How to Build Collective Action and Governance for meaningful place-based social change

Tackling complex social challenges requires people to work together across organisational, sectoral, and cultural boundaries for a shared social purpose.

This course will take you on an interactive learning journey to explore HOW to build and hold place-based social change together.

In this course you will:

Learn how to shift thinking about action and governance for a shared purpose.
Build your confidence in how build collective action and governance.
Learn how to align power to a shared purpose.
Increase your confidence to hold collective action and governance and organisational/fiduciary governance together in your initiative.
Learn how to build collective action and governance that supports a movement for social change.

So that you will be better able to work with others to….

Make collaborative processes, structures, mindsets and power dynamics work for a shared purpose.
Support others in your ‘place’ and across the system to work together for a common aspiration.
Enable people to hold the work while at their desks/day jobs.
Inform and support movement building for social change.
Build and reflect a culture of innovation and collaboration in your ‘place’ and your work.

Cost: $1000 + GST per person ($900 each for groups).

When, where and how to book
Melbourne: 4 & 5 May 2023
Where: Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre, Carlton Vic
Book Here

Sydney: 8 & 9 May 2023
Where: Venue TBC
Book Here

Course facilitators
Jennifer Chaplyn, Sharon Fraser and Jack Beetson

Find out more
You can find more information about this course HERE
This course can also be delivered with your whole initiative on dates that work for you.
To find out more, contact us.

Things people say about this course

“Not just a talkfest but an in-depth thoughtful course that makes you do the work. Excellent work to all who designed it.”

“A really thoughtful an interactive approach to how to essentially share and distribute power collectively for the greater good.”

“These two days to reflect on my approach has given me valuable insights and a clear path to improve the governance arrangements.”

Community Voice and Leadership

Harness momentum and support for a shared purpose.

For many people and the issues they face, ‘business as usual’ is no longer working. There is a need to make changes in how they work to start to shift patterns of behaviour across the system.

We support you to harness and the voice of community to amplify their clarion call and gather commitment and effort from others in the system and the community in line with the community aspiration.

We adapt our approaches to work within your community and context. We support you to build on your strengths and create pathways to successful, sustainable change.

Our work aims to build up your local ‘how to’ so that you are not dependent on us. We bring our toolkit and adapt it to your community, arming you with the skills and know-how to move forward without us.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Request a call back

Collective Governance

Organise how to work together for change.

We support the development of structures, practices and processes to shape and hold the work in ways that are inclusive of all voices to achieve community goals.

When governance sits across organisational, sectoral, and cultural boundaries, it can be challenging to negotiate ways to work together for a shared purpose. We know that the building governance that holds collective action takes different ways of thinking and constant attention and nurturing.

When things do not go as planned, we support people to come back together via mediate or resolve conflicts.

We share your passion and enthusiasm to make a difference, and we are by your side for as long as you need us and when you need us.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Request a call back

Learn and Plan Together

Imagine and plan for a brighter future.

For communities to tackle and overcome complex issues, they need to picture it, plan for it, and make changes that work towards it.

We guide the way in adapting how communities think, design, and plan, challenging assumptions, and exploring desirable future outcomes. We then assist you to build the bridges between your work now, and what is needed for a different tomorrow.

We facilitate and work with you to establish learning, reflection and planning processes that translate what is being learned through collective action into practice to build a solid workplan to do what is next, in ways that are relevant to where you are now and how you work.

Our unique skills and knowledge, combined with years of practical experience in supporting community-based partnerships, means we have a proven toolkit to achieve change through collective action.

We are passionate about what we do so when you work with us, you are working with people that share your enthusiasm and care about the result.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Request a call back

Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Embrace diversity and harness it to build strong partnerships.

Our team has experience working with around Australia with metro, regional and remote communities working to tackle complex issues.

We understand and embrace the diversity of communities, and we harness it to build strong, collaborative partnerships.

We work with cross cultural collaborations to build a deeper understanding of each other’s perspective in designing the environment for work that is respectful of all voices.

We facilitate conversations and processes to develop joint protocols to communicate and navigate conversations and address conflicts.

Leaders and community change agents come from a range of cultures and life experiences. We enable collaborations to redefine cross cultural relationships so work can be done together for a shared purpose or outcome.

All our work respects the First Nations people of Australia.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Request a call back

Lead and Empower for Purpose

Work together in ways that are suited to your context and purpose.

Achieving large scale change needs to reflect the ‘place’, the rhythm of the community, and the readiness of the institutions.

We support you to lift the voice of those who are not being heard or feel they do not have the power to ‘change things around here’.

We help you bring the voice of our First Nations people to your work to build understanding and a shared way forward.

We have significant on-the-ground experience in community led change. Working across government, investors, service institutions and community actors, we can assist in the development of a deep understanding of power; to see your own and the power in others.

Together we can build an understanding of how to use this power for a shared purpose.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Request a call back

Sharon Fraser

Founding Director

B.App. Sci (SP); MBus (man.); GAICD; Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow

Sharon works to support the design and implementation of collaborative practice with communities, government, peak bodies, business, NGOs and services to build a united action for social change.

Sharon’s deep, on-the-ground experience in implementation of Collective Impact, systems change and collaborative practice within the Australian context has informed her participatory and strength-based approach using methods designed for:

- building collaborative governance and practice
- building structures, processes, mindsets and equity for systems change
- giving voice to people in community including those experiencing social vulnerability o exploring change, through reflection and analysis, and
- exploring power, and developing ways to share power to achieve improved social outcomes.

Previous executive roles in health, community health and local government, have focused on leading and supporting transformational change within services and community.

