We provide strategic support to enable organisations to address complex issues and achieve their goals. We specialise in community and social planning, community infrastructure planning, strategic and business planning and community and stakeholder engagement.
Engagement
We design and deliver consultation and engagement that builds confidence in community members and stakeholders. Our approach facilitates active participation in policy development and decision-making.
Some of the consultation and engagement tools we use include community listening posts, co-design processes, one to one discussion with stakeholders, workshops, online engagement, polling and community forums. Working with our clients, we identify and implement tools which are right for the project, for the community and your organisation.
Policy development and service planning
We have extensive experience in policy development and service planning in the early years, arts and culture, libraries, community facilities, leisure and recreation and community services.
Projects include planning for Library services, review of Youth Services programs, a review of Community Transport Services, review and development of Service Models for Early Years Services, preparation of a Tool Kit for Local Government to support the Live Music Industry, a Pricing Policy for Aquatic Leisure Facilities and review and development of partnership and service agreements.
Community and social planning
We have a deep understanding of how to assess community need. We know the legislative and policy context for community programs, we have extensive experience in interpreting and communicating demographic data and we understand how to assess community aspirations and current and emerging community needs. We have a proven capacity to deliver thoughtful and practical plans and reports that will support organisations to deliver on identified priorities.
Projects include Community Plans, Needs Analysis for Community Hubs or Cultural Spaces, Access and Inclusion Plans, Ageing Well Strategies, Cost Benefit Analysis for Aquatic, Recreation and Leisure Facilities and Children, Youth and Family Strategies.
Community infrastructure and project planning
We understand the processes necessary to deliver community infrastructure. From the initial assessment of community need, to the scoping and management of the design, documentation and approval processes, we have guided several major community infrastructure projects to completion. Projects include Community Infrastructure Plans, Feasibility Studies and preparation of Business Cases.
Strategic and business planning
We are experienced in designing and delivering strategic and business planning processes that align with organisational objectives and are consistent with community / client expectations and legislative obligations. This includes establishing planning frameworks, developing strategic plans and supporting the development of Council Plans for local government.
Engagement and facilitation
We understand the importance of constructive engagement and are skilled in contemporary engagement techniques including facilitating workshops, forums and discussions with community members and stakeholders across different settings and issues for as many as 200 people and as few as 6. Some of the organisations we have worked with in this space include the Victorian State Government, Red Cross, Vic Roads, the Municipal Association of Victoria, Outer Urban Projects, the City of Melbourne, many Neighbourhood Houses, Moonee Valley Legal Service, the Victorian Legal Services Board and a large number of local governments.
Business development
We offer a range of business development services including benchmarking processes, preparation of advocacy strategies and leading and preparing grant application processes and submissions to government or other bodies. We have an excellent strike rate in securing funding through the preparation of funding applications to government and philanthropic organisations.