Real Life Research in Partnership – Understanding Civil Law Needs of Older People and Building Research Capacity in Community Legal Centres

The Knowledge Building Project (the Project) allowed BCLS to invest time and resources in undertaking a research project, in partnership with Deakin University (Deakin), to better understand the civil law needs of older people in the Barwon region. The project also sought to develop an evidence-based framework for the collection, interpretation and application of available data, which would lead to ongoing collaboration with Deakin to build BCLS’ research and data capacity across other areas of its legal practice. The project model established a formalised partnership with Deakin’s Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Program, which embeds virtual student research interns within BCLS to assist with collecting and interpreting data.