Place-based understanding
I consider how local conditions, social infrastructure, relationships and lived experience shape a challenge, and adapt the work to the people and places involved.
Example: Place-based community inquirySoft Infrastructure
Services
Support for understanding community needs, involving people in decisions and turning findings into practical plans.
How I can help
Explore the offerings
Start with the support that feels closest to your brief. Related methods can be combined around the decision you need to make.
Community engagement and co-design
Plan community and stakeholder engagement that connects people’s knowledge with decisions and service design.
Community engagement and co-design
Plan community and stakeholder engagement that connects people’s knowledge with decisions and service design.
When to engage
When a policy, service, programme or place needs input from people affected, or participants can help shape the approach itself.
What the work can include
Community consultation, stakeholder mapping and interviews, participation planning, co-design and engagement communications.
Possible outputs
- Engagement, stakeholder and access plan
- Clear invitations, participant information and consultation materials
- Community findings, recommendations and a feedback summary explaining how input was considered
Relevant experience
- Wheatsheaf Road
Community conversations informed a creative brief and coordinated delivery.
- Intercultural Maribyrnong: participation shaping policy
Community participation informed intercultural policy development.
- First Nations leisure access: co-design with community partners
Co-design with community partners informed leisure access.
Facilitation and complex problem-solving
Design and facilitate workshops and meetings that help groups work through complex questions and agree practical actions.
Facilitation and complex problem-solving
Design and facilitate workshops and meetings that help groups work through complex questions and agree practical actions.
When to engage
When a team, partnership or community group needs a purposeful workshop, an independent facilitator or support with competing priorities.
What the work can include
Workshop facilitation, meeting facilitation, complex problem-solving and shared direction.
Possible outputs
- Session preparation and agenda
- Independent facilitation
- Decision record, responsibilities and next steps
Relevant experience
- University of Melbourne: commissioned gender equity workshops and analysis
Designed and delivered workshops connecting gender equity tools with practical learning.
- Facilitation & advisory: groups, committees and networks
Supported groups, committees and networks through facilitation and advisory contributions.
Social planning and research
Bring population evidence, community experience, service information and social infrastructure into clear planning advice.
Social planning and research
Bring population evidence, community experience, service information and social infrastructure into clear planning advice.
When to engage
When assessing community needs, facilities or service gaps, building an evidence base, or interpreting feedback and data you have already collected.
What the work can include
Social planning, community needs assessment, social infrastructure assessment, qualitative research, service mapping, survey analysis and reporting.
Possible outputs
- Community profile, evidence review and research findings
- Analysis of survey responses, interviews and submissions
- Needs and service-gap analysis, clear findings and planning recommendations
Relevant experience
- Council planning with integrated health and wellbeing
Connected community wellbeing priorities with integrated Council planning.
- Applied research for policy, services and places
Brought research and evidence into policy, service and place questions.
- Housing and homelessness: from strategy to coordinated action
Connected housing evidence and community experience with strategy and coordinated action.
Strategy, policy and implementation
Develop or review policy and strategy, then connect priorities with delivery, partnerships and governance.
Strategy, policy and implementation
Develop or review policy and strategy, then connect priorities with delivery, partnerships and governance.
When to engage
When a policy needs review, a strategy needs clearer direction, or partners need to agree priorities, responsibilities and ways to work together.
What the work can include
Policy review, strategy development, implementation planning, partnership development and programme governance.
Possible outputs
- Evidence review and options paper
- Policy, strategy or prioritised action plan
- Partnership arrangements, agreed roles, responsibilities and review tools
Relevant experience
- Council planning with integrated health and wellbeing
Connected priorities with organisational responsibilities, implementation and review.
- Supporting volunteers through clearer organisational systems
Developed clearer organisational systems to support volunteer practice.
- Coordinating the Australasian Intercultural Cities Network
Coordinated council peers, policy exchange and network relationships.
Equity and inclusion review
Examine who can access, participate in and benefit from a policy, programme, service or place.
Equity and inclusion review
Examine who can access, participate in and benefit from a policy, programme, service or place.
When to engage
When developing policy, reviewing a service or investigating barriers related to gender, culture, language, disability, income or lived experience.
What the work can include
Equity review, inclusive practice, access and participation, and gender equity.
Possible outputs
- Equity questions and evidence review
- Access and participation barriers analysis
- Prioritised improvements and review measures
Relevant experience
- Gender impact analysis: turning guidance into practice
Designed and piloted a Gender Impact Analysis tool, evaluated its use and prepared recommendations.
