Research is progressing at pace

Greetings from the VLF research team in Victorian lockdown. Research is progressing at pace, though COVID-19 and associated public health restrictions have created challenges for some of our work

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Greetings from the VLF research team in Victorian lockdown. Research is progressing at pace, though COVID-19 and associated public health restrictions have created challenges for some of our work – particularly our Public Understanding of Law Survey (PULS). More on this below, but first an update on some of our other work.

Federation 2020 Workforce Survey

In 2020 VLF’s research team was engaged by the Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria to collaborate on a survey of the Victorian CLC workforce to guide the development of a 10-Year Plan for the community legal sector.

This work is needed to inform community legal sector planning, and to ensure that staff wellbeing and professional training needs are understood and supported.

The resulting Workforce Survey, led by Dr Jozica Kutin, aimed to help identify priority issues to build a CLC workforce that is strong, capable, resilient, and fit for the future.

The findings will be published in several reports on topics and issues covered in the survey. We will announce their release shortly.

Research Network news

Thanks to all who attended our recent webinar, presented by Associate Professor Marie Segrave, on the recent landmark Migrant and Refugee Women Safety and Security Study. If you missed it, catch up with the video. The next research network webinar is slated for November. Details coming.

Data mapping update

Phase 2 of our data mapping project looking at the use and utility of court and tribunal data (led by Dr Hugh McDonald) is nearing completion.

This work follows our first data mapping report, Apples, Oranges and Lemons: The use and utility of administrative data in the Victorian legal assistance sector. We look forward to sharing the report soon.

Our Public Understanding of Law Survey (PULS)

We finished designing the PULS questionnaire and completed some piloting with a small sample of the Victorian public. Unfortunately, since then public health restrictions have meant main fieldwork has had to be temporarily postponed.

Professor Nigel J. Balmer

Research Director