Taking the power of collective impact to the next level
Published on 27 May 2015
Collective Impact might sound like a complicated process, but a two-day workshop to be held locally will show organisations how easy it can be to work together to achieve common goals.
Hosted by the Northern Mallee Community Partnership (NMCP), the workshop will be held on Monday 1 June and Tuesday 2 June with Kerry Graham from Collective Impact Australia explaining how Collective Impact works, what strategies can be employed and how to turn partnerships into relationships.
Community Wellbeing and Services Councillor Sharyon Peart said the workshops are aimed at community groups, service providers and people who want to see change in their community and who need the support and tools to get the ball rolling.
“We’ve seen examples of what partnerships and collaboration can do to bring about change in our region and this workshop is aimed at building on this and giving more people in our community the confidence to start tackling local issues,” Cr Peart said today.
“Project Ice for example was a project where a number of groups came together with a common goal. Each group brought expertise in a certain area and together, the team developed strategies and actions that changed the way our community thought about drugs.”
Chair of the NMCP, Martin Hawson said that past experience has shown complex social and community issues are best tackled together with a collaborative approach.
“That’s really the crux of Collective Impact – it’s about sharing information, sharing expertise and working as one to see positive change,” Mr Hawson said. “If we have the right framework and people engaged in a project from the start, then we can make real change together.
“It can be difficult to bring these different groups together – we all have different organisational structures, different priorities and different viewpoints. But if we set a common goal, build relationships based on this mutual objective and work together towards this, as a community we can achieve great things.”
The workshop has been designed to look at why Collective Impact works, how it can help organisations to pool reduced resources and why strong, ongoing relationships are the backbone of any successful partnership.
The workshop is open to organisational representatives and will be held at The Midway Community Centre, Buronga from 9am. A copy of the program and further information is available from Council or the Northern Mallee Community Partnership. Reservations are essential.
About Kerry Graham
Kerry is a Social Change consultant and has worked in this field for over 20 years. She has worked for a number of national non-profit organisations (including being CEO of Inspire Foundation) and advised government on social policy.
More information about Kerry Graham and Collective Impact Australia is available online at http://collectiveimpactaustralia.com/about-2/
ENDS
Media enquiries
Mildura Rural City Council
Angela Umback
p) 03 5018 8689
e) angela.umback@mildura.vic.gov.au
Northern Mallee Community Partnership
Michelle Withers
p) 03 5021 7625