Community Engagement

The Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Community Engagement recognises individuals and teams who have established outstanding, culturally informed, and reciprocal partnerships that deliver measurable social, cultural, environmental, or economic value in alignment with Impact 2030.

Award Themes

The Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards recognise academic and professional staff whose external community engagement demonstrates going above and beyond the requirements of their roles to build meaningful connection, mutual exchange, and sustained achievement.

Nominations should focus on one or more of the following themes:
  • Fostering authentic, reciprocal partnerships with external communities and stakeholders that reflect place-based practice and the University’s role as an anchor institution.
  • Embedding ethical, culturally informed engagement practices, including deep and sustained collaboration with local communities including First Nations.
  • Demonstrating purpose-led initiatives that deliver clear social, cultural, environmental, and/or economic value.
  • Strengthening the University’s porosity to partners, enabling a two-way exchange of people, knowledge, and ideas responsive to local needs and contexts.

Award Criteria

Nominations should address the following criteria:

  • Place-Based and Reciprocal Engagement

    Provides evidence of sustained, place‑based engagement where collaboration and shared decision-making has achieved measurable outcomes that advance both community and Monash priorities.

  • Culturally Informed Practice

    Showcases meaningful and ethical engagement across borders, with deep, long‑term collaboration with local communities including First Nations, grounded in mutual respect and cultural understanding.

  • Impact and Strategic Alignment

    Demonstrates outstanding, purpose-led outcomes that deliver measurable social, cultural, environmental, or economic value, creating lasting local or global impact in alignment with Impact 2030 and the External Community Engagement Framework.

Nominate now

Submit a nomination

Nominations in the Professional Staff categories should be guided by the above award themes and criteria, as well as the overall awards eligibility guidelines below.

Submit a nomination