Tasmania. Web pages have been established, and program information and promotion has been printed and distributed in schools and within the university. The Project Manager is responsible for initiating the program and liaising with Mr Russell Elsegood (STAR) at Murdoch University. The role also incorporates helping in the recruitment and training of peer tutors, organisation of college partnerships and sponsors, and promotion of the program. In 2005 it is anticipated that the program will be extended across the state to help to broaden commitment to science.
Science
Peer tutor Penny, from The University of Tasmania, joins Hobart College biology students for an excursion to Blackman's Bay foreshore, south of Hobart.
La Trobe University, Victoria $20,000 towards research into a unique early carboniferous fish Associate Professor Anne Warren, Department of Zoology 03 9479 2241 a.warren@zoo.latrobe.edu.au www.zoo.latrobe.edu.au The aim of this project was to analyse a newly discovered fossil, a unique piece of Australian palaeontology, from near Mansfield in Victoria. The Foundation’s grant supported the salary of a research assistant to support an experienced researcher in the extraction of the fossil fish from a rock block measuring 80x100cm. Exposures included cranial bones and a possible mouth cavity. Larger, more typical gill supports have been uncovered, as have large unidentified bones associated with one of the larger jaws. An Australian Museum leading expert on rhizodont (reptilian, with crocodilelike teeth) fish has been collaborating on the project, and it is hoped that the study will shed light on the evolution of fossil fish fins into tetrapod limbs, and on the relationships between several groups of fossil fish. A small rhizodont specimen is known from the same locality, suggesting that the large rhizodont is of a previously unknown species. Rhizodont specimens are rare and a new species with unique morphology will generate considerable interest. It is anticipated that the results will be published late 2005, early 2006 and that the specimen will be housed for display at Museum Victoria on completion of the research.
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Image from the cover of Indigenous Archaeologies - Decolonizing Theory and Practice, edited by Claire Smith and H. Martin Wobst. The image shows Jacko and Peter working at Barunga in the Northern Territory on a fieldwork trip supported by The Ian Potter Foundation.
Flinders University of South Australia $14,000 towards the Mapping Indigenous Places Project Dr Claire Smith, Senior Lecturer, Department of Archaeology 08 8201 2336 claire.smith@flinders.edu.au ehlt.flinders.edu.au The aims of this project are to investigate when Aboriginal people first came to southern Arnhem Land, and to follow their lives from deep antiquity to the present. Researchers from the Department of Archaeology collaborated with the Burunga-Wallagar Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, on a project entitled Mapping Indigenous Places: Indigenous Arrivals and Lifestyles in Southern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. The goal of the research was to uncover the past lives of the Aboriginal people in this area through rock art and studies of stone and other artefacts. The research was also funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the Australian Institute for Nuclear Science and Engineering. The Foundation has previously supported the comprehensive fieldwork involved in such a large project, and this grant, together with funding from other donors, has been used towards travel costs for three researchers and three honours/post graduate students, vehicle hire, accommodation, living expenses, recording work for archival purposes, producing a community report, Aboriginal consultants, and radiocarbon dating material.
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This archaeological investigation has boosted our knowledge of Australian archaeology as well as determining links between past and present material objects, in regards to the Aboriginal culture in this area. The site work has been an educational experience for the excavators and students of Flinders University and the indigenous people of the area, and has added to international archaeological knowledge.
Science
....down the track Dolphin Research Institute, Victoria $15,000 1998 and $19,000 2000 for population monitoring of dolphins Ms Anika Goldsworthy, Research Director 03 5979 7100 mail@dolphinresearch.org.au www.dolphinresearch.org.au Established in the late 1980s, the Dolphin Research Institute (DRI) undertakes research, and conducts education and community involvement programs. Its Conservation Centre is located near two of Victoria’s recently declared Marine National Parks, on the shores of Western Port Bay at Hastings, south-east of Melbourne. The dolphin identification project was initiated in conjunction with The University of Melbourne, and has led to the development of a photo-identification catalogue. Dolphins acquire notches and scars, mainly through social interactions, on their dorsal fins. As they do not heal over, the marks can be used to identify individual dolphins reliably. Photographs of the dorsal fin are thus a relatively non-invasive method of tracking and monitoring dolphins, and are databased and researched by scientists worldwide. Dating back to 1993, more than 20,000 photographs have been analysed by DRI researchers, and the data is being used to estimate population size, to monitor changes in the population over the years, to investigate social structure, and to track individual movements throughout Port Phillip Bay. The Foundation’s grants were towards the salary of a technical officer who worked on the Dolphin Identification Project for one year, and towards the on-going research costs involved in continuous population monitoring.
