The paper is intended to provide food for thought on the opportunities presented by current government interest in place-based approaches. Going forward there is the opportunity to learn from those who have gone before us and establish the aspirations, principles, expectations, and ways of working that will give our joint endeavours the best chance of success. From the known to the newly emerging, this paper outlines the key considerations that we would be wise to examine and address in the founding stages of any new place-based work.
Every year millions of dollars are spent by governments, philanthropies, community organisations and the private sector, in areas such as education, health, social services, and care. In some communities and for some families, these investments make the essential difference in ensuring their children have the best start in life and can do well throughout childhood and adolescence.
For some, however, inequity and disadvantage remain entrenched and growing. Of greatest concern is disadvantage linked to place. Families find it harder to get the supports they need when their community is also suffering. Intergenerational disadvantage deepens and compounds, becoming multi-faceted and commonplace.
Researchers and evaluators continue to identify common elements that can help set a place-based initiative up for success. Increasingly, this has involved applying systems thinking, as part of unpicking the complex systemic interactions that hold prevailing conditions in place, and as a way of deepening our understanding of how relational capital, power dynamics and even our ideas of what comprises “community” inform and affect the work we share.