Scope – University
of Melbourne Partnership

Scope-University of Melbourne Professorial Fellow in Disability and Inclusion

Professor Keith McVilly is the Scope-University of Melbourne Professorial Fellow in Disability and Inclusion. Working across the university, he is situated in the School of Social and Political Sciences. Professor McVilly is an internationally renowned clinical psychologist whose work addresses the translation of research into policy and practice, with a focus on promoting the wellbeing and community inclusion of people with multiple and complex disabling experiences. His work reflects the centrality of relationships to wellbeing. Much of Keith’s research is conducted in applied settings, working directly with people with disability, families and services providers.

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Dr Paul Ramcharan is the Scope-University of Melbourne Senior Research Fellow

Dr Paul Ramcharan has been involved in disability policy research for, and in some cases, with people with disabilities for over thirty years during which he has maintained continuous research funding. Paul’s work spans three countries: research on an all-Wales disability strategy (1989-2000); an English national intellectual disability strategy (2000-2007) in which he coordinated a national disability research initiative; and disability research in Australia since 2006.

Paul's work since arriving in Australia has encompassed a number of areas including: disability advocacy and self-advocacy; the development of a Roadmap for the reduction of restrictive practices, choice making, voting and intellectual disability, inclusive research, co-production and, community development and disability. He has also been involved in a number of training initiatives including the development of new Certificated training in disability advocacy and for Disability Certificate 4 as well as most recently professional development training for Authorised Program Officers in their work submitting Behaviour Support Plans under the Disability Act, 2006.

Paul has also held a number of leadership positions related largely to research commissioning with the Department of Health in England, the Social Care Panel of the Big Lottery Fund in the UK, the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) and as Co-Chair of the Disability Research Reference Panel in the Department of Human Services (now Department of Families, Fairness and Housing).

Paul has co-authored two books, two edited collections, many journal articles as well as delivering a number of plain language documents to suit different audiences. He has also supported twelve PhD students to completion in degrees largely, though not exclusively, linked to disability policy.

In summary Paul has a career which focuses upon disability inclusion and disability inclusive practices and he considers himself a 'friend' to the disability advocacy sector. He has recently completed work on the impact of the NDIS on disability advocacy in Victoria and has undertaken consultancy work supporting advocacy organisations to make submissions to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of people with disabilities.

Paul is a methodological eclectic having adopted methods that span both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection. However his strengths lie in qualitative approaches, in social practice theory, category analysis and grounded theory, case study approaches, ethnography and participant observation as well ethnomethodology.

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Dr Carmel Laragy is the Scope-University of Melbourne Senior Research Fellow in Community Partnerships

Dr Laragy has expert knowledge in the fields of disability and aged care regarding the provision of services using individual funding. Carmel has studied the introduction of individual funding programs nationally and internationally since the early 2000s. These include the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Consumer Directed Care (CDC) in aged care. She has evaluated national programs and published widely nationally and internationally. Carmel is on the committee of management of Action for More Independence & Dignity in Accommodation (AMIDA), a self-advocacy service for people with intellectual disability; and convenes a peer support group for social workers navigating the NDIS and CDC programs.

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Dr Susan Hayward is a Scope-University of Melbourne Research Fellow.

Dr Hayward has a background in psychology and several years’ expertise examining a range of employment issues for people on the autism spectrum. Her post-doctoral work has included investigation into Australian Disability Employment services and working with international industry partners on a global autism employment research program.

She has worked on a range of other projects aiming to: increase the social inclusion of neurodiverse people, as well as others with disability, into employment, education, and community; plus suicide prevention in autistic people. 
Her research interests include the employment and social inclusion of neurodivergent individuals, as well as strengthening the psychological health and wellbeing of these individuals.

Dr Hayward is currently engage in the Home@Scope evaluation project and the Customised Employment project.

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Scope-University of Melbourne Partnership Coordinator

Julie Anderson is the Scope-University of Melbourne Partnership Coordinator. She provides high level executive support for the Partnership between the University of Melbourne and Scope and is responsible for the administration of the Memorandum of Understanding, the development of research and other collaborations, organising external events and functions and providing support to Professor McVilly. The Partnership Coordinator position was established through the generosity of the Herbert Gordon Emerson bequest.