SCIENCE Grants 2003-2004 Murdoch University, Western Australia The Science Technology Awareness Raising (STAR) Program
$38,337
University of Tasmania Establishment of the TasSTAR Peer Tutoring Program
$20,000
La Trobe University, Victoria $20,000 Research on a Unique Early Carboniferous Fish Flinders University of South Australia $14,000 Mapping Indigenous Places: Indigenous Arrivals and Lifestyles in Southern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory
Total $92,337
1 1 1 1 Grant allocations by state
Sim, as named by researchers at the Dolphin Research Institute, at play in Port Phillip Bay.
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education At work on the Cherbourg Digital Project being run by Queensland University of Technology.
Our funding objectives in the education program area are: • to support educational policy research of outstanding quality • to support educational programs of benefit to the general community
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Exclusions: The Foundation does not support kindergartens, pre-school, primary or secondary schools, special education schools or school building funds.
is towards practices that are
Website image from The Scrap Centre – a model for environmental education.
Education
Emphasis in the Education program rounded, in context and engaging. Generally, grants are made to projects in which opportunities are provided to all young members of our society, and that which have the aims of reducing inequity, and of leading to further training, academic and employment opportunities. Another strong theme, and one that is particularly evident in this financial year of granting, is of extending educational programs beyond the school walls and for the benefit of both the children and for the local and wider community.
Queensland University of Technology $15,000 to the Cherbourg Digital Project Mr Mark Newman, Project Manager, Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre 07 3864 3556 m.newman@qut.edu.au Mr Chris Sarra, Principal, Cherbourg State School cherbour@cherbourss.eq.edu.au www.cherbourss.qld.edu.au
Prime examples of such extension and inclusion projects are highlighted in this report. In one area, school children have used state-of-the-art computer, audiovisual and internet technology to research and document cultural heritage. In another, children have been engaged in addressing directly ‘green school’ practices. A number of other themes are apparent in the projects funded under this program area. One is the ability to define, refine and replicate the model in schools or as educational resource packages across Australia. A second theme is in equipping teachers with appropriate resources to manage best social issues of our time, such as youth depression and drug use, in an educational context. A further theme is to ensuring that our youth have an understanding of what has gone before them in history and an appreciation of our rich cultural diversity.
The project addressed technological illiteracy by training indigenous students, school staff and community members in modern communication media and digital content production skills. The project has been based at Cherbourg State School, three hours drive north-west of Brisbane. This school has approximately 250 students and is located in a town with a population of 2,500. The Digital Project is successfully engaging both the children and adults of the Cherbourg community. A highlight of the project has been the production of a DVD entitled Barambah-Cherbourg Centenary Celebrations, which included a 26 minute feature called Black on Track – 100 years of the Cherbourg State School. The introduction of broadband internet and establishment of a media centre have benefits both for the school and for the local community. The Foundation was one of a number of supporters from the philanthropic and commercial sectors. Its grant was to provide general support for the program. An external evaluation of the project, underway at the time of this report, is anticipated to form the basis for future work by the Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre, and particularly with a proposed replication of this successful model to Woorabinda, a further two hours north by car.