Sharon has deep experience in assisting people and organisations to hear and understand diverse voices to develop a shared aspiration, plan and implement a way forward and learn while doing.

Email Sharon

Our Principles

What we believe and how we work

It’s your language, not ours. We work with you to build a language around processes and concepts that you are comfortable with, and that works for your community.
It’s your change agenda, not ours. We help you tackle issues that matter in your community – it’s your Clarion Call.
Practical is our priority. We help you unpack concepts, ideas, the current situation and possible ways forward, ensuring they are practical, accessible and can be implemented locally.
Anyone can do the ‘hard stuff’. We work to make concepts and approaches accessible and easy to understand. Just because the problem is complex, doesn’t mean we are!
Community-led is key. We work with you to build community ownership of the processes, while also building up your local ‘how to’. This ensures you have the skills and know-how to move forward without us.
Connect with care. We bring ourselves and our skills to your goals with authenticity and care. We share your passion and enthusiasm to make a difference, and we are by your side for as long as you need us.

Request a call back about this service

Jennifer Chaplyn

Founding Director
H. BA (International Relations), GAICD

Jennifer is known for her work in strategy, co-design, community engagement and collaborative governance with communities, investors, NGOs, and three tiers of government.

As a consultant and facilitator, Jennifer specialises in creating clarity from confusion – or magic from mess – her engaging and hands-on approach helps people to break through barriers in thinking and practice, embrace diversity and engage others in creating change. Her unique skill of codifying processes and concepts into practical and tools, resources and process supports people to do the work in the real world.

Jennifer’s extensive experience in service system integration and design, collective impact and community engagement enables her to support collaborations to hold complex conditions and information to codify into a shared plan of action and governance (structures, mindsets and practices) to deliver the work.

To this work, Jennifer brings the unique perspective she gained as a Canadian raising a family and working in regional and remote Australian communities – a passion for collaboration and a belief in the power of human connections to bring about change.

Email Jennifer

Jack Beetson

Founding Director

Adjunct Professor, University of New England; Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education.

Jack is a Ngemba man with extensive experience in adult education, community development and Indigenous and human rights education.

He is one of only 12 people worldwide to have received a United Nations Unsung Hero Award. Beetson is Chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Economic Development Advisory Committee, Board member of Social Enterprise Finance Australia, Executive Director of Beetson & Associates and Executive Director of Literacy for Life Foundation.

Jack was most recently honoured by being the first Indigenous Australian to be inducted into the International Hall of Fame of Adult and Continuing Education.

Working cross culturally and in complex situations Jack is a skilled negotiator and mediator. He has a gift for mentoring that his grounded in many years of experience in communities.

Jack adds a cultural lens to all that he does, bringing this to our collaborative, leadership and governance work.

Email Jack

Mark Pearse

Adminstration & Finance officer

Mark has had over 20 years experience with all aspects of the Adminstration & Finance requirements involved with running a business.

He has owned his own business and has worked with businesses from single person up to companies with 150 staff.

Mark has also been fortunate to be involved with many Not For Profit Organisations where he was or still is on the executive committee of management in his role as Treasurer. This diversity of experience gives Mark an ability to communicate with everyone , problem solve and achieve the best outcomes for his clients.

Email Mark

What we are Doing

We assist people to work together to build collaborative partnerships and create change that strengthens communities.
Sustainable, long-lasting change requires people – a lot of people with a shared purpose, voice, momentum. Our work with you gives you the tools and guides you to:

Previous PostIntroducing the Clarion Framework for Collective Governance and Action

Next PostWhat we are Learning

Be Heard

How to Build Collective Action and Governance for meaningful place-based social change

Tackling complex social challenges requires people to work together across organisational, sectoral, and cultural boundaries for a shared social purpose.

Things people say about this course

“Not just a talkfest but an in-depth thoughtful course that makes you do the work. Excellent work to all who designed it.”

“A really thoughtful an interactive approach to how to essentially share and distribute power collectively for the greater good.”

“These two days to reflect on my approach has given me valuable insights and a clear path to improve the governance arrangements.”

Community Voice and Leadership

Harness momentum and support for a shared purpose.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Collective Governance

Organise how to work together for change.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Learn and Plan Together

Imagine and plan for a brighter future.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Embrace diversity and harness it to build strong partnerships.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Lead and Empower for Purpose

Work together in ways that are suited to your context and purpose.

We amplify your Clarion Call and ensure your call to action is loud, clear, and compelling.

Sharon Fraser

Sharon works to support the design and implementation of collaborative practice with communities, government, peak bodies, business, NGOs and services to build a united action for social change.

Our Principles

What we believe and how we work

Jennifer Chaplyn

Founding Director
H. BA (International Relations), GAICD

Jack Beetson

Adjunct Professor, University of New England; Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education.

Jack is a Ngemba man with extensive experience in adult education, community development and Indigenous and human rights education.

Mark Pearse

Mark has had over 20 years experience with all aspects of the Adminstration & Finance requirements involved with running a business.

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Request a callback today

What we are Doing

We assist people to work together to build collaborative partnerships and create change that strengthens communities. Sustainable, long-lasting change requires people – a lot of people with a shared purpose, voice, momentum. Our work with you gives you the tools and guides you to:

Previous PostIntroducing the Clarion Framework for Collective Governance and Action

Next PostWhat we are Learning

Be Heard

We assist people to work together to build collaborative partnerships and create change that strengthens communities.
Sustainable, long-lasting change requires people – a lot of people with a shared purpose, voice, momentum. Our work with you gives you the tools and guides you to: