The inspiration for this project emerged out of our previous research. Specifically, the project’s Chief Investigator, Professor Sarah Baker, became interested in issues of organisational sustainability while undertaking a past project on volunteer-managed institutions focused on popular music heritage. The project’s Senior Research Fellow, Zelmarie Cantillon, worked with Sarah on this past research.

This research highlighted the significant and multi-layered social, cultural and economic value of the community heritage sector. Volunteer-run heritage organisations safeguard underrepresented histories, offering spaces where volunteers can actively participate in the curation and interpretation of their own cultural narratives. Their existence ensures diverse histories are preserved and appreciated beyond mainstream heritage frameworks. However, the research also found that such organisations are under threat due to organisational sustainability issues, and that more work is needed to understand what these issues are and how they can be rectified.

From this past research, Sarah and Zel have already published several journal articles analysing volunteer experiences and sustainability in the community heritage sector. If you would like to read more about the research that underpins our current project, download copies of our articles below:

1. ‘DIY heritage institutions as third places: caring, community and wellbeing among volunteers at the Australian Jazz Museum’ (2018, Leisure Sciences). Download PDF.
2. ‘Serious leisure and the DIY approach to heritage: considering the costs of career volunteering in community archives and museums’ (2019, Leisure Studies). Download PDF.
3. ‘Career volunteering as good work in do-it-yourself heritage institutions: a serious leisure perspective’ (2020, Journal of Sociology). Download PDF.
4. ‘Safeguarding Australia’s community heritage sector: a consideration of the institutional wellbeing of volunteer-managed galleries, libraries, archives, museums and historical societies’ (2020, Australian Historical Studies). Download PDF.

In February 2024, Sarah and Zel prepared an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects scheme. This EOI was assessed independently by three members of the ARC College of Experts – scholars of international standing drawn from the Australian research community which includes higher education, industry and public sector research organisations. In April 2024, we were notified that our EOI was in the 27.5% of shortlisted applications. Therefore, we were invited to submit a full application. 

This application then went through a second merit process where it was peer reviewed by a pool of expert assessors (specialists in the broad area of the grant’s focus, e.g. heritage studies) and general assessors (distinguished academics in the humanities and creative arts). The reports from these assessors are used to determine a score and then the general assessors convene a meeting to discuss the overall merits of the proposals, after which they make a recommendation of funding to the ARC CEO. The ARC CEO then determines the final recommendations, taking into account the ‘National Interest Statements’ of each application, before making a funding recommendation to the Minister for Education. The Minister then reviews the recommendations and signs off (or not!) before a funding announcement can be made by the ARC. 

A Selection Outcome Report for this funding scheme can also be found here.

This project has received full ethical clearance from Griffith University’s Human Ethics Committee (GU ref no: 2025/199).