SCRAP School Communities Recycling All Paper, New South Wales $5,000 towards the Sustainability: How High? Project Mr Peter Carroll, Company Secretary 02 9825 1062 peter@scrapltd.com.au www.scrapltd.com.au SCRAP is a not-for-profit organisation formed in 1991 by three teachers who were concerned by the amount of excess waste in schools, and wanted to educate students about recycling. This organisation is working with almost half the schools in NSW and the ACT as well as 1200 government and non-profit agencies. Programs run by SCRAP include paper recycling, greenhouse action, solid waste management, strategies for avoiding and reducing use of non-recyclable products, and for their resuse, cartridge recycling and wholeschool sustainability practices. SCRAP also incorporates into schools The Froggies program involving awards for outstanding environmental action by individual students, class room groups and schools. SCRAP’s latest project, Sustainability: How High?, lasted ten months and was with the aim of achieving a model for consensus decision making about the setting and achievement of goals for sustainability in schools and their communities. Using the Learning Circles concept of democratic learning, SCRAP worked with five school communities in Canberra, distributing energy and water saving devices such as fluorescent light bulbs, door seals and draft excluders. Their findings are published on the internet so that other communities can benefit from their research. The Foundation’s grant has supported the costs of energy and water saving devices, community education consultants, transport and publicity.
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The FKA Children’s Services Mobile Resource Service in action.
Mental Health Research Institute, Victoria $5,000 to the VCE Psychology Teachers Training Module Dr Eugen Koh, Director, The Cunningham Dax Collection 03 9388 1633 eugenkoh@bigpond.com www.mhri.edu.au
FKA Children's Services, Victoria $5,000 to the Mobile Resource Service Dr Priscilla Clarke, OAM, Executive Director 03 9428 4471 fkacs@fka.com.au www.fka.com.au FKA Children’s Services (FKACS), formerly known as the Free Kindergarten Association of Victoria, was established in 1908. FKACS runs a Multicultural Resource Centre that provides for children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in kindergartens and child care centres. In 1999, FKACS established a Mobile Resource Service to help kindergartens and other services across Melbourne and in rural areas that do not have the resources for refugee and immigrant families. The Mobile Resource Service provides a range of specialist materials such as children’s books in a wide range of languages, posters and pictorial materials reflecting the multicultural nature of Australia, music tapes, games and staff development books. The grant from The Ian Potter Foundation provided for the purchase of new resources that are loaned out to kindergartens and other community family support services. Items obtained included bilingual books, puppets, puzzles and toys. To ensure that the materials provided were relevant and to encourage community participation in the project, an early childhood consultant was employed one day a week to consult with local refugee communities. The Mobile Resource Service was able to run four days a week in 2004 and, through regular visits across metropolitan and regional Victoria, helped to assist approximately 30,000 children, including more than 2,000 from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
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Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre, Victoria $5,000 to the Eyewitness Survivors’ Voice Project Ms Eileen Wright, Project Manager 03 9528 1985 admin@holocaustcentreaustralia.org.au www.arts.monash.edu.au Opening in 1984, the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre (JHC) was the first Holocaust organisation to form in Australia. Since then, nearly a quarter of a million people have visited, including nearly 13,000 students. The Centre has been established, funded and operated by volunteers, many of whom are holocaust survivors, and it aims to educate Australians about the causes and impacts of the holocaust and about its universal significance. Many of the JHC Musuem Guides, who walk and talk with visiting students and other members of the public, are now quite elderly. Personnel of the Education Department at JHC thus felt it imperative to record each as they undertook guided tours and to gain an oral history of their eyewitness accounts from the holocaust. Over 2002, 25 Museum Guides were filmed and recorded. The Ian Potter Foundation’s grant was towards the filming and editing of a further eight unique stories. It is intended that the project will result in a 10-20 minute video that would be used for educational purposes within and external to the Centre. The Foundation’s grant was also towards development of support materials to accompany this video and to provide a complete educational package. These materials comprise written accounts of the video contents and interpretations that place these personal records in a geographical, sociological and historical perspective within the Australian context. A glossary of terms, and discussion questions, are also included. The long term aim of the project is to facilitate the continuation of dialogue between the holocaust survivors and young visitors beyond the lifetimes of the survivors themselves. It is hoped that through such a project, students will learn to work against intolerance, injustice and racism.
