Mid-Term Evaluation Report

Community-Led Change Creating Lasting Impact

Released in April 2025, our mid-term evaluation shows that Hands Up Mallee’s way of working with community, service providers and government is contributing to genuine systems change and lasting improvement in outcomes in the Mildura LGA. 

Measuring success in place-based work presents unique challenges:

  • The connections between activities and outcomes aren't straightforward.

  • Qualitative data often takes a back seat to numbers and percentages. 

  • Meaningful population-level change can take a generation to appear, while funders understandably want to see results sooner.

Undertaken by an independent consultant, this evaluation takes an innovative and rigorous approach to measuring success in the early stages of community-led change: establishing the enabling conditions that make systems change possible.

This evaluation report provides compelling evidence of how our collective impact approach is strengthening community voice, transforming governance, fostering genuine multi-sector collaboration, and creating ripple effects that extend well beyond Mildura.

The findings show:

  • Early signs of systems change in health, youth services, and government engagement. 

  • Significant shifts in how local service providers collaborate with community.

  • Changes in how resources are allocated and shared in Mildura.

  • Increased community confidence in decision-making.

Case Studies

These three case studies formed the foundation of our 2025 mid-term evaluation report, and they provide powerful examples of HUM's community-led approach in action. Download the reports to learn more.

Red Cliffs Project

Helping young children thrive in Red Cliffs.

The Red Cliffs Project shows how families co-designed solutions to improve early childhood outcomes, leading to strengthened community connections and a successful $6 million funding bid for an Integrated Early Years Hub

Homebase Hoops

More than just a basketball tournament.

In Mildura, when youth services were hard to access, and basketball club fees were reaching $500 annually, a group of young people had a plan. They wanted a safe space that was accessible to gather and play basketball on Friday nights. Hands Up Mallee partnered with them to turn their vision into HomeBase Hoops, a program that's changing lives and reshaping how youth services operate.

Active Outreach covid-19 Testing and Vaccination Response

Making vaccines easier and fairer for everyone in Mildura (Mallee)

The Active Outreach COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination Response (AOCTVR) case study demonstrates how our place-based approach during the pandemic delivered vaccination opportunities to people who would otherwise have been unlikely to be vaccinated, creating lasting changes in how health services engage with the community.

WHAT OUR EVALUATION INCLUDED?

Verification Panel

Hands Up Mallee engaged a verification panel to assess the evaluation for rigour, objectivity and a strong evidence base. This was made up of four independent experts in place-based systems change, including senior staff from federal and state government departments and specialists in place-based approaches.

The panel took part in two assessment rounds, examining each case study against robust criteria for outcome significance, Hands Up Mallee's contribution, and evidence strength. This verification process involved questioning and validating our findings through a systematic application of assessment rubrics designed specifically for place-based initiatives.

This rigorous methodology combined with the panel's expertise provided confidence in the evaluation's findings and underscores the credibility of HUM's community-led, place-based approach to creating sustainable systems change in the Mildura region.