Projects

Collaborative Governance Group Charter
The Charter outlines the roles, responsibilities, authorities, and behaviour of the Hands Up Mallee Collaborative Governance Group. This charter is a living document and will be reviewed annually and updated to reflect any changes in practice as agreed by the group. Read the charter here.

Collaborative Governance Group - Journey Map Report - July 2023
This report outlines the findings from the journey mapping exercise with the Collaborative Governance Group in July 2023. Read the report here.

Collaborative Governance for Community-led Change - June 2024
From January to June 2022 a number of community members and Hands Up Mallee partners worked on co-designing a new approach to governance, facilitated by The Australian Center for Social Innovation.

The outcomes of that work was documented in a report which detailed the proposed model for collaborative governance, and guidance on how to test and improve the model over time. Read the report here.

The Yarning Group is made up of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, including Elders and young people. The group has strong links to the HUM Collaborative Governance Group and the HUM Backbone.

The group provides a space for Aboriginal community to:

• Engage in authentic conversation.

• Build and strengthen relationships in community.

• Provide cultural guidance.

• Share and lead decision making.

Yarning Group - Reflections - 2023
This is a summary of the early reflections and learnings from the first two phases of the Yarning Group. Read about their reflections.

Yarning Group - Learning on Country Reflection - 2023
In October 2023, the Hands Up Mallee Yarning Group planned and guided a cultural learning experience on country. The purpose was to deepen cultural understanding as well as strengthen connections across the Hands Up Mallee initiative. Read the report here.

The Ethics, Privacy and Safety Framework guides how Hands Up Mallee and all its functions have agreed to work.

Read the framework here.

In August 2023 HUM commissioned Clear Horizon to conduct an independent assessment of how HUM is growing its ways of working as a collective impact initiative for place-based systems change. This assessment takes the form of a Progress Mapping exercise, which is aimed at collecting information about things that have happened over the past year to determine:

• what progress HUM has made to its ways of working since last year,

• opportunities for HUM to grow the enablers for change

Read the 2023 report here.

On 11th May 2022, Hands Up Mallee (HUM) convened a Learning Circle to discuss the findings of the Progress Mapping Report compiled by the Centre for Public Impact (CPI). The findings of this would form the basis of the 2022/23 Action and Support Plan which focuses on the tangible actions to support the enablers of collective impact practice.

The Learning Circle was structured around three challenges identified by the HUM backbone team from the Progress Mapping report.

Read the 2022 report here.

Hands Up Mallee is required annually by the Department of Social Services Stronger Places Stronger People to conduct an independently facilitated assessment of how we are growing our way of working as a collective impact initiative for place-based change.

Read the reflection report here

In August 2022, the SPSP National Leadership Group (NLG) and Backbone Team captured early evidence of the impact of a community-led approach to disrupting disadvantage. The examples are from communities involved in the Stronger Places, Stronger People (SPSP) initiative and provide clear signals that the objective of improved wellbeing for children and their families in these communities is being met.

Read the report here

This retrospective evaluation report summarises the activities and outcomes of Hands Up Mallee during its first five years of foundation building from Year Zero June 2015 until July 2020. The Hands Up Mallee Backbone team has conducted it with support from Clear Horizon.

Read the evaluation here

HUM is committed to continuous learning and improvement to achieve social outcomes. Partners and stakeholders worked together in 2021 to co-develop an overarching framework for Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) for 2022-2037. The framework supports learning and improvement, and aims to build evidence about what Hands Up Mallee is achieving, and how partners are working together as well as build an evidence base that highlights what Hands Up Mallee is achieving and how its partners are working together.

Read the MEL Framework here.

The purpose of the 0-8 Nested MEL Framework is fourfold:

• Impact - To help the 0-8 Action Teams demonstrate progress towards our intended outcomes.

• Learning and improvement – To capture 0-8 Action Teams’ learnings and help collaborators improve their work and results.