The Cunningham Dax Collection is a national resource of creative works by people who experience mental illness. It is one of the world's largest collections, comprising approximately 9,000 works produced by people with mental illness, often during structured therapy sessions. The Collection’s founder and directors constantly seek to portray the works with compassion, and to use them to promote art, creativity, education and optimal mental health. Within the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) unit of Psychology, year 12 students are required to learn about mental health issues such as depression, schizophrenia, addictions, etc. To assist this learning, a schools visiting program was established to enable guided tours of the Cunningham Dax Collection. Both students and their teachers oft find this experience to be most confronting, and a short professional development program was identified as necessary for teachers prior to these visits so that they were placed better to assist and advise the students during and following the experience. The Foundation’s grant was towards Stage One in developing a VCE Psychology Teachers Training Module. This included a survey of the teachers’ needs, preparation of resource material for the module, and a feasibility study of the likely demand. Stage Two is the implementation phase in which the Training Module would be delivered to a number of secondary school teachers across Victoria in preparation for ensuing visits by their students to the collection. At the time of preparing this report, funding support was being sought from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and from the Victorian Department of Human Services.
Education
....down the track The University of Melbourne, Victoria $500,000 1998-2000 to The Ian Potter Foundation Information and Technology Centre in the Baillieu Library Ms Linda O’Brien, Vice-Principal, Information 03 8344 5382 linda.o'brien@unimelb.edu.au www.lib.unimelb.edu.au The Baillieu Library is the main library for use by students at The University of Melbourne. Since first opening in 1959, the student population has almost tripled, the range of courses has increased significantly and, with this, the quantity of reference material to be catalogued, shelved and archived. Information technology is now an essential component of library operations and is used to keep records of all library material and for access to information about references held in other libraries around the world. Students are now well accustomed to searching for material in computer databases rather than within a card catalogue system. During the 1990s it was increasingly apparent that the physical facilities of The Baillieu were insufficient to meet the demand for access to information in both electronic and print formats. The Better Baillieu Project was thus implemented to identify and address building, infrastructure and technology constraints to the ongoing provision of access to library resources. The upgrading of the Information and Technology Centre comprised part of this significant redevelopment of The Baillieu Library, and it was towards this Centre that The Ian Potter Foundation funds were directed. The Centre opened September 1998 and was named in recognition of this funding support and of the longstanding association between Sir Ian, The Foundation and The University of Melbourne over many decades of the twentieth century. The Ian Potter Foundation Information and Technology Centre is on the lower ground floor of The Baillieu Library. It houses networked computers that provide access to sources of electronic information held both in the library and via the internet. This electronic information includes the on-line catalogue and thus access to The Baillieu’s rich collections of serials, newspapers, books, audio-visual media, maps, rare books and manuscripts, as well as one of the largest collections of high quality research microfilms in Australia.
EDUCATION Grants 2003-2004
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Victoria The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden
$56,550
Melbourne's Living Museum of the West, Victoria $24,000 Cataloguing and arranging the Museum’s collection University of Newcastle, Family Action Centre, New South Wales Literacy practices to involve fathers in the lives of their children
$15,000
Queensland University of Technology Strong and Smart Digital Project in Cherbourg
$15,000
Canberra Burley Griffin Rotary Club, Australian Capital Territory Traveling exhibition on polio eradication from March 2005
$10,000
Lifestart Co-operative, New South Wales Starting Points - a course for families who have a child newly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
$9,250
FKA Children’s Services, Victoria Mobile resource service for children from culturally and linguistically diverse families, especially refugee families
$5,000
Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre, Victoria Eyewitness - The Survivors' Voice Project
$5,000
SCRAP School Communities $5,000 Recycling All Paper, New South Wales Sustainability: How High? A Learning Circles Approach Live and Learn Environmental Education, Victoria Exploring our World teacher training project
$5,000
The Mental Health Research Institute, Victoria VCE Psychology teachers’ training manual in relation to The Cunningham Dax Collection
$5,000
Wildlife Protection Association of Australia, Queensland Free online library of wildlife photographs
