ABOUT
ADMINISTRATION
Dr Jenny Robinson
Sharon Greenfield
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PhD Students
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Assoc Prof Dorit Maor
Assoc Prof Wendy Cumming-Potvin
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Prof Larissa Hjorth
Dr Jenny Robinson
Dr Elisabeth Betz
Matt Hart (Western Sydney Uni)
Natalie Hendry (RMIT Uni)
Joshua Wong (RMIT Uni)
Amani Haseem (RMIT Uni)
Tom Penney (RMIT Uni)
Sharon Greenfield (RMIT Uni)
The Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre
TECH FOR SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES PROJECT
From 2011 to 2016 the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) united young people with researchers, practitioners and policy makers to explore the role of technology in young people's lives, and how it can be used to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Funding and research agenda
With the commitment of multiple partners across the non-profit, academic, government and corporate sectors, Young and Well was awarded $27.5 million in funding from the Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Programme on 1 July 2011. This grant has been leveraged to create a 75+ strong cooperative delivering a $100 million research agenda over five years.
Three streams of innovative research
The Young and Well CRC and partners designed three streams of innovative research investigating how technology could impact the lives of young people aged 12 to 25 and improve their mental health and wellbeing. These were:
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Safe and supportive
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Creative and connected
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User-driven and empowered
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Creating and evaluating meaningful technology-facilitated connections for vulnerable young people
One of twelve major projects within the Young and Well CRC, the Technologies for Supportive Communities project sought to comprehensively understand vulnerable young people’s conceptions of community in order to leverage technology to foster socially inclusive communities. The project evaluated a range of existing technology-based communities of vulnerable young people. It also mapped the complex relations between online and offline communication, trialled and implemented innovative applications and pathways of connection, and explored best practices for scaling these communities within and between organisations.
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Impact
This project had a significant impact on not only the state of mental health research globally, but in the translation of this research into policy and practice and we have been able to truly make a difference in the lives of young people.
Next steps
The Young and Well CRC wound up activities on 30 June 2016, and a core team are busy developing our next incarnation!