• Accountability - To keep 0-8 Action Teams accountable to local zero- to eight-year-olds and their families, HUM funders, partners, and the broader Mildura community. The data, stories and insights from our work will feed into HUM’s overarching evidence used for annual reporting to funders such as Department of Social Services and Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions.

• Community Engagement - To use 0-8 Action Team’s MEL activities and findings to help secure local buy-in for the 0-8 Action Teams’ work and strengthen parent and carer engagement in 0-8 Action Team activities.

Read the 0-8 Nested MEL Framework here.

• Impact - To help the 9-18 Action Teams demonstrate progress towards our intended outcomes.

• Community Engagement - To use the 9-18 Action Team's MEL activities and findings to help secure local buy-in for the 9-18 Action Teams' work and strengthen parent/carers' engagement in the Action Team's activities.

• Learning and improvement - To capture the 9-18 Action Teams' learnings and help collaborators improve their work and results.

• Accountability - To keep the 9-18 Action Teams accountable to local nine- to eighteen-year-olds and their families, HUM funders, partners, and the broader Mildura community. The data, stories and insights from our work will feed into HUM's overarching evidence used for annual reporting to funders such as the Department of Social Services and State Government departments and organisations.

Read the 8-19 Nest MEL Framework here.

This toolkit is a starter pack of some of the key tools and resources that can help implement the Measurement, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Framework. It is a companion document to the HUM MEL Framework and is intended to be used mostly by the Backbone Team implementing and overseeing MEL.

Access the Toolkit here.

The purpose of the Family Co-Design Project was to bring together local families and services to gain a deep understanding of the needs of community in a family and child hub. This was done by families and services sharing their expertise, ideas and experiences through a co-design process, and designing and testing new ideas of how to best meet the needs of local families into the future.

Read the report here.

Hands Up Mallee's data indicator workshops were held with local services, families and Aboriginal community during August and September 2024. The purpose was to help identify the priorities for our community and then develop a set of indicators to track over a long period of time. The indicator report has been developed and is currently out for review.

Draft Indicator report - feedback by 24 January 2025

Presentation

List of Data Indicators

Matrix

The webpage shows the footage and images from the event.

In 2021, Hands Up Mallee began an ideation and prototyping phase of ‘The Red Cliffs Project’ with Red Cliffs families of children under 8 years old. The aim of this project was to understand what is needed to create a rich environment of learning in the home and the community in order to support children’s development and help them be ready for school.

The pilot phase was named Red Cliffs Connected and carried out a series of four events in public spaces in Red Cliffs during 2022.

Read the report here.

In the 2023/24 summer holidays the free pool access pilot for young people under 18 years in Red Cliffs was extended for a further year, and a new trial of this was approved for Merbein. Hands Up Mallee and partners supported the Merbein trial with a co-design approach with young people to design and conduct events to activate the pool environment and encourage people under 18 years to make the best of the free access.

Read the report here.

Hands Up Mallee supported the development and establishment of HomeBase Hoops program and partnership model in 2019. As part of the transition of HomeBase Hoops to Sunraysia Community Health Services as the lead agency, Hands Up Mallee developed the MEL plan.

Read the learning plan here.

'Storytelling for Systems Change' was a project with Hands Up Mallee, Dusseldorp Forum and Centre for Public Impact looking at what does it take for government and philanthropy to listen to stories meaningfully.

Read the report and watch the 'listening to understand' conversations.

'Through the lens of community: co-designing Hands Up Mallee's Measurement, Evaluation and Learning approach together with cross-sector partners, families, and youth'. This was presented in conjunction with Froukje Jongsma from Clear Horizon and Fiona Merlin from Hands Up Mallee.

The paper celebrates the value of building measurement, evaluation, and learning (MEL) together and holding it as integral to 'the work' of community-led place-based social change. It is a testament to the proverb: if you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.

Hands Up Mallee led a co-design project from March to September of 2022, with local youth, families and youth service providers to consult with the Red Cliffs community to identify key priorities, challenges and opportunities that support positive outcomes for youth development.