$5,000
Total $159,800
2 3 1 6
Grant allocations by state
43
travel and conferences
Our funding objectives in the Travel and Conferences program area 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
44
• to support conferences of international status to be held within Australia. Grants are generally only made to 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
• an outline of the benefits to the individual and to the employing institute in undertaking the travel • an outline of the significance of the international conference to be attended and of the experts and centres of excellence to be visited • confirmed attendance and presentation acceptance at the conference and at international centres of excellence, and confirmed meetings with international experts
Travel and Conferences
Travel grants are to assist early career researchers who have submitted to The Foundation through the applying institute:
Usually, the Foundation will not award Travel Grants for: • domestic travel within Australia • travel or research to be undertaken by undergraduate and postgraduate students • retrospectively for costs incurred during travel that has already been undertaken in part or in whole • research or service fellowship placements at an international host institute
• an accepted abstract of each work to be presented • confirmed and detailed travel, accommodation and presentation plans • a date for travel departure from Australia that is greater than three months from the closing date for submission to The Foundation • an itemised income statement to demonstrate exact matching funding from the applying institute, a funding contribution from the traveller, and other income • an itemised expenditure statement in Australian dollars with economic and anticipated costs for travel, insurance, airport taxes, accommodation and per diems • a request for funds of ≤ $AUD5,000 • strong testimonial support from the Head of Department and the applying institute with a signed statement to confirm the exact amount of committed matching funds from the employing institute, at least three years tenure with the applying institute from the date of submission to The Foundation and the role of the traveller within the organisation • a detailed curriculum vitae for the traveller in which is apparent research and service excellence
Travel Brain Research Institute, Victoria $2,500
Australian Maritime College, Tasmania $2,000
Dr Regula Briellmann MD, Research Coordinator 03 9496 2367 r.briellmann@brain.org.au www.brain.org.au Dr Briellmann is a clinical and research neurologist employed under a five-year Career Development Award from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council from 2003 to 2008. The Travel Grant from The Foundation was in support of her attending and presenting research findings of her work within the magnetic resonance imaging group of the Brain Research Institute at the 10th Human Brain Mapping Conference in Budapest 13-17 June 2004. Following the conference, Dr Briellmann visited a sleep laboratory in the Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland, where she presented a lecture entitled Advanced Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging at High Field.
Dr Laurie Goldsworthy, Lecturer 03 6335 4774 l.goldsworthy@amc.edu.au www.amc.edu.au Dr Laurie Goldsworthy is a lecturer in Thermodynamics at the Australian Maritime College. The Foundation’s grant covered his airfare, accommodation and food expenses for a one month trip to Kyushu University in Japan during November and December, 2003. During this time, Dr Goldsworthy collaborated with Professor Koji Takasaki and Associate Professor Hiroshi Tajima in comparing models of water injection with analysis of real water injection data. This collaboration has resulted in submission of a joint publication in which is compared his StarCD simulations with Kyushu University’s measurements of heavy fuel oil combustion in the constant volume fuel quality test.
Dr Briellmann reports that the experience strengthened her collaborations with neurologists and neuroradiologists and that it assisted in developing further her research work.
45
University of New South Wales
University of Western Australia
University of Tasmania
$2,400
$2,800
$1,500
Dr Bryce Richards, Lecturer, Centre for Photovoltaic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering 02 9385 7858 b.richards@unsw.edu.au www.pv.unsw.edu.au
Dr Kathryn Steadman, Research Fellow, Plant Biology 08 6488 2551 kathryn.steadman@uwa.edu.au wahri.agric.uwa.edu.au
Dr Philippe Ziegler, Research Scientist, Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute 03 6227 7209 pziegler@utas.edu.au www.utas.edu.au
Dr Bryce Richards received a grant to attend the 19th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy conference and exhibition in Paris at the Palais des Congres 7-11 June 2004. Dr Richards gave a presentation on an improved design for a luminescent solar concentrator with demonstrated potential for a 25% increase in conversion efficiency. During his travels, Dr Richards also liaised with international scientists from the University of Bern and from the German chemical company, BASF. Since returning to Australia he has continued discussions towards participation in a number of multinational research and application programs. These include the United Nations Environmental Program and a large European consortium working on a project entitled FullSpectrum under the 6th European Union Framework.
