Linking research, policy and practice, we are informing better design and sharing of school infrastructure to build stronger communities.
What are Schools as Community Hubs?
Opportunity
Schools are some of Australia's most under-utilised assets. During and outside school hours, school facilities can accommodate community sport, recreation and health services, but this is not common. In the next decade, Australia will build hundreds of new schools to match population growth. This presents a major opportunity to apply new knowledge about how the built environment can support more connected and resilient communities.
Funding
The Building Connections project is funded from 2019-2022 with $495,000 from Partner Organisations and $629,331 from the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council Linkage Projects scheme. This scheme promotes national and international collaborations between higher education institutions, government, business, industry and end-users, applying specialist knowledge to solve ‘real-world’ problems.