Learn more about the pilot here

Hands Up Mallee and partners delivered The Fun in the Park pilot between March and May 2022. Which identified an opportunity for this pilot based on the success and learnings from the local COVID-19 Active Outreach vaccination and testing program undertaken in late 2021.

The Fun in the Park pilot involved running a series of free, family and child-friendly events in neighbourhood parks in Mildura. The pilot aimed to reach local children and families living close to three small community parks, Buxton Sobee Park, Hornsey Park and Flamingo Park.

Learn more about the pilot here

Since mid-2019, a late-night basketball program has been tested and trialed through three iterations, delivered and supported by a collaboration of local youth services, and facilitated by Hands Up Mallee. Pandemic driven lock-downs interrupted the program for two years. But, because of its promising beginnings and the early outcomes achieved HomeBase Hoops resumed in 2022.

The need for the late-night basketball program was identified and advocated for by local youth, during Hands Up Mallee's Project Y. The basketball program was proposed as a preventative measure to address some of the complex social issues experienced by young people living in the Mildura Community.

Read the evaluation here

In 2021 Hands Up Mallee began a prototyping phase which involved working with families of children under 8 years, to understand what is needed to create a rich environment of learning in the home and in the community, supporting children’s development and help them be ready for school.

One of the key ideas emerging from this co-design process was to hold a series of free, fun events where children could play with peers, and families could connect with others in their community.

In 2022 Hands Up Mallee partnered with families who developed the idea for this piloting phase of Red Cliffs Connected and held a series of four events in public spaces in Red Cliffs.

Learn more about the pilot here

This evaluation report is the final component of an evaluation undertaken by Clear Horizon of the Rich Home Learning Environment project in Red Cliffs, Mildura. The project was implemented by Hands Up Mallee (HUM) and ran from February to December 2021.

Read the evaluation report here

This evaluation report reviews the COVID-19 Active Outreach Testing & Vaccination Response (AOCTVR) and collaboration between October and December 2021 in the Mildura Local Government Area (LGA).

It reports on the outcomes and lessons from the AOCTVR, based on an evaluation with core AOCTVR collaborators and community members who received AOCTVR support.

The findings contain rich reflections on what worked, what could be improved, and shines a light on some of the challenges and significant achievements of the AOCTVR.

Outreach partner learnings and recommendations for what to take forward to inform future emergency planning are also provided.

Read the report here

The evaluation and learning report reviews the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Response (CERR) and collaboration during March – December 2020 in the Mildura Local Government Area (LGA).

It reports on the outcomes and lessons from CERR, based on an evaluation with core CERR collaborators.

The findings contain rich reflections on what worked, what could have been improved, and shines a light on some of the challenges and significant achievements of the CERR.

Delivery partner learnings and recommendations for what to take forward to inform future scenario and emergency planning are provided.

Read the report here

Home Base Safe Lounge, a safe space for Mildura young people and children to go to on weekends. Was a concept developed by a group of driven young people motivated and committed to supporting youth in our local community; and three organisations (Sunraysia Community Health Services, Cultivator and the Hands Up Mallee backbone team) who had the courage and vision to support them.

The idea came out of the “Hands Up Mallee Project Y” workshop with local youth in early 2018. The workshop extended on the information already gathered around local youth issues as part of the Hands Up Mallee community conversations.

The trial was undertaken at the end of 2018, at Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council(SMECC). The trial ran for 7 weeks commencing on the 9th of November 2018, and was delivered by the Home Base Admin team and Sunraysia Community Health Services (SCHS).

Learn more about the pilot here

In 2017 the Partnership established a Governance Group. The group consists of a Health Promotion Officer / Breakfast Program Coordinator and representatives from various Education Partners. Representatives come from both the private and public education sector and include people who hold leadership roles at their respective services.

The aim of the Partnership is to:

• provide every child in our region with a nutritious start to the day

• assist in reducing food insecurity

• provide local children with an equal opportunity to excel academically, emotionally and socially

• provide the program with no cost to local children or families

• relieve the burden on school budgets and provide all education settings equal opportunity to host a breakfast program

Read the evaluation report here