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The research undertaken by Dr Kathryn Steadman is on plant seeds, and the particular focus is on the physiological, chemical and biochemical factors involved in dormancy and longevity in Australian weed seeds. The Ian Potter Foundation Travel Grant was towards travel and associated costs for Dr Steadman to attend and present at the Seed Ecology 2004 Conference in Rhodes, Greece at the Convention Centre of Rhodes Palace 29 April - 4 May 2004 and at the 3rd International Symposium on Planet Dormancy at Wageningen University, The Netherlands 25-28 May 2004. Dr Steadman also visited and presented seminars at the Millenium Seedbank at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, United Kingdom, and at Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
In October 2003, Dr Philippe Ziegler attended the 21st Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska at the University of Alaska Fairbanks 22-25 October 2003. Dr Ziegler’s presentations were on the development of stock assessment and performance indicators for a small-scale temperate reef fish fishery, the limits of such assessment and on the unaccounted system complexity. Those present at this large international conference included scientists from Australia, Europe, Mexico, Canada and South Africa. Dr Zeigler reported that his presentation was received well and that the conference presentations and symposiums proved highly relevant for his research field.
Travel and Conferences
TRAVEL Grants 2003-2004
Australian Capital Territory Australian National University, The Centre for Resource and Environment Studies Dr Franklin Mills
Victoria $1,875
New South Wales
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victorian Paediatric Palliative Care Ms Carol Quayle
$5,000
The University of Melbourne, National Stroke Research Institute Dr Julie Bernhardt
$3,000
The Austin Research Institute Dr Peck Szee Tan
$3,000
Museum Victoria, Marine Invertebrates Dr Robin Wilson
$3,000
Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research Dr Helena Sim
$2,994
Australian National Maritime Museum Ms Elizabeth Hadlow
$4,000
Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology Dr Bernadette Saunders
$2,900
University of Wollongong, Psychology, Illawarra Institute for Mental Health Dr Nadia Solowij
$2,500
$2,400
Monash University, Pharmacology Dr Joanne Favaloro
$2,500
University of New South Wales, Electrical Engineering Dr Bryce Richards
$2,000
The University of Melbourne, Psychiatry Dr Dan Lubman
$2,500
University of Sydney, Chemistry Dr Kate Jolliffe
$2,000
Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre Dr Nicole Lee
$2,500
University of Newcastle, Family Action Centre Mr Craig d'Arcy
$1,840
Museum Victoria, Invertebrate Palaeontolgy Mr Rolf Schmidt
$2,500
University of Wollongong, Biological Sciences Dr Karen Miller
$2,500
University of New South Wales, Advanced Silicon Photovoltaics and Photonics Dr Eun-Chel Cho
$1,200
Brain Research Institute Dr Regula S Briellmann Brain Research Institute Dr Gaby Pell
$2,400
Macquarie University, Ancient History Dr Christiana Kholer
$1,000
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Dr Lee H Wong
$2,400
The University of Melbourne, Law Ms Jacqueline Peel
$2,190
Queensland Mater Medical Research Institute Mr Kenneth Field
$2,400
Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research Dr Morag Young
$2,090
Queensland Art Gallery Ms Samantha Shellard
$2,000
$2,000
University of Southern Queensland, Sciences Dr Alfio Parisi
$1,500
Monash University, Institute of Reproduction and Development Dr Renea Jarred Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research Dr Wah Chin Boon
$2,000
The University of Melbourne, Social Work Dr Louise Harms
$2,000
The University of Melbourne, Language, Literacy and Arts Education Dr Wesley Imms
$1,600
The University of Melbourne, Anatomy and Cell Biology Dr Ernest Jennings
$1,500
Monash University, Chemistry Dr Peter Junk
$1,500
South Australia Flinders University of South Australia, Humanities Dr Karen Vered
$2,500
Tasmania University of Tasmania, Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research Dr Vanessa Dunbabin
$2,500
University of Tasmania, Aquaculture and Fisheries Dr Phillippe Ziegler
$1,500
Australian Maritime College Dr Laurie Goldsworthy
$2,000
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TRAVEL Grants 2003-2004
Victoria (continued)
Western Australia
The University of Melbourne, St Vincent’s Hospital Dr Susan Bortolotto
$1,500
University of Western Australia, Plant Biology Dr Kathryn Steadman
$2,800
The University of Melbourne, Pharmacology Dr Jane Ward
$1,500
University of Western Australia, Human Anatomy and Biology Dr Giles W Plant
$2,000
