Tracking the impact of social cohesion initiatives

The session will provide tangible evaluation frameworks for practitioners to support the measurement of impact within communities.

Facilitator Information

Dr Angela Smith - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Western Sydney

Dr Angela Smith is an interdisciplinary social researcher with expertise in political and human geography, focusing on the relationship between people, place and movement.  She brings over a decade of experience as a practitioner working with diverse communities and international organisations. 

She has worked as a consultant with the Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies at the American University in Cairo, the North Africa Mixed Migration Task Force, Transparency International, UNHCR, IOM, the World Social Forum, and Forensic Architecture research agency.  

Dr Rifaie Tammas - Impact and Evaluation Coordinator, Centre for Western Sydney

Dr Rifaie Tammas leads the Centre’s Impact and Evaluation stream. He oversees a range of projects that seek to measure and maximise the impact of programs, initiatives and infrastructure in Western Sydney. 

Rifaie brings over a decade of experience in research, monitoring and evaluation in higher education and community development projects in Australia and overseas. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Sydney and has provided extensive media commentary for BBC, ABC News and Al Jazeera. Prior to joining the Centre for Western Sydney, Rifaie worked as a Senior Research Associate at Macquarie University. He has also been involved in the development and coordination of several mentoring programs for students and academics from refugee backgrounds at several Australian universities and delivered training to hundreds of academics and students across Australia and the UK.