Research Centres

Australasian Research Institute (ARI)

Chief Executive Officer: Dr Ross Grant

Background

The Australasian Research Institute (ARI) was launched on July 20, 2004 as a centre from which to conduct, facilitate and promote research within its member organisations within the broad context of Adventist Christian service to the community.
The ARI operates from offices within the Faculty of Nursing and Health at the Sydney campus. The corporate members of the ARI include, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd., Avondale College Ltd., and the Australian Health and Nutrition Association Ltd.

Vision and Ethos

The ARI aims to be an integrated multidisciplinary research centre that facilitates, coordinates and conducts innovative and developmental activities generally involving wide collaboration with a focus on human benefits.
The ARI will be a centre in which researchers from outside the institute are able to collaborate in order to efficiently access the resources available to the ARI within the National and World-wide, Adventist, healthcare and academic network.
All activity and research and development supported and conducted by the ARI will have outcomes clearly aimed at the betterment of humankind and will be consistent with the ethos of the Avondale.

Differentiation

In addition to acute medical intervention, improving health through nutrition and lifestyle, has been a key focus of Adventist healthcare throughout the world over the past century. Developing an understanding of good health principles and encouraging the application of these principles has remained a core objective of Adventist healthcare's duty-of-care to the community.
The ARI operates from within the unique environment of the well-established and recognised Sydney Adventist Hospital (SAH) and the wider Adventist healthcare and academic network. As a world class medical institution with a history of over 100yrs of service to the Australian community SAH offers a wide range of Scientific, Medical, Nursing and allied health professionals on site from which the ARI can draw. As a member of the Adventist community the ARI also has access to the worldwide Adventist healthcare, social development, academic and nutrition network. This resource is invaluable and it is the aim of the ARI to manage this resource, making it available to interested researchers from both within and outside the Adventist network to enable better understanding of health and social principles which can then be applied for the benefit of the wider community.

Purpose and Scope

The ARI is established to coordinate, promote and facilitate research activities, within the member organisations and to manage these resources making them accessible to the wider research community.

Services

1. Provide advice and support to researchers within the member organisations.
2. Fund high quality research that is within the guidelines of the ARI.
3. Act as a resource centre for researchers: i.e. for consultation with project development and grant writing, collaborator contacts, statistical analysis and writing for publication.
4. Promote, facilitate and encourage research activity by academic and professional staff of ARI member organisations.
5. Promote, facilitate and encourage research collaborations between academic and professional staff and associates of ARI member organisations and the wider (national and international) research communities.
6. Conduct research for commercial bodies; including clinical efficacy studies and clinical therapeutic trials.

Applications for Research Funding

Each year three meetings are held to which funding applications may be submitted. Applications are due on the last Friday in February, June, and October. Application forms and guidelines are available by clicking on the links below:

ARI Application Guidelines
ARI Full Grant Application
ARI Small Grant Application
ARI Scholarship Application

Further information

The Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ross Grant, can be contacted on:
61 2 9487 9602
email:rossg@sah.org.au

Avondale Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies in Science (ACISS)

Director: Dr Kevin de Berg

The Centre has the objective of researching and reviewing the inter-relationship between the development of modern science and the development of other disciplines, the impact of other disciplines on the teaching and learning of science, the role of modern science in the development of the professions and the impact of science and technology on understandings of spirituality and its modes of expression. It publishes an annual journal, Christian Spirituality and Science—Issues in the Contemporary World.

Institute of Church Ministry (ICM)

Director: Dr Doug Robertson

Founded in 1986 by Dr Alwyn Salom, the Institute for Church Ministry has served the conferences and churches of Australia and New Zealand with resources, services, training seminars, consultancies and research. Its objectives are to assist churches achieve their potential for ministry, growth and outreach. The Institute liaises with the National Church Life Survey in Australia, The Church Life Survey in New Zealand and undertakes research projects on behalf of the South Pacific Division, the Australian and New Zealand Conferences or other church entities as required.