It works with universities in the region to identify their teaching and research priorities, then matches those needs with experienced Australian academic and professional volunteers. Volunteers may be current, soon-to-retire or recently retired academics from accredited universities.

The work is practical and varied. Current and recent assignments include a Professor of Education and a Professor of Accounting at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, a Curriculum Development Mentor in Pacific Media at Tonga National University, and a Postgraduate Research Strategy Advisor. AAVA’s recent news includes volunteers transforming regional campus libraries across the Pacific, new assignments at Fiji National University, and a quality assurance milestone at Solomon Islands National University. AAVA also partners with the Australian Government-funded Australian Volunteers Program and fundraises to keep its placements sustainable.

AAVA’s Chair and Co-Founder, Professor Graham Schaffer, and Foveal’s founder and Managing Director, Wojciech Nadachowski, worked together at La Trobe University. When Wojciech led ASDetect, a project to help parents identify whether their children might have autism, Graham provided Faculty funding to help get it off the ground.

That early backing mattered. ASDetect grew from an academic research idea into a tool that families could use, and it was a formative experience for Wojciech’s later work in the research sector. Supporting AAVA is a chance to return that favour to someone who backs good ideas in higher education.

Foveal is helping AAVA streamline its activities by configuring a Salesforce database built around its needs.

As part of Salesforce’s giving, AAVA has received a donation of 10 Salesforce CRM licences. Initially, these will help the team manage:

• Stakeholders, including partner universities, professional societies, learned academies and funders
• The volunteer program, from expressions of interest through to assignments and follow-up

Foveal will provide pro-bono support as AAVA grows, so the team doesn’t have to become Salesforce experts on top of everything else. The aim is for their time and energy to go into what matters: placing skilled volunteers where universities need them and helping partner institutions build their own capacity.

Our turnKeyRM platform helps research centres across the country manage their portfolios, so we’ve seen how much good work depends on well-organised information. We’re pleased to bring that experience to a charity whose mission we admire.

Universities build knowledge that benefits whole communities, and AAVA helps ensure that benefit reaches beyond our borders. We’re proud to help in a small way, and we look forward to seeing the program grow.

To learn more about AAVA, or to explore volunteering or donating, visit academicvolunteers.org.au.