New Vision for Social Impact Advocates

The Sydney-based Centre for Social Impact has launched a new vision and a new brand in a bid to build a “stronger social system for all Australians”.

CSI, a collaboration of universities: the University of New South Wales; The University of Melbourne; Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Western Australia, spent nine months last year consulting with academics and practitioners in Australia, the UK and the US to develop the new social impact framework launched last night in Sydney.

The consultation process led by Centre for Social Impact Chief Executive Officer Dr Andrew Young, included consultations with organisations including Stanford University, Harvard University, the University of Oxford, NESTA, RSA, NCVO, Social Enterprise UK.

“We have always been a lucky country for many, but not for all. We spend at least $250billion on our big, fragmented and uncoordinated social system now – when times are good. Yet there are too many issues and places where things are not changing, or not changing fast enough, and in some instances, things are getting worse,” Dr Young said.

“In the next three decades, the number of working-aged people per older person will halve. This demographic shift means that government expenditure on the aged – health services for the aged, aged care and aged pensions – will double from today’s figures.

“Our system isn’t coping now. So we need a better one, and that’s what the Centre for Social Impact’s new vision is about – building a stronger social system for all Australians.

“We have a vision for a stronger social system for Australia. We look forward to an Australia free of systemic failure and inefficiencies that plague society.”

The elements of the new Social Impact framework include:

• Systems thinking;

• Measuring outcomes;

• Funding outcomes;

• Scaling social innovation;

• Collaborative and participative approaches to social change;

• Great leadership, governance and management.

The Centre for Social Impact believes it has four key roles in bringing this change to life:

• Vision leader: holding firm to this framework for change and working, relentlessly, on pursuing its focus areas with a view to creating a stronger social system for Australia.

• Knowledge champion: creating new knowledge through academic research, working with organisations to develop better knowledge and understanding of social system successes and failures, and aggregating and communicating the best knowledge and practice in the field of social impact.

• Educator: providing comprehensive education programs to equip young and emerging leaders of social purpose organisations with the systems thinking approach they need to make meaningful and sustained change happen.

• Convener: bringing together the brightest minds from the broadest network at a variety of events and in online communities to debate, explore and discover new ways forward for Australia.

As part of the vision launch, CSI launched its new brand.

Matt Perry, Director, Marketing & Engagement said: “The Centre for Social Impact has something that many brands would die for.

“A core proposition, a compelling product offering, and a single-minded aim to make Australia a stronger and fairer society. However, this level of clarity is only possible thanks to the combined efforts of our team of intelligent, dedicated and passionate people working alongside the incredible support of our strategic partners.

“We are very excited about the new brand and digital platform. However, we are even more energized by what this will allow us to do to achieve our mission”.