Call for Abstracts: Designing Social Change - Beyond Talk, Taking Action - ACTCOSS/UC conference

The ACT Council of Social Service and the University of Canberra invite you to submit abstracts for presentations at their 2014 conference.

CONFERENCE THEME:
Designing Social Change: Beyond Talk, Taking Action.

CONFERENCE DATE:
Thursday 7 and Friday 8 August 2014.

LOCATION:
Ann Harding Conference Centre, University of Canberra, Bruce ACT.

SUBMISSION CLOSING DATE:
Submissions must be received by 5pm, Friday 30 May 2014.

AUDIENCE:
This conference will include content relevant to people working and/or volunteering in social services, policy makers, researchers and social activists. It will bring people with diverse perspectives, and different roles to play in social change, together over two days to listen, learn and determine what actions they can take to contribute to positive social change.

BACKGROUND ON THE THEME:
In the ACT we face significant challenges now and in the immediate future. The ACT economy is expected to go through a downturn as the Commonwealth Government sheds jobs and contracts spending. People and communities get stuck in poverty, disadvantage, vulnerability and exclusion despite overall prosperity.

It is difficult to design policy and research that delivers on the expectations and aspirations of the people and communities they focus on. Workers and volunteers in social services face barriers to facilitating real and sustained differences in the lives and circumstances of people and communities they work with. People with lived experience of poverty, disadvantage, vulnerability and exclusion need their perspectives respected, understood and made central to the social change agenda.

There are leaders in all sectors of our community who have wisdom to share about how they have re-designed, refreshed and renewed in the following areas:

1. Public policy
2. Funding programs
3. Service models
4. Business models
5. Advocacy campaigns
6. Research and evaluation

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS:
If you would like to make a presentation to the conference, please provide a summary in the form of an 'abstract'. An abstract provides a summary of what your presentation will be about, and will be used by the conference committee to decide which presentations will be included in the conference program.

* Your abstract must be written in English.
* The abstract should be no more than 300 words, including references.
* Use standard abbreviations only. Within the body of the proposal, when using abbreviations spell out the name in full at the first mention and follow with the abbreviation in parenthesis. Abbreviations may be used in the title, provided the name in full is outlined in the body of the proposal.
* The abstract should clearly and concisely outline what your presentation will be about, whether the presentation has been delivered previously, what research, evaluation or other evidence has informed the content of the presentation.
* You will need to state which conference topic your presentation will fit into:
- Designing housing, utilities and transport infrastructure
- Designing public policy and funding programs
- Designing service models and business systems
- Designing advocacy campaigns
- Designing research agendas and projects
* Please write your abstract using the submission template in the Call for Abstracts document (.docx, 155KB) available here:
http://www.actcoss.org.au/flyer/conference2014/call-for-abstracts-2014.docx

We welcome abstracts from diverse perspectives that show how public policy, funding programs, service models, business models and advocacy campaigns can and should be designed so they more effectively address the challenges we face and deliver positive social change. These abstracts may cover lessons from practice on what has worked, or research on what could work in addressing these challenges.

SELECTION PROCESS:
The conference committee, made up of representatives from ACTCOSS and the University of Canberra, will review all abstracts and make selections based on:

* Relevance to conference theme
* Relevance to delivering positive social change in the community of Canberra and our surrounding region
* Whether the presentation will extend conference participant's awareness, understanding, capacity and/or motivation to act on the issue

Full consideration will be given to all submissions; however, not all submissions can be included. If you have not heard from the committee by 30 June 2014, your submission was unsuccessful.

PRESENTERS COSTS:
The invitation to submit an abstract does not constitute an offer to pay travel, accommodation or registration costs associated with the conference. Similarly, no presenter fee is paid to successful participants. Presenters will be expected to register for the conference, and can purchase either a 1 day or 2 day registration. Please note in your abstract if you do require compensation for costs, such as travel.

HOW TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT:
Please download the Call for Abstracts document (.docx, 155KB) and fill out the submission template section:
http://www.actcoss.org.au/flyer/conference2014/call-for-abstracts-2014.docx

Abstracts must be received by 5pm, Friday 30 May 2014 .

MORE INFORMATION:
For more information or to have a discussion about an abstract submission please phone ACTCOSS on 02 6202 7200 or email conference@actcoss.org.au