The University of Melbourne, Psychiatry Dr Murat Yucel
$1,250 Curtin University of Technology, Biomedical Sciences Dr Elizabeth Watkin
$1,700
Monash University, The Australian Centre for Blood Diseases Dr Cindy Yap
$1,200
Monash University, Medicine, Box Hill Hospital Dr Suhasini Kulkarni
$1,200
Museum Victoria, Sciences Dr Dermot Henry
$1,200
The University of Melbourne, Physiotherapy Dr Andrea Bialocerkowski
$1,000
Monash University, Pharmaceutical Biology and Pharmacology Dr Daniel Malone
$1,000
Baker Heart Research Institute Dr Dmitry Mayorov
$1,000
Total $102,647
3
48
3
1
9
1
29 3 Grant allocations by state
Usually, the Foundation will not award Conference Grants towards:
• the title, venue, and dates of the conference
• the costs of a key-note speaker who works within an Australianbased institute
• demonstration of the significance and importance of the conference at the international level • indication of the benefits in hosting the conference in Australia and the role of the applying institute in the organisation of the conference • the purpose of the conference, its likely audience in terms of numbers, profiles and countries of origin, and the conference schedule • demonstration of excellence and currency of the invited international key-note speaker and of their home research centre, and inclusion of this speaker’s curriculum vitae • the schedule of travel and presentations for the key-note speaker, and inclusion of the abstract(s) • an itemised income and expenditure statement for the conference, including requests under consideration by other funding bodies and funding allocation from the applying institute • an itemised income and expenditure statement for bringing the key-note speaker to Australia • a signed statement confirming key-note speaker participation • a conference start date that is greater than three months from the closing date for submission to The Foundation
Travel and Conferences
Conference Grants are awarded to institutes that include the following information in submissions to The Foundation:
• general sponsorship of the conference or its associated events
• the costs of a key-note speaker who is not contributing actively to the field of research and application • the support of attendance by undergraduate and postgraduate students or by early and midcareer postdoctoral researchers and service providers • retrospective costs already incurred
Conferences Museums Australia, Victoria $9,000 towards the Museums Australia National Conference in Melbourne, 2004 Ms Erica Sanders, Executive Officer 03 8341 7344 exec@mavic.asn.au www.museumsaustralia.org.au Museums Australia was established in 1994, and aims to promote museums in an era when visits to museums are declining. It does this through advocacy, research and policy formulation. Museums Australia also provides a range of professional services to the Museum industry including locally based professional development opportunities as well as services at a state and federal level. The 10th Museums Australia National Conference, entitled Food for Thought: Museums and Galleries Feast and Famine, was held in Melbourne at the Hotel Sofitel from 16-21 May 2004. The Conference discussions were divided into three streams - audience, business and collections. The grant from The Ian Potter Foundation was towards the costs of room hire, audio visual, and speaker’s accommodation for the audience stream. The keynote speaker was Beverly Serrell, Director of Serrell and Associates in Chicago, USA, whose expertise is in audience and visitor evaluation. She delivered a paper entitled A framework for Judging Excellence in Museums and delivered a workshop for regional and remote delegates Evaluating Exhibitions from a Visitor Perspective.
Flinders University of South Australia $2,500 to the 2003 Australian Archaeology Conference in Canberra Dr Heather Burke, Archaeology 08 8201 3795 heather.burke@flinders.edu.au ehlt.flinders.edu.au The 2003 Australian Archaeology Conference was hosted by the Australian National University and the Australian Archaeological Association in Jindabyne, Canberra, in early December 2003. The Conference Grant from The Ian Potter Foundation supported travel to Australia by Professor Matthew Johnson of Durham University, United Kingdom. His keynote presentation was entitled British Archaeological Theory in 2003: State of the Art and included discussion of the changing role of theory with reference to Australian archaeology. In addition to his participation during the Archaeology Conference, Professor Johnson gave informal addresses at the Australian National University and at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales. He also worked closely with academics and students of Flinders University.
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CONFERENCE Grants 2003-2004
Australian Capital Territory
Victoria
Australian National University, Physical Sciences and Engineering 14th International Conference on Vacuum-Ultraviolet Radiation Physics, Cairns, July 2004
$4,500
Museums Australia, Victoria The Museums Australia National Conference Food for Thought: Museums and Galleries Feast and Famine, Melbourne, May 2004
$9,000
SIDS and Kids Workshop on Coronial Infant Autopsy, Canberra, March 2004
$3,000
Monash University, Centre for Postcolonial Writing Globalisation and Identitites: Writing in English, Melbourne, May 2004
$5,000
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Epithelio-Mesenchymal Transitions (EMT) International Meeting, Port Douglas, October 2003
$5,000
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education, Melbourne, April 2004
$3,000
New South Wales NAPCAN Australia 15th International Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, Brisbane, September 2004
$7,000
Queensland University of Queensland, Chemistry Heron Island Conference on Reactive Intermediates and Unusual Molecules, July 2004
$5,000
University of Queensland, Social Science Ancient DNA and Associated Biomolecules 7th International Conference, Brisbane, July 2004
$2,500
Avenues Lifestyle Support Association Sharing the Road Conference, Brisbane, July 2004
$2,300
South Australia Flinders University of South Australia, Archaeology 2003 Australian Archaeology Conference, Canberra, December 2003
$2,500
The University of Melbourne, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics Civilian Immunity in War, Melbourne, December 2003
$2,700
RMIT University, Applied Communication The Passionate City Symposium and the Melbourne: Second to None Public Forum, Melbourne, August 2004
$2,400
Western Australia University of Western Australia Tenth Biennial Symposium on Culture and Society in the Asia-Pacific Region, Perth, December 2003
$2,000
Total $53,000
3 1
1
1 6
2
Grant allocations by state
50
Personnel
Chief Executive Officer Dr Kerry M B Bennett Grant Coordination Scott Anderson Carol Mackieson Maria Roberts Finance John Kellaway Pamela Maughan to September 2004 Therese Reidy from September 2004 Communications Alexandra Williamson Information and Knowledge Management Leonie Mugavin Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer Kay Roworth
The staff of The Ian Potter Foundation work to support the Board and the CEO through processing of the thousands of submissions each year from across Australia for funding, and through financial administration of the funds from which grants are awarded. They communicate regularly with people from all walks of life providing information to assist the grant seeking endeavours of not-for-profit organisations and individuals. The following reflects quotes from the team at The Ian Potter Foundation in completing the statement I work in philanthropy because…. …. it is so rewarding to see so many good people doing so much for others with very little recognition and with genuine intent to help improve the lives of others …. you really can see a difference as a result of your work …. it is lovely to know that I’m part of assisting worthwhile organisations in the not-for-profit sector …. it is challenging and diverse …. it is inspiring and rewarding to be involved with worthwhile projects to help people in need …. philanthropy has an ability to create value and culture …. the nature and scope of The Ian Potter Foundation’s work is compelling and rewarding
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All photographs are copyright to the photographers and should not be used for any other purpose without permission. Page 8
Photograph courtesy of the Herald Sun, 31 January 2004
Page 16
Photographer Judy Torzillo, Child Health Officer, Nganampa Health Council
Page 20
Photographer Judy Torzillo, Child Health Officer, Nganampa Health Council
Page 21
Photographer John Gollings
Page 22
Photographer John Gollings
Page 36
Photographer Yolanda Pereira
Trustee ACN ABN Address
The Ian Potter Foundation Limited 004 603 972 42 004 603 972 Level 3, 111 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000
Telephone
03 9650 3188
Facsimile
03 9650 7986
email web
admin@ianpotter.org.au www.ianpotter.org.au