- Language access: reviewing translating and interpreting services
Led a translating-and-interpreting service review to identify practical improvements.
Programme design and evaluation
Design community programmes and review existing services to improve access, delivery and outcomes.
Programme design and evaluation
Design community programmes and review existing services to improve access, delivery and outcomes.
When to engage
When developing an initiative, reviewing an existing service, adapting a programme, evaluating a pilot or preparing for a funding decision.
What the work can include
Programme design, service review and improvement, programme evaluation, programme logic and improvement planning.
Possible outputs
- Programme design or service review brief
- Delivery arrangements, evaluation framework and review of access barriers
- Findings, practical improvements and a review plan
Relevant experience
- Making community-led programming easier to access
Developed clearer community programming pathways and coordinated access arrangements.
- Evaluation, review and organisational improvement
Applied evaluation, review and improvement across tools and organisational practice.
Training and presentations
Design and deliver training, workshops and presentations that connect ideas, practical tools and everyday work.
Training and presentations
Design and deliver training, workshops and presentations that connect ideas, practical tools and everyday work.
When to engage
When a team needs practical learning connected to its responsibilities, inclusive communication or community-facing work.
What the work can include
Tailored training, staff learning, scenario-based workshops, presentations and practical resources.
Possible outputs
- Agreed learning objectives
- Relevant scenarios and facilitated activities
- Resources for continued team use
Relevant experience
- University of Melbourne: commissioned gender equity workshops and analysis
Designed and delivered gender equity workshops and practical tool learning.
- Training delivery: workshops, staff learning and practical teaching
Delivered workshops, staff learning and practical teaching.
Creative producing and events
Develop artist residencies and cultural programmes, build local partnerships and coordinate practical delivery.
Creative producing and events
Develop artist residencies and cultural programmes, build local partnerships and coordinate practical delivery.
When to engage
When an arts or community initiative needs a producing approach, local partnerships, access planning and practical coordination.
What the work can include
Creative producing, artist residencies, cultural programmes, place-based arts and community events.
Possible outputs
- Programme concept and producing plan
- Artist, host and partner coordination
- Access, delivery and review arrangements
Relevant experience
- Producing shopfront artist residencies
Produced residencies through artist, host and site coordination, with facilitated planning by Gill and Paul.
- Window Shopping: neighbourhood partnerships and delivery
Developed neighbourhood partnerships and coordinated programme delivery.
- Wheatsheaf Road
Translated community conversations into a brief and coordinated a building-integrated project.
Finding the right support
Start with your question.
You do not need to arrive with the right consulting term.
A facilitated workshop may be part of a wider engagement process. A needs assessment may lead to a policy review or implementation plan. We can clarify the right combination before agreeing the work.
Explore facilitation and engagement ↗Practice in context
People, place and practical work.
Explore community infrastructure experienceRelevant experience includes previous Council roles and independent practice. Each project explains the contribution and context.
The lens I bring
Continuous systems improvement
I look at how policies, processes and services work together, identify barriers and use evaluation, feedback and shared learning to improve practice over time.
Example: Language-services reviewDiversity, equity and inclusion
I consider who can access, participate in and benefit from a service or decision, including how gender, culture, language, disability and lived experience intersect.
Example: Gender impact analysisStrategic and systems thinking
I connect an immediate issue with its wider causes, organisational responsibilities and longer-term priorities, helping teams identify where practical change is possible.
Example: Homelessness strategyHealth equity and wellbeing
I bring a prevention lens to the conditions that shape health, including housing, food security, social connection and public space, to support better health and wellbeing outcomes.
Example: Housing, health and food-systems researchEvidence and community knowledge
I bring research, service data and lived experience into the same conversation, with meaningful participation and clarity about how people’s input can influence decisions.
Example: Community-informed policyPlace, partnerships and practical delivery
I consider the local setting, relationships and resources needed to make an approach work, then connect priorities with clear roles, implementation and review.
Example: Resident-led Play StreetsGetting started
Ways to work together
Scope, outputs, timing, responsibilities and fees are agreed before work begins.
What to include in your enquiry
Share the issue, organisation, timeframe and support you need. Include an existing brief if you have one. We will clarify the decision, people involved, available evidence and practical requirements.
Fees reflect research depth, participation methods, sessions, locations, access requirements and agreed outputs. Timing and availability are confirmed in the proposal.