Volunteering Queensland Research Advisory Committee

Research

Volunteering Queensland is committed to leading the sector through robust, credible, and impact-driven research. To support this, Volunteering Queensland has released a comprehensive Research Framework, guided by an impressive and highly qualified Research Advisory Committee.

The Research Framework establishes a structured, multi-stream evidence model to measure, monitor, and strengthen volunteering across Queensland. It defines the key data sources, research methodologies, governance arrangements, and reporting cycles required to generate high-quality insights. These insights will inform strategic decision-making, support effective advocacy, and build the capacity of the volunteering sector—ensuring policy, practice, and investment are grounded in evidence and real-world impact.

Research Advisory Committee Members

Paul Muller, Director, IPM

Paul Muller is the principal of QQ Research and author of the State of Volunteering Report series, first issued in 2014. With over 50 reports published in Australia and New Zealand, his work focuses on the economic and social value of public goods, including volunteering, sport, and the creative industries. Paul has worked collaboratively with academics, industry, and government to pioneer innovative approaches to measuring value, and regularly shares his insights as a keynote speaker. His work has shaped policy decisions and investment strategies across the region, from community-led initiatives to major cultural institutions.

Professor Leonie Lockstone-Binney (SFHEA), Deputy Director at Griffith Institute for Tourism, Griffith Business School

Dr Leonie Lockstone-Binney is Deputy Director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT) and a Professor in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management at Griffith University, Australia. Leonie’s research expertise relates to volunteering, contextualised to event and tourism settings. Leonie has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, many of these in top-tier journals. She has received competitive research funding from the Australian Research Council and the International Olympic Committee and continues to collaborate with leading researchers from Australia, the UK and New Zealand.

Emeritus Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes, The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, QUT

Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes OAM is the former Director of The Australian Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS). He has written extensively about nonprofit tax and regulation, nonprofit legal entities, government grants and standard charts of accounts as a means of reducing the compliance burden. He is a founding member of the ATO Charities Consultative Committee and the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission Advisory Board. In June 2003, Myles was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) “For service to the community by providing education and support in legal, financial and administrative matters to nonprofit organisations.”. In 2023 he was reappointed to the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission Advisory Board.

Natasha Doherty, CEO and Founder, Ethicol

Natasha is the CEO and Founder of Ethicol whose work lies at the intersection of health economics and entrepreneurial innovation, consistently driving projects that shape policy and promote stakeholder engagement. Natasha has 20 years of experience working in the public and private sectors in the areas of health and social policy. She led the Health Economics and Social Policy team in Deloitte Access Economics for several years, setting the strategy with the leadership team and mentoring team members.

Professor Craig Furneaux BEd MA PhD, Associate Professor, Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies Leader, QUT

Dr Craig Furneaux is an Associate Professor with the School of Accountancy, Faculty of Business and Law at Queensland University of Technology.  Craig leads the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studiess. Craig is a highly regarded teacher and researcher focussed on accountability, capability and change in nonprofits organisations and social enterprises. He is also interested in faith-based charities in civil society. 

Dr.-Ing. Alexander Lang, MBA, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University

Dr Alexander Lang is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Society and Design at Bond University on the Gold Coast. He has a 20-year industry background, which includes senior roles in marketing and innovation in the German automotive sector, experience as an Innovation Consultant at Siemens, and serving as CEO of the consulting firm IMAN Solutions. He joined Bond University in 2020.

Research Framework

The Volunteering Queensland Research Framework provides a structured, multi-stream evidence model to measure, monitor, and strengthen volunteering in Queensland. It outlines the key data sources, methodologies, governance processes, and reporting cycles required to deliver high-quality insights for strategic decision making, advocacy, and sector capacity building. making, advocacy, and sector capacity building.

The framework seeks to gather data to grow volunteering to meet the need of Queensland by addressing the following research questions:

• What are the current patterns, drivers and disparities in volunteer participation across Queensland?
• How do supply and demand dynamics shape volunteering opportunities and recruitment challenges across regions and sectors?
• How do volunteers experience their roles, and what factors influence satisfaction, inclusion, retention and barriers to involvement?
• What motivates Queenslanders to volunteer, and what personal, social and community impacts result from volunteering?
• How effectively are volunteer involving organisations performing, and what systemic or policy conditions enable or constrain their capacity to support volunteers?