Why Collective IMPACT?

The Mildura area is a great place to live. We’re culturally diverse, with a large Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and around 80 different migrant groups represented. We’re a thriving community of resilient, capable and creative people. But with the strengths come significant challenges.

Out of 79 local government areas, we’re the 6th most disadvantaged in Victoria on the SEIFA Index. Compared to the rest of Victoria:

  • We earn less

  • Fewer of us finish high school

  • Many of our children are vulnerable, with a very high rate of children in out-of-home care, on child protection orders,

  • Many of our children start school behind in Australian Early Development Census domains

  • We have more incidents of family violence, with the second-highest rate in the state.*

No one single policy, government department, organisation or program can solve the complex issues facing communities in the Mildura LGA. Instead, a community-led systems change approach needs to be embraced. The Australian government has recognised this too, and in 2019 established the Stronger Places Stronger People Initiative. This place-based, community-led initiative is funded by the federal, state and territory governments to break the cycle of disadvantage in ten key communities across Australia. Hands Up Mallee is the only Victorian site that’s part of this initiative, working to achieve better outcomes for our communities and generations to come.

This is why we do things differently. Using a framework, we amplify community voices to be a key part of the decision-making process. We focus on children, young people and their families because this is what our community told us was important to them [link to Our Work page].

It’s also the focus of the Stronger Places, Stronger People initiative. We work with communities, service providers and governments to create fairer, better ways to build positive, long-lasting outcomes.

How do Collective Impact Initiatives work?

Collective impact initiatives help community, service providers and government to agree on what problems need solving, what they want to achieve, and how to support each other’s work. Instead of working in isolation, these groups work towards collective impact, with community voice front and centre. Hands Up Mallee is the link between these groups – the ‘backbone’ team that sits centrally.

The key conditions for successful collective impact initiatives are:

  • Community at the centre of the change process

  • Shared aspirations that go beyond ‘business as usual’ and that make space for all people in the community

  • Ongoing change in response to learning and insights

  • A focus on the greatest opportunities for local change, not just opportunities for cooperation

  • Groups working as loosely or closely as the situation needs to create more flexible and powerful solutions

  • A backbone team that serves as a connector and facilitator for change, building relationships and trust while guiding the creation of strategies, plans, policy and action.

What is Co-Design?

Co-design is a different way of engaging with communities that supports how place-based collective impact initiatives work. In a typical community consultation, governments and service providers look for community input without necessarily any contribution to the creation and testing of ideas. In contrast, co-design aims to shift power dynamics by putting community and conversation at the centre of the process.

In co-design, community members and service providers work together to make decisions, come up with ideas and test solutions. There are a few different ways to approach co-design, from design thinking to human-centred design to participatory design. We use a combination of these in our co-design, with local knowledge and experiences integral to everything we do. 

Read more about our Co-design projects here:

We often start by talking with communities, governments and service providers. What do service providers need to know to deliver a program or service to best suit our community’s needs? What do communities need when it comes to that service? We also look carefully at what the research says, along with relevant local, state and federal data.

Bringing together this local expertise with data is complex work that requires strong relationships, trust in the process, and a commitment to the long haul. We measure impact not just with traditional metrics, but by broader shifts in relationships, perspectives and ways of working – for services, governments, and the community as a whole.