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VC GEF 2025 Application

VCGEF 2025 Guidelines

Purpose
The Fund provides funding to projects which progress whole-of-institution strategic objectives, addressing priority issues affecting students and staff, and help the whole University to achieve greater gender equity, inclusion and diversity. The funding is available to student clubs, SRC representatives and staff.
Applications are invited under the following funding categories include: 
a. Strategic projects;
b. Whole of University education, awareness raising and/or engagement; and
c. Applied research projects focused on systemic solutions and improvements.
There is a wide range of important gender equity, inclusion and diversity issues affecting WSU students and staff. For the purposes of the 2025 round of the Fund, we are calling for projects which specifically focus on the following priority issues:

  • Support from the University to students and staff who are parents and carers.
  • Gendered violence prevention within the University community and effective responses to students and staff disclosing concerns about gendered violence.
  • Better student and staff awareness of supports available within the University to assist with concerns about gendered violence.
  • Developing and sustaining gender equity and diversity in senior WSU student and staff leadership roles.
  • Continuing to close the gender pay gap at WSU.

Projects which contribute to the University’s Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Cygnet and Silver priorities will also be considered, including these identified areas:

  • Career planning and development for early career staff, fixed-term and/or casual positions, including professional and academic staff.
  • Supports for recentlydecasualised academic staff and/or equity-driven refinements for decasualisation process.
  • Education, training and/or mentoring options to build equity and diversity competence across the University.

Application Process
All applicants are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) form to the Vice Chancellor’s Gender Equity Fund via the Director, Equity, Diversity and Wellbeing.  All applications must be received by 5pm Sunday 17th November 2024. 
All applications by staff must be endorsed by relevant Dean, Director or Head of Unit. If ethics approval is required for proposed project, you are required to provide a completed draft of the Project Description Template.
When completing your Expression of Interest applicants will be required to provide information on:
1. The funding category requested.
2. Proposed project and key objectives, including a description of expected outcomes
3. Description of how the project will be implemented within the timeframe, including how the funding will be used by the project.
4. Demonstration of how the project team consulted with key University stakeholders about the project objectives, design and methods. This must include seeking advice from those University teams with key operational responsibility for issues and processes within the project scope.
5. Clear explanation of the ways the project will help the University to progress whole-of-institution strategic objectives regarding priority gender equity, inclusion and diversity issues affecting students and staff. Applications will be assessed by the Vice Chancellor’s Gender Equity Fund Review Panel, convened by the Director, Equity, Diversity and Wellbeing. The Panel will make recommendations to the Vice Chancellor on projects suggested for funding.

The Equity and Diversity team will advise applicants of funding outcomes by 10 January 2025. Funding will be rolled out by end February 2025.

Funded Project Deliverable Requirements
All successful projects are required to:

  • submit milestone reports to Director, Equity, Diversity and Wellbeing for review. This includes a mid-term progress report (by end of June 2025) and  final project report (by end of January 2026) using templates provided by the Equity and Diversity team;
  • make a 5-minute presentation or video of the final project report, key insights and priority recommendations to be shared with the Vice Chancellor’s Gender Equity and Respectful Relationships Committee, and used for the presentation at the SAGE Gender Unlimited Research Week event in 2026 and/or key stakeholders across the University

VCGEF 2025 FAQs

What is a strategic project?
Strategic projects supported by the Fund directly address organisational strategic priorities and help to move the whole organisation towards reaching longer-term strategic objectives in gender equity, inclusion and diversity. This may include for example, a pilot program implemented at the local level and evaluated on whether the program would be beneficial to be delivered across the whole University and ways this could be practicably implemented.


Who should I target in community awareness raising and engagement activities?
The Fund prioritises activities which include all students and staff. Projects should aim to engage the University community on a large and broad scale to ensure as many students and staff as possible can participate and benefit from the activity. This may include for example, development of new video content to be embedded into University curriculum or a capacity building program for WSU leaders to better address gender equity, inclusion and diversity.


What does the Fund mean by applied research?
Applied research projects sponsored by the Fund specifically aim to find a practical solution to address an existing systemic problem at the University. This may include for example partnering with a University team with relevant operational responsibilities to evaluate new ways to improve processes which affect gender equity, inclusion and diversity across the whole University.


What types of costs can be covered by the Fund?
The Fund can be used to cover up to $6500 of project costs (except commissioned projects). Including for example, salary costs of project team members and/or casual staff engaged to support the project and/or non-salary items such as event or engagement activity costs, development of resources, production of new video content or campaign materials.
Funding cannot be used to purchase equipment usually provided by the University or used to extend the employment contract of staff who are employed for purposes other than the funded project.


How will applications for the Fund be assessed by the Selection Panel?
The Selection Panel will consider the following:

  • Alignment to overall University gender equity strategic objectives and priorities;
  • The consideration of existing University policy, provisions, initiatives, programs and/or other work relevant to the projec;
  • The scale of whole-of-institution impact of the expected project outcomes;
  • Inclusion and benefit for students and staff from diverse backgrounds within the project scope and expected outcomes;
  • New contribution b the project to the existing body of gender equity knowledge and practice at the University.  Applicants must consider outcomes of earlier Fund projects to ensure outcomes are not be duplicated; and
  • Validity, practicability and appropriateness of proposed project scope, method and expected outcomes.

How do we know who to consult in the project design and scope?
Applicants are advised to consult with the Equity and Diversity team on who may relevant stakeholders within the University community to consult in the design and within the scope of the proposed project. The Equity and Diversity team can be contacted via the Vice Chancellor’s Gender Equity Fund email address.


What is considered as gendered violence within the Fund priority issues?
Gendered violence within the Fund includes issues of:

  • Harassment based on gender or sex (including non-binary gender, transgender and Intersex characteristics),
  • Sexual offences, such as sexual harassment, sexual assault and other forms of sexual harm, and
  • Family and/or domestic violence.

Who can apply for funding?
Funding is available to current students, professional staff and academic staff (including sessional staff and adjuncts). Staff exclusively employed under an Australian Research Council or National Health and Medical Research Council are not eligible to apply for funding

VC GEF 2025 EOI Documents

VCGEF 2025 Timeline Summary (opens in a new window)

VCGEF 2025 Application Checklist (opens in a new window)

VCGEF 2025 Application (opens in a new window) PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND SAVE TEMPLATE BEFORE COMPLETING