RHD: Strength in data, power in community: national evaluation of justice reinvestment

Justice reinvestment (JR) is expanding across Australia as a First Nations, community-led approach to reducing harm and over-incarceration. However, little is known about the outcomes communities are achieving, the mechanisms driving change or the conditions needed for long-term sustainability. This project will build a rigorous Indigenous-led research program to understand how JR works, why it works and how it can inform future justice policy and practice.

 

You will work with a supervisory team to design a project aligned with the Indigenous, community-led evaluative approach, that will contribute to the four core research questions:

  • What outcomes and mechanisms have First Nations communities developed through JR?

  • What contextual factors enable or constrain positive JR outcomes?

  • What supports the sustainability of self-determined JR models?

  • How can these models shape future justice policy and practice?

 

Depending on your interests and strengths, topics can focus on community governance, youth and family experiences, local data practices, policy environments, or the broader mechanisms shaping JR implementation. Qualitative, participatory, discourse-analytic or mixed-method approaches are all possible within the project's evaluation framework.

 

This Scholarship includes a living stipend of $37,500 per annum tax free and your tuition fees covered.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are eligible to a higher base stipend scholarship of about $47,500 per year, with an additional top-up of $20,000 per year and $5,000 per year in research support.

This scholarship is for:

Open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Only

Areas of study:
Details not available.
At Institution:
  • University of Queensland
Study Level:
  • Doctoral Research
  • Postgraduate Research
Study Load:
Full Time
Location:
QLD
Eligibility Criteria:

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

 

Your previous academic record, publication record, honours and awards and employment history will be taken into account.

 

A working knowledge of research methodologies (particularly Indigenous methodologies), Indigenous justice, justice and social policy, evaluation approaches or related social science fields would be of benefit.

 

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the fields of Indigenous studies, criminology or justice studies, social policy, research methods, evaluation studies or related social science disciplines and the potential for scholastic success.

How to Apply

All funding is considered through a single, competitive PhD application process. You do not need to apply separately for each Scholarship.

 

If you have any questions about your suitability for this project, please contact Dr Krystal Lockwood at krystal.lockwood@uq.edu.au

 

This project requires candidates to commence no later than Research Quarter 2, 2027 - you may start earlier.

 

You must submit an EOI by the closing date for the research quarter (RQ) you want to start in:

  • RQ 1 (January): 30 September

  • RQ 2 (April): 31 December

  • RQ 3 (July): 31 March

  • RQ 4 (October): 30 June.

Further Information

Details not available.

Value may vary.
Duration